No doubt, Tucson is a stargazers mecca.

But, as visitors to the Pima Community College Observatory learned Saturday, nighttime isnt the only right time to set up the telescope.

Astronomy magazine hosted its second annual all-day Public Star Party, which started at 10 a.m. with telescopes trained on the sun. Filters on the telescopes allowed visitors to get a look at the massive star without damaging their eyes.

Solar prominences, or bright spots on the surface of the sun, and flares, which look like waves bursting into the space around the sun, were visible through a telescope set up by amateur astronomer Seth Gonzalez.

As Gonzalez made adjustments to his telescope for each new visitor, he rattled off impressive facts. Solar flares can shoot 150,000 to 300,000 miles away from the surface of the sun, he said. And about 1.3 million objects the size of the Earth can fit in the sun.

The sun is always changing, he said. It never stays the same from one minute to the other.

Gonzalez was a boy when he became fascinated with astronomy.

What really got me started in astronomy was a meteor shower when I was 6 years old. I walked outside and saw all these stars falling, he said.

Now, he says, he likes to share his hobby.

I like to show people the wow factor of astronomy. Its really beautiful, Gonzalez said.

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Astronomy buffs train telescopes on daytime sky