White light 13/4/18 1700 CET question

[domstar]

Hi everyone,

Was anyone white light observing this afternoon? I saw a sun spot with three faint ones below it in the top half but right at 12 o'clock (my son saw it too). When I looked on the internet, they all have a spot on the left and possibly a bit lower. Would that be the same spot that has moved? I'm just trying to reconcile what I see on the solar sites and what I should be looking for. Thanks.

[Floater]

Your eyepiece view will be swapped left to right, I think.

[domstar]

4 minutes ago, Floater said:

Your eyepiece view will be swapped left to right, I think.

Thanks, I was wondering. Is it possible for a sunspot to move so quickly across the disc or did it disappear and a new one appear somewhere else? Do you take those websites as just a rough guide or a fairly accurate representation of what you will (probably) see? Is it often worth looking when there's nothing showing on NASA?

[Floater]

Any sunspot will not move quickly across the disc. The Sun takes ~24-28 days to rotate. Spots can decay and disappear. Most websites are pretty accurate - GONG is usually updated by the minute.

It’s always worth looking. If you don’t look you cannot see! ?

[domstar]

@Floater Thanks, I really appreciate your help and time. I'll probably be back for more advice soon .

[Stu]

This may just also be related to the apparent change in orientation of the sun as it progresses across the sky ie it appears to rotate clockwise a certain amount relative to us through the day.

[Stu]

Just found a way of showing this. You can see how the orientation changes from sunrise through transit to sunset with the ecliptic.

[domstar]

Thanks @Stu. I had no idea.