There is a forest fire burning close to us in Kootenay National Park. The fire is creating a lot of smoke and today it seemed to settle down into the valley bottom. It is not too bad and it could be much worse.
The sun came up red and set red. High in the sky it was a strange yellow that cast even hot light. I snapped the photo above a few minutes ago, hoping I would capture the sunspots. Smoke is an odd filter to use to photograph the sun, but it works.
The sunspot in the upper left is new, perhaps revealed as the sun rotates. It is called sunspot AR3372 and according to Spaceweather.com poses a threat for strong M-class solar flares.
The large sunspot in the lower middle of the frame is sunspot AR3363. These sunspots are much larger than earth.
There are also several other sunspots visible. The picture is not as sharp as I would like due to shooting, not only through smoke, but a few whispy clouds often prevalent near the horizon.
Palliser Pass 
mountaincoward
That is a truly great way to get photos of sunspots! We don’t really get fires here though – too wet. We do in the UK but not in our area up north. If we do, they’re small and usually being controlled.
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Jim R
The sunspots showed up well. Good job. But, too bad it is happening to foul your skies.
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underswansea
Yes. I agree. The skies are smoky and probably will stay that way for some time. Shitty, this new normal.
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Julie@frogpondfarm
Great shot .. wish it wasn’t caused by fires
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underswansea
Thanks! The fires are going strong here. Luckily one close by has been brought under control.
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