Hi All, To second Steve, these sun spots are worth viewing even in the heat. 104F for me around 12:30P in Chandler. The dark markings between the poles of the big group are very interesting. I would describe the markings as a "twisting dark river of magnetism". The big group is easy naked (filtered) eye. I have added two more pics from today (7/20) to the bottom of this page... http://members.cox.net/mwainright/spots20040718.html V< 8-) Mark Steve Coe <stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Howdy all; Well, it is a hot day in Phoenix to be observing the Sun, but there are some excellent sunspots to see. One in particular is just on the face of the sun and it is HUGE. There is a large dark umbra and a much bigger penumbra on all sides. As usual, there are two obvious north and south poles, but they are attached together with several dark markings that run through the umbra. Fascinating! All this is at 175X in my 7 inch Maksutov with a Baader filter. If you have a solar filter now would be a fun time to break it out. There are several other spot groups to see, but the view is dominated by the large group. Take Care; Steve Coe Author "Deep Sky Observing--The Astronomical Tourist" Saguaro Astronomy Club website www.saguaroastro.org -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.