paulastro

Many thanks John. Just a shame that the Moon's altitude is getting so low at this time of the lunation. Had a look at the 'cup handle' tonight but only in 10x50s.

I was out from about 9.30 to 10.20pm, before some cloud came in and the seeing became much worse - it wasn't great before this. Still, had some good moments with the Tecnosky 102ED F7, and there was plenty of detail. Below is a single frame (and two crops from the same frame) taken at prime focus with my Olympus E-M5 Mk11. Low res, but it shows the lunation.

Sounds like a great session Doug. I was also out with my Tecnosky 102ED F7 and had some good views too.

Yes I might have missed it, as it would be easier to capture it in an image. Also your pic was taken four minutes after I finished observing, so it may have appeared after I packed up 😁.

Hughsie, I was out from 7.15 to 7.35am in total. Were you observing before me? I always observe in the early morning or late afternoon myself, if its clear at these times, because of the generally better seeing. The small AR you mentioned nr the SE limb is probably the one on my sketch. It looks due S on my sketch because the orientation of my sketches is not adjusted to the changing altitude of the sun as it changes from sunrise to sunset.

No proms in the PST when I had a quick look this morning! ☹ Typical, just when we have a run of sunny weather 😄.

Thanks Nicolas, that's just what I wanted to hear. I ordered mine the day after you so it should be here soon 🙂.

As title. Worth a look I you have an opportunity. Quick sketch below with PST. When I came indoors, no recent GONG image to verify detail - or show what I may have missed! Most S'y AR is AR2841.

Ordered, thank you. 😊

Thanks, didn't notice the link 🙄.

Well, there was a hot spot at 7.30 to 8.10 this morning when I was observing with the PST. Marked it on attached sketch. Like lava erupting, may have gone by now. Some nice proms, the proms on the W limb were much brighter than those on the E limb, the latter make get more prominent if they make it further onto the disc. Three ARs including AR2839.

Many thanks, it looks fabulous. How much is it, and where's the best place to order it from? Thanks again.

Yes Nik, some days they can change quite quickly, and sometimes there is little change. For me this is some of their interest, you never know what will happen next. Way back pre-internet you had no way of knowing if you'd see anything at all, particularly if you hadn't looked for a while. I can recall quite a few times lprojecting the sun with a 60mm refractor and being very surprised to see a really big group I had no idea was there. Fabulous!

I was fortunate to have some degree of solar time on all of these dates, and managed to get pics, varying in quality depending on scope used and seeing, for each day. All the pics are crops taken from a single frame showing AR2835, and sometimes AR2836 before it died away. The camera was an Olympus E-M5 Mk11. They are in date order, starting with June 26th at the top. The first seven pics, up to July 2nd, were taken with the Tecnosky 102ED F7, and the last four with the Skywatcher 72ED. This was because generally the weather was poorer at the end of the run, and the 72ED is easier to pick up ready to go on the AZ5 and get out before any clear sky closes up. Th pics are of course fairly low res, but I took them to obtain a record of the changes in AR2835.

Thanks Nik. The green is not from the Baader Solar Film I use on the front of course, its from the two inch Baader Solar Continuum Filter I use screwed into the two inch T2 photo adapter I use between the scope and camera. I sometimes change the colour a bit when I do any processing, but sometimes I just leave it green.

I had a 25 minute window of a cloud affected sun from 7.10 to 7.35 this morning. AR2839 is rapidly growing according to spaceweather.com. In the 72ED I could see five umbral areas and two associated penumbral regions. In AR2837 I could only see two pores, or possibly very small umbra. It shows on my full disc shot, but you'll have to look very carefully to find it. I've attached a spaceeweather illustration below my pics to help locate it. The single frame was taken with the SW 72ED and Olympus E-M5 Mk11 at 7.33 am, 1/250 sec at 250 asa. Also a crop of the same frame to show AR2835 as edges closer to the limb.

Up early this morning, and when I looked out, contrary to the weather forecast, there was a blue patch near the sun. Grabbed the SW 72ED, which I had left set up yesterday with solar filter and camera on the AZ5. I managed to grab a few frames with the Olympus E-M5 Mk11. Not great, but wanted to continue my pic sequence of AR2835 - now nine days on the bounce. Single frame below taken at 6.48 am, 1/160 sec at 250 asa.

Fabulous pics Nigella, and great timing 🙂.

Today was 100% cloud with heavy rain up to past lunch time. Just in case of a miracle, I set up my SW 72ED with solar filter and Olympus camera by the back door on the AZ5, ready to go out. If I was lucky I could get out quicker than with the 102ED. Just before 5 pm could see a brighter looking patch in the SE. Grabbed the scope , dashed outside and was lucky to have an hour of small breaks until about 6 pm. Could see plenty of detail between the clouds. When I came in I realised I hadn't seen AR2836. Presumably its gone as it doesn't appear on any of the pics I took either. The smaller AR2837 is still there to the N of A R2835. The single frame below was taken with the SW 72ED and the Olympus at 5.35 pm, 1/60 sec at 250 asa. Also a crop taken from it.

Managed soee observations, despite lots of clouds interfering this morning. Still, won't complain as its my seventh day in a row. Some nice detail visually in fleeting moments. Single frame below take at 11.25 am, Tecnosky 102ED F7 and Olympus E-M5 Mk11, 1/50 sec at 250 asa. The crop of AR2835 and AR2836 is from the same frame.

Many thanks Mark. On most of the six days it's been a matter of looking out for rather scarce clear patches, today was actually sunny and warm virtually all day - the exception that proves the rule. I've had a passion for complex sunspots and how they develop for many years, and I've gone out of my way to be available for any clear gaps . I'll be trying to continue the sequence for as long as I can. I agree with you re the suitability of the four inch for this purpose. Big enough to show good detail, but small enough to defy all but the worse seeing, also quite compact. Its rare the seeing is bad enough not to see the granulation, and with my recently acquired Baader Solar Continuum Filter it's even better. Of course visually, it's much better than my rather low-res single frames.

Sunny this morning again, the sixth session on consecutive days. I'm hoping to extend this as far as I can. Using the Tecnosky 102ED F7, Olympus EM-5 Mk11, Baader Film front filter and Baader Solar Continuum Filter. Some reasonable seeing from 11.00 to 11.45 am, where upon it became continuously turbulent for the next hour after which I packed up. The single frame below was taken at 11.09 am at prime focus, 1/320 sec at 250 asa. You'll have to look very carefully indeed to see AR2837, its tiny in comparison to the othe two ARs. The crop of the same frame shows AR2835 (which has doubled in size in the last 24 hours according to spaceweather.com) and AR2836, which is continuing to get smaller.

Thanks Stew. Yes, I'm delighted with it. It's a biggish spend for me, I'd been ruminating over it for ages. I'm glad I eventualy took the plunge, it's well worth the investment 🙂.

Out for an hour this morning between 11.20 and 12.20. Seeing variable between and through cloud again, but some good moments. I saw some lovely fine detail with the Tecnosky 102ED F7. . I've had a Baader Continuum for about a week, and it greatly enhances the views than without it, and also seems to negate the bad seeing to some degree. A single frame below with the Olympus E-M5 Mk11 taken at 11.38 am, 1/250 sec at 250 asa. The rather small AR2837 can be seen toward the E limb, further N then AR 2835 and AR2836. The latter pair are in the crop from the same frame.

Out for an hour this morning between 11.20 and 12.20. Seeing variable between and through cloud again, but some good moments. I saw some lovely fine detail with the Tecnosky 102ED F7. . I've had a Baader Continuum for about a week, and it greatly enhances the views than without it, and also seems to negate the bad seeing to some degree. A single frame below with the Olympus E-M5 Mk11 taken at 11.38 am, 1/250 sec at 250 asa. The rather small AR2837 can be seen toward the E limb, further N then AR 2835 and AR2836. The latter pair are in the crop from the same frame.