Sunday Morning Sun

[Pig]

I sat with my Brother this morning and watched the Sun rise, it sure is a beautiful sight to see, especially so with all the birds singing and my lovely Japanese Maple starting to colour.

There is one big prominence around the 5 O'clock position and another starting,and growing, around the 8'Oclock position,very spectacular indeed.

Most of the action seems to be happening toward the bottom of the disc.

The sunspots are dotted around the 50 percentile area of the sun. this seems to be a common feature of the sun and it spots. The angle of orientation obviously varies but apart from the odd occasion it has been something I have noticed.

There is also some great surface detail to be seen today, with lots of swirls and granulation peppering the surface sporting their usual random circular patterns.

Moving over to the white light wedge, the sunspots and their eyelashes are very apparent today and are as clear as I have ever seen them before,  enabling me to zoom right in to the 3mm setting, mesmerising display once again.

Excellent, I hope we get a full day of this as it is way to early for my pint of red wine

[Qualia]

Great stuff, Shaun. The Sun woke me up early this morning as well. Shining bright through the bedroom window and it ooks like it's going to be quite a hot day today. I really must start saving for one of these Ha scopes but then keep getting sidetracked. I see you have a lot of gear up for sale, does that mean night time astronomy is going to be taking more of a back seat role?

[Pig]

Thank you for your comments Rob,

Yes about the night time observations.

The weather here can be very frustrating. However, the pronto is also a great night time scope and is especially clear on the Moon. It also has a superb FOV making Great for the Orion Nebula / Pleiades.. etc. It does struggle a tad splitting Albireo  so I will get another scope at some point.

If I cant sell my gear as a job lot I will split it all up, but it is a superb bargain for someone if that's what they want.

I am getting a bit fed up of agreeing a price with people and then they drop out for some random reason ( 4 so far  Not from the add in SGL I must say,  all the folk in here are pretty straight forward and honest)

[allcart]

I see you are becoming a solar addict Shaun. Selling the night time rig for another solar scope.

Sun gazing is a world apart from night time activities. There is something very pleasurable about sitting in the sunshine in a T shirt watching a star in action. It beats standing in the dark feeling cold and damp.

If you do get a good price for your gear, consider a DS filter for the Lunt and maybe a B1200 blocking filter to enhance your pleasure.

[Pig]

LoL Allen,

I find they are both pleasurable and have their own attributes, I also love viewing the Moon as stated above

I think it is because they are local to us and we get an enhanced detailed view, the cold is also a contributing factor too. However, it is a fairly easy obstacle to overcome by wrapping up accordingly.

I would like to put the money toward an 80 or 90mm DS solar scope 

[JessicaFaye]

That sounds like a lovely way to spend the morning I must try to find someone local that's got a solar scope I'd be fascinated to have a look!

[DRT]

I took this a few minutes ago through a Solar Continuum filter...

Now I'm wondering if I should just keep watching those lovely sun spots or get on with cutting the grass

[Pig]

That sounds like a lovely way to spend the morning I must try to find someone local that's got a solar scope I'd be fascinated to have a look!

They are pretty cool Jessica, I think the attraction is residual in me   as you know I have a fetish for fires

[Pig]

There's a lot of grass in your picture by the looks of it

I kind of like the look of the Solar Continuum filter and will consider getting one. Apparently they combine well with the Herschel wedge and the polarising filter.

[JessicaFaye]

They are pretty cool Jessica, I think the attraction is residual in me   as you know I have a fetish for fires

Ahhh yes I remember this is true... Well at least this fire is a very very long way away and won't get you into too much trouble I hope

[Pig]

Ahhh yes I remember this is true... Well at least this fire is a very very long way away and won't get you into too much trouble I hope

I fear more than a bucket would be needed  

[JessicaFaye]

I fear more than a bucket would be needed  

Y'know I think you could be right.... I'm not going to dare you to give it a try although it's an entertaining thought

[pragmatist]

Just got in from boring town and all set up and.......cloud but not for long. Gonna pour a pint of vodka and coke and to hell with it all while I wait.

[Pig]

Just got in from boring town and all set up and.......cloud but not for long. Gonna pour a pint of vodka and coke and to hell with it all while I wait.

I don't blame you, more vodka than coke ?

The sun has got a bit wobbly at the moment, I am not sure what causes that. surely it isn't heat because its always hot. Probably dirt in the atmosphere.

Some lovely proms though and nice surface detail

[pragmatist]

Yes and yes on both counts, infinitely more Wodka than coke. I keep getting clouded out here. How do I view in white light? Is it an accessories for the Lunt?

[Pig]

Yes and yes on both counts, infinitely more Wodka than coke. I keep getting clouded out here. How do I view in white light? Is it an accessories for the Lunt?

I have a Herschel wedge that goes into my Pronto ( completely different set up ) you can also use Baader solar film, I feel the wedge gives better results than the film.

You also need a polarising filter to darken the image.

[pragmatist]

Cheers, would like to view in white light to make a change even though I love H Alpha. See what you mean about wobbly sun. Nice loop prom now at 6pm or NE

[pragmatist]

Cheers, would like to view in white light to make a change even though I love H Alpha. See what you mean about wobbly sun. Nice loop prom now at 5pm or E

[Pig]

Cheers, would like to view in white light to make a change even though I love H Alpha. See what you mean about wobbly sun. Nice loop prom now at 6pm or NE

I have mine set up next to each other, it quite nice hopping betwixt the two

 I should have the pint of wine in the picture,  after all it does help the viewing

[pragmatist]

I like that setup, nice and simple, funnily enough I don't bother with the drive now and just track manually. Just had my 2nd Wodka and coke and the more I have the more prominences appear. It's solar maximum all over again.

[Pig]

Cheers Man

Sounds like vodka maximus too   I am on bottle number two

[emadmoussa]

Astronomy and feeling warm...that must feel weird!!

[pragmatist]

Astronomy and feeling warm...that must feel weird!!

Feeling warm and fuzzy.

[Pig]

Being warm is cool !!!

[allcart]

 . How do I view in white light? Is it an accessories for the Lunt?

 If you tune your etalon way past the centre band into the red or blue wing, you can view in virtual white light. Just tune the etalon until the surface detail dissapears and just leaves the spots. The biggest difference is that your view will be red, but the spots stand out just the same.