White light, October 13th 1989

The photosphere of the Sun, taken in white light on October 13th 1989. Two large sunspots appear close together in the center of the disk. These spots are about half as bright as the surrounding surface, making them appear dark by contrast against the disk. The central dark area of each spot is the umbra, and the surrounding lighter region is called the penumbra. Photospheric granulation is barely visible. Bright faculae are visible near the limb (the edge). This picture was taken with the White Light Patrol camera at the Hilltop Dome facility of the Sacramento Peak Observatory.