I saw a sunspot with the naked eye this morning!

[GregW]

I was descending a hill into heavy fog and as I looked up into the sky I noticed the sun had turned to a pale white disk. Unbelievably, there was a clear, dark sunspot right in front. At first I thought it was something on the windscreen, my contacts, a bird, etc ... but I watched it for over 30 seconds as the fog eventually blocked out the sun completely (and I had to watch the road) and it didn't move.

Very cool!

[GOPisEvil]

1. You looked at the sun for 30 seconds?

B-) Yikes! Isn't that dangerous, fog or no?

[pmbryant]

2. I hope that was some very thick fog!

;-)

--Peter

[GregW]

3. Dunno?

Like I said ... the sun was just a pale disk - dimmer than a flashlight

:shrug:

[pmbryant]

4. If you can still see, you're probably ok ;-)

Cool to see a sunspot like that!

:thumbsup:

--Peter

[Bertha Venation]

7. Cool! I saw an eclipse like that once...

....it was almost as cool as the time I realized I was looking at mofo Saturn through my dinky little telescope. I saw this little orange thing with two tiny nipply-looking things poking out either side. Took me a while of thinking... I was trying to find Mars and it finally dawned on me that I'd found Saturn instead. WAY cool sensation.

[GregW]

5. I think it has something to do with this

http://www.msnbc.com/news/984388.asp?0cv=CB10

A strong dose of space weather is forecast to hit Earth Friday, potentially disrupting satellite communications and posing a threat to power grids on Earth. The event also presents a nice opportunity for anyone to view sunspots, though safe viewing techniques must be employed to prevent eye damage.

The storm of charged particles was unleashed by a dark region on the solar surface called Sunspot 484. The huge spot, about the size of Jupiter’s surface, has been growing for several days and rotating into a position that now points squarely at Earth.

[thom1102]

6. It was gearing up to wreck havok in case it was a

Cubs vs Red Sox world series. Armageddon a'brewin'!

[MUAD_DIB]

9. LOL

My GF had the same notion.

I told her not to worry because I knew that that would never happen.

I told her that the Sox would choke...

Some prophesies are stronger than others.

[wtmusic]

8. I looked at the sun, and now I see spots all the time!!!

Warning: Do Not Try This At Home!!!

[Brotherjohn]

10. Here's an experiment. Somebody try it and post what you saw here.

You can see the sunspots using any pair of binoculars or a small telescope.

BUT... DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT - DO NOT - DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THEM!!!

You can reflect the image onto any surface and view the reflected image. Simply aim the binocs or telescope at the sun, align it to that the image is cast onto s flat background (preferably dark colored), and focus.

It takes a little fine hand work and balance to hold the image steady (some telescopes already come with a reflecting screen for just this purpose). Because you can "move" the image around with the binocs, you'll find you can reflect it onto a shadowed surface (it's darker and easier to see).

I just did this and saw one large sunspot near the center of the sun (chances are, the same one you saw), and another pretty big one right at the edge.

Try it and see if you "see" the same sunspots! (or rather, their reflection; again, DON'T LOOK through the binoculars or telescope!!)

[Brotherjohn]

11. I'm guessing they're Sunspots #484 and #486, based on this link:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=96&ncid=753&e=10&u=/space/20031024/sc_space/seeingdoubleastronomersamazedattwohugesunspots

ON EDIT:
Here's an actual real-time (every 4 hrs) picture!

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sun_cam.html

The two brightest spots (which apparently, are the active areas) look just about exactly where the two spots I saw were: one just off center and one right on the edge!