Mystery Photo

What in the world is it?

Don't peek at the answer until you've given this a good try! Then, scroll down a bit and the truth will be revealed to you. What In the World Is It? This mystery photo is a recent X-ray image of the Sun taken by a telescope on board the Yohkoh satellite. Yohkoh was designed to study the hottest part of the Sun's atmosphere (the corona). Because the corona is so hot (2 million degrees) it is best seen by detecting the X-rays it emits. Last year, a popular rumor was making the rounds on the Internet: On January 1, 2000, the Sun would let loose with a powerful explosion that would zap important communications satellites and short-circuit power grids on the Earth. But this was all hype. The Sun indeed is becoming more active, but it's nothing new. Right now, the Sun is nearing the peak of its 11-year-long sunspot cycle. There is nothing out of the ordinary with this cycle. For us on Earth it's going to be life as usual. The cycle ought to peak in the middle of the year, though it may also peak in 2001. Credit: (NASA / Marshall Space Flight Center and the Yohkoh Soft X-ray Telescope team.) Back