January 7, 2015: The early bird catches the filaments (and more)

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just had a quick look with the LS35 at 10:00 local time. The sun was low over the chemistry and physics building, so seeing was quite horrible. I did get to see some nice filaments: one very large, slightly diffuse one on the north-western part of the disk, one huge arce of filaments to the north-east. Further filaments could be seen along a line of ARs with some sunspots and plage just south of the equator. A big prom stood out from the south-western limb, and retuning suddenly revealed a bigger, but slightly less bright one on the south-eastern limb. Something big lurks beyond the limb there. A much smaller prom could be seen even further south. I hope to get another look when the sun is a bit higher

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just had another look around lunchtime. Seeing was much better. The filaments on the southern hemisphere are actually quite prominent, and showed excellent contrast. The one on the north-western disk is veru long indeed, even though at first it seemed a lot shorter. It looks like a very shallow V, with the western branch darker than the (very pale) eastern branch. The filaments on the north-east are great, a huge curve, like a giant C. The prom on the western limb has clearly shrunk, whereas the one on the east is still going strong and may even have grown somewhat

[Pig]

A very grey day here today Michael so no chance for me I am afraid  Keep the reports coming as they soften the blow