Sunse? Space Goatse*?

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There is a reason why the comments at io9 are so rude.

Space Goatse^†

The Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) has published what is the most detailed photo of a The clearest photo of a sunspot we've seen thus far.

But this is not what I, or many of the folks who commented about the picture.

It was about 50-50 between people who thought that it looked like the eye of Sauron, and people who thought that it resembled a certain unspeakable Internet meme.

Me, I never saw the Lord of the Rings movies, so you can guess where my mind went.

In any case, if you want to review the comments on the thread, and you understand the context,^* then you may find significant amusement regarding what is otherwise a straightforward science story.

H/t hedgehog on by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS for finding this little "gem".

^*If you don't know what Goatse is, for the sake of all that is holy, do not Google it!
^†Thank SupaChupacabra at io9 for this bit of wit.