August 24th - H Alpha

[paulastro]

Had a session from before 7.00am, but seeing was very poor, it hadn't improved even by 11.00 am.  Thin cloud and haze didn't help either.  Still, good enough to show the main features.  There were at least five prominences or groups of prominences, most of them in the W.  They all seemed rather faint, and it took an exposure of 1/2 sec to show them at all well - though the conditions may have contributed to their apparent dimness.      Single frame taken with Lunt 60 DS, Olympus E - M10, taken at 7.56 am, 1/80 on 500 asa.

As an afterthought I've added the frame with the prominences, a small version just to show where they are - and to avoid dazzling you too much!!

 

 

 

[xtreemchaos]

nice one Paul, well done.  charl.

[David Smith]

Very quiet in H Alpha at the moment. Nice images

[Pete Presland]

Nicely captured. 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice work. Good to see there are still some proms, however faint

[paulastro]

Many thanks for your kind comments, appreciated as always.  It was nice that a good number of us had a view, despite the generally poor seeing.   

[The Head Gardener]

Paul, I notice you often mention your sessions are early in the day. 

I'm a complete solar novice (only took delivery of scope this morning!), is it generally fair to say that in this part of the country seeing is generally better earlier than later?

Thanks, Jayne

[paulastro]

3 hours ago, The Head Gardener said:

Paul, I notice you often mention your sessions are early in the day. 

I'm a complete solar novice (only took delivery of scope this morning!), is it generally fair to say that in this part of the country seeing is generally better earlier than later?

Thanks, Jayne

Many thanks Jayne.  I think early mornings can be productive anywhere - not particularly in any location (in sense of being in the N, S, E or W).   If mornings are better in some locations than others then I'm not aware of it.  I have observed in many locations over the years, and they do seem to have some advantages wherever I've been. 

Whatever your weather forecast, the times around dawn can sometimes present unexpected clear periods.  The weather during the night is often different to that of the following day - which is what the weather forecasts tell you about.  I've often had an unexpected clear period early on, when the rest of the day is heavy rain.  Most weather forecasts don't seem to assume that people might get up very early! 

I'm an early riser anyway, and many times I have an opportunity early on when the rest of the day is pretty poor.  I'm, sure there may be explanations for this that I don't know about, but it really does work for me more than it should by just good fortune.

Regarding the seeing conditions ( as opposed to if the sky is just clear or not), seeing early in the morning can be more steady than later in the day, and often is.  Most of my best 'seeing' periods for the sun have been early in the morning.  Part of the reason for this is that as the sun rises higher in the sky it heats buildings up which send waves of hot air in front of your scope to mess the view up.  Also, even if there are no buildings around you, hot air disturbs the seeing anyway, and the higher the sun is in the sky the worse it generally is - though you do get unexpected good seeing at any time of day.  Following on from this, late evenings can also give periods of good seeing.  Unfortunately I have more buildings in the W so this does often negate the advantage of periods later in the afternoon for my location.

Also depending on your local topography, some locations have there own peculiarities as to when it's best to observe.  Hills, valleys, altitude, areas of water etc all have their influence.  If I were you, at least initially, I'd try out your scope at different times of day in your most used location and see what happens.  Early mornings or late evenings may be the most productive for you too - but it won't always be the case.

[paulastro]

Jayne.  I forgot another major factor.  Of course, as soon as the sun is up it tends to generate clouds as it gets higher and hotter!!  

[The Head Gardener]

Paul, your detailed reply is so very helpful, many thanks indeed.

We live between the coast and the hills and have quite a peculiar little 'micro climate'.  I can be gardening in lovely conditions but look at the fells, 6 miles or so away, where it could be wet and/or cloudy.  Our weather comes in directly from the sea, about 10 miles as the crow flies, and generally if we have a mucky morning it clears up in the afternoon.  Weather watching is a big part of living where we do, partly because of the lovely views and partly because it has such a big effect on what we do (add 'solar observing' to gardening, dog walking, and all the other climate-dependent activities!).

Hey ho, the adventure is just beginning      

[paulastro]

Thanks Jayne.  It sounds wonderful where you are situated.  Ah, to have such wonderful views.  With all that countryside surrounding you, your seeing could be fairly good, and it doesn't sound as if you have many buildings nearby.  I'm sure you'll have great enjoyment using it.  If you have a fairly portable system you can just keep it on a small mount (I use a Porta for mine) set up and ready to go, you can be out at a moments notice.