November 13, 2013: Solar lunch with many proms and other goodies

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I set up the the LS35 during lunch and had loads of people drop by for a look. The sun was showing lots of activity. A big arcing prom stood out at 11 o'clock (refractor with diagonal view, so just west of due north) with a smaller nearly straight one next to it. A huge ridge-like prom stood out near the 2-3 o'clock region, showing lots of intricate detail, but most prominent was a very bright detached prom between 4 and 5 o'clock (south-east). On the surface, several filaments showed, in particular nearer the eastern limb, along with a massive sunspot close to the detached prom. All this was observed at  33x and 40x with the Nagler 12mm T4 and Pentax XW10 respectively. At lower magnification, a second detached prom, roughly between the 7 and 8 o'clock position was visible. It was a lot fainter than the other one, and was further away from the sun.

Real fireworks, and people (including myself) kept coming back for another look. Several people took pictures of others looking at the sun, and some might end up here on SGL later.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Here is a picture of the set-up. I am the guy with the big hat, and two secretaries are waiting for me to tune the system so they can have another look

[Sarah]

I managed a peek this morning. Lots to see, despite the hazy cloud.

Sarah