This project is complete. For more NASA citizen science projects, go to science.nasa.gov/citizen-science!
Help track active regions as they evolve across solar rotations!
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Message from the researcher
You're helping solar physicists be able to study the long-term evolution of explosive regions in the solar atmosphere! This is vitally important for predicting when eruptions could affect Earth, as well as advancing our theories about how the Sun works.
Solar Active Region SpotterAbout Solar Active Region Spotter
Our closest star is an enormous ball of hot plasma and tangled magnetic fields. Sometimes, knots of these fields erupt through the surface, becoming structures we call "active regions". These regions are compact and often very complex, and are frequently the sources of events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Their prevalence and periodic nature are also part of how we define the 11-year solar cycle.
Because they're so important, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) names every active region that appears on the Sun. However, the Sun rotates, and when an active region rotates into view, it gets a new name -- whether it's actually a new active region or one that's returning.
This is why we need your help! By watching short clips and comparing images of active regions to previously-observed earlier active regions, you can help tell us which ones are baby active regions just emerging for the first time, and which are old-timers making a repeat appearance. This information is critical to scientists trying to understand how these regions are heated and what might make them erupt. So join us and get spotting!
We are proudly funded by the NASA Citizen Science Seed Funding program. For more NASA citizen science projects, go to science.nasa.gov/citizenscience.
