Red Sun through Wildfire Smoke

• On July 22, 2026, a photograph taken in British Columbia, Canada, captured the Sun appearing unusually red due to thick wildfire smoke from the Pacific Northwest.
• The smoke particles acted as a natural filter, scattering blue light and allowing for the direct photography of the Sun's surface and active sunspots.

Scientific Context

• The image features AR 4493, a giant and rapidly evolving active solar region located just below the center of the solar disk.
• Atmospheric particles from wildfire smoke block and scatter shorter, bluer wavelengths of light, making the Sun appear dimmer and shifted toward the red spectrum.
• While the Sun looks red in this image, it is never safe to view the Sun directly with the naked eye.

Astrophysical Perspective

• The appearance of the Sun in this photograph mimics how a star might look from an exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf.
• In approximately 6 billion years, the Sun will naturally undergo a transformation as it enters its red giant phase, becoming inherently redder.