Staring At The Sun (safely).

[LukeSkywatcher]

I was observing earlier this morning and i noticed a small cluster of 5 sunspots which formed a W shape which looked very similar to Cassiopeia. IIRC they were located at top left of the disc.Interesting sight. Also a nice biggish spot towards centre of disc. Lots of other little groups of spots peppering the surface. 

I had another session not so long ago and instead of using my 8-24mm zoom (as i had earlier), i switched over to my 8mm Vixen NPL and a 2x barlow. Obviously the 2x magnification was a great deal better. I'd never used the 2x while observing the Sun before (i didnt think my scope would handle it). The penumbra around the larger spots were very well defined. I failed to see any granulation on the surface during both observing sessions. I am guessing that the bit of breeze we had here today (even though it was really warm/hot) played a part in my view and kept me from seeing granulation, but i dont really know. 

All in all, 2 nice sessions in one day and i learned a few things in the process. I will now in future be using a zero magnification RDF to line the scope up with the Sun. I hadnt used one before and without it, it took a few mins to find the big yellow ball (or big green ball in my case as i also use a solar continuum filter). I'll also stick to the 8mm NPL and 2x barlow (100x magnification), instead of the 8-24mm zoom. It will be a bit of weight off of the back of the scope also,so thats a good thing.

Paul.

Sorry i forgot to mention that i was using a Hershel wedge. Safety first people.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I should point out that while using the RDF i will also be wearing eclipse glasses. 

[David Smith]

I had a couple of sessions yesterday too Paul. Some fantastic views. For full disk and sketching I usually use around 70-90x, very rarely do I get into triple figures but that maybe because of the larger aperture (120mm) which tends to suffer if the seeing is not the best. I've never had need of any kind of alignment device on my solar kit as I have always just used the shadow on the ground trick. I suspect your lack of granulation was due to atmospheric conditions as you say. Seeing here yesterday was considerably less than perfect.

Glad to hear you are enjoying your solar observing. The Sun is one of the more dynamic objects in the sky which is why I find it so fascinating.