Posts tagged 'Sunspots'

Minor Observing Report 4th June 2012 (Kit-test and sunspots)

Posted by on June 4th 2012 in Astrostuff, Observing Reports, Pics
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I'm planning a local mini-expedition to observe the 2012 Transit of Venus on Wednesday morning. As part of the kit-prep I rattled off a few frames this afternoon using the stripped-down gear that I'll be taking, here's a sample of the test-results showing a fair spread of sunspots and active regions (mouseover the pic for the labelled version):

 

Sunspots and Active Regions 04/06/2012.
Nikon D50 with 2x Powermate on the C80ED-R.
Baader Planetarium AstroSolar™ Safety Film (neutral density 5.0).
Hand-held shot, 1/100s exposure @ ISO200.

Of course the weather forecast for Wednesday morning is crap so all this prep could be a waste of time, but as as the next transit will be in 2117 this'll be my last chance to see such an event for real.

Observing Report 2nd August 2011 (Sunspots and Active Regions)

Posted by on August 3rd 2011 in Astrostuff, Observing Reports, Pics

There's been a lot of sunspot activity over the past few days, far too much for me to pass up an opportunity to nab some image data.

Mouseover the pic for the labelled version:

 

Sunspots and Active Regions 02/08/2011.
1000D at prime on the C80ED-R.
Baader Planetarium AstroSolar™ Safety Film (neutral density 5.0).

Observing Report 11th August 2010 (Sunspots in Active Regions 1093, 1095, 1096, 1097 and 1098)

Posted by on August 12th 2010 in Astrostuff, Observing Reports, Pics

Even more sunspots on display yesterday!

Mouseover the full-disc pic for the labelled version, click it for a bigger pic:

 

Sunspots in Active Regions 1093, 1095, 1096, 1097 and 1098 (11/08/2010).
D50 on the C80ED-R.

Just for comparison, here's the equivalent pic taken by the SOHO satellite:

Observing Report 8th August 2010 (Sunspots in Active Regions 1092, 1093 and 1095)

Posted by on August 9th 2010 in Astrostuff, Observing Reports, Pics

Managed a few hours in the sunshine yesterday morning, there were plenty of sunspots on display.

Mouseover the full-disc pic for the labelled version, the (poor-quality) close-ups are a bit further down:

 

Sunspots in Active Regions 1092, 1093 and 1095 (08/08/2010).
D50 on the C80ED-R.

Sunspot in AR1092 (08/08/2010).
50/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.

Sunspots in AR1093 (08/08/2010).
50/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.

Sunspots in AR1095 (08/08/2010).
50/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.

Observing Report 24th July 2010 (Sunspots in Active Region 1089 – Session 2)

Posted by on July 24th 2010 in Astrostuff, Observing Reports, Pics
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Just to prove that my first sunspots pic wasn't a fluke, here's another from this morning:

Sunspots in AR1089 (24/07/2010).
50/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.

 

As you can see, this active region has changed quite a bit since the previous pic, and will probably change even more over the next few days. Hopefully the weather will permit more observing sessions.

Observing Report 21st July 2010 (Sunspots in Active Region 1089 – Session 1)

Using some black plastic sheet, some Meccano fasteners, some Superglue, some sticky-tape, a Cornflakes box, a cardboard tube and a pair of Val's old knickers, I constructed a safe solar filter using the some of the Baader AstroSolar Safety Film that I got for my birthday. It fits securely over the front of the C80 refractor:

 

 

OK, so I lied about the box, the cardboard tube and the knickers, it turned out that I didn't really need them :mrgreen:

Anyway, it needed testing properly so I nipped up to the obsy and grabbed some .avi footage of Active Region 1089, where there is an impressive array of sunspots. After processing in K3CCDTools3, Registax and PSCS3, I've ended up with the following two images which are essentially the same except for the application of a little equalization in the second image:

Sunspots in AR1089 (21/07/2010).
100/1000 stacked frames.
DMK mono CCD camera on the C80ED-R.

 As previous but equalized in PSCS3


I'll try to get more footage of this thing over the next few days to see how it changes. I'll probably use a bit of the leftover solar film to make filters for the D50's lenses, and then get some full-disc shots.

BE WARNED: Never view the Sun without a suitable Solar Filter! Solar observing is dangerous and can be hazardous to eyesight and equipment. Don't moan at me when you've burned holes in your retinas, set fire to your person/possessions and/or fried the chip in your camera. Proper solar-observing kit comes with serious safety advice - ignore it at your own peril!