Perhaps the worst part of the astronomy hobby are the seemingly endless overcast days that seem to be the normal state of affairs this time of the year. It is very frustrating as you look at all of your expensive astronomy equipment sitting idle. Unlike many astronomers, I have the advantage of being able to observe the sun during the day.

Unfortunately, the sun is still as dull as dishwater with no sunspots and only a few flares to watch. Of course, you can get a better view of the sun from outer space. One of the interesting web sites to visit is the SOHO site at: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov. Here you can get data from the SOlar Helospheric Observatory satellite that continuously watches our star.

Unfortunately, when I went there today, most of the best images were not available due to maintenance of the on-board equipment. I can’t win for losing lately! At least, they have a few images available. I am including one from their web site so you can see that the sun is truly a very dull place lately. Of course, this will change as the 11 year solar cycle starts to move toward its maximum in about 5 years from now.