Easter sunshine

[Stu]

Surprisingly beautiful sunshine here on Easter Sunday, so I’ve popped the scopes out for a while to enjoy it. The seeing is not brilliant, and there is not so much to see but still enjoyable.

There is a small group of spots which seems unclassified currently, and a few nice but smallish proms around. Normally I binoview with my PST mod, but I’m tried a bit of cyclops just now, and discovered two things. One is that my Leica Zoom JUST about gives me full disk views which is great, and also at lower powers the surface detail is far better, much more contrast. Binoviewing is amazing for high power prom views, but this gives me better views of granulation and filaments (just wish there were some nice ones around today)

[Luke]

Thanks for the observing report. Result with the zoom! I'm skipping the solar today as it looks relatively quiet, and I'm feeling a bit tired and cold from a good observing session last night.

That's interesting to see how you've done what I think is your solar finder - two bits spread quite far apart on the tube rings?

I was having a look at my trusty old laptop shade I made with cardboard and sticky tape last night while getting the dob out. I was thinking, it's probably six years old and is just parcel tape and Amazon packaging, how is it still in good nick?

Enjoy the rest of the Easter sunshine!

Edited April 4, 2021 by Luke

[Neil H]

Hi Sun was a little still 2 day  strange on space weather live they said no Sun spots well I could see 3 on right hand side lower , would love to get my hands on a HA scope 

Nice set up you have 

[Roy Challen]

I put my Daystar out for half an hour this morning, seeing not great and a quiet sun, I did spot one tiny spot, 2/3rds out from centre roughly 10 o'clock (refractor view).

[Stu]

3 hours ago, Luke said:

That's interesting to see how you've done what I think is your solar finder - two bits spread quite far apart on the tube rings?

Yes, that’s a Peter Drew special 👍 Two brackets with holes, the rear one with some translucent film on it. Works really well.

[Stu]

I’ve had a few shortish sessions today, both Ha and White Light. The seeing has been pretty ordinary, but in White light I saw the larger spot with three tiny pores nearby, as per the first image from solar monitor. Then later on I spotted two areas of faculae on the opposite limb, each with a tiny pore embedded in it, as in the second image.

Ha showed some nice, if smallish proms, and one nice spicule ‘spike’. I switched up to binoviewing and was actually surprised how much surface detail there was visible still, fairly decent contrast which should get better with better conditions. I’ll still try whole disk views along side this though as it worked well, nice, bright and punchy.

[reezeh]

I do believe that the sunspot / group is 2813

It's roughly where 2812 was a few days ago.

I'd be having a white light look but it's rather cold and windy here and my options are either setting up the CI700 with the 152mm refractor which will take ages or trying the Nexstar 102gt and getting frustrated by the wind. 

Tempted but I'll pass for now as 2812 wasn't easily visible for me last weekend and there's not even any faculae to look for 😢