Sol in H⍺ - 17 March 2022

[Hughsie]

Presented below is a selection of images captured during the morning of 17th March 2022. Currently I am working off my AVX mount which is roughly polar aligned with an inclinometer and compass. 

Last year I was keeping the gain setting on my ASI174mm very low. Typically, I would be aiming at a gain setting 100 - 150 only on higher magnification. Today I set the camera to unity gain, 189, for all images and adjusted the exposure times to achieve a 70-75% full histogram. The full disc and 2.5x magnification images were being captured at c130 fps which meant that with my poor polar alignment I could capture 1,000 frames before the area of interest drifted too far.

Image 1 - Full solar disc. Visible was AR12965, AR12967 and AR12970. The latter was no longer visible later in the day. 250 from 1,000 frames stacked and calibrated with flats. Exposure time 1.25ms, gain 189.

 

 

Image 2 - AR12965. Captured using a Tele View 2.5x Powermate. Usual 250 out of 1,000 frames stacked. Exposure time 6.5ms, gain 189. Image has been inverted. Classified FAO, located N24W44 and made up of 8 sunspots, this region was the source of an M class flare on 14 March 2022.

 

 

Image 3 - AR12965 close up using a 4x Tele Vue Powermate. Exposure time 17ms, gain 189.

 

 

Image 4 & 5 - AR12970. Not as imposing as AR12965 but activity nonetheless. Captured with a Tele Vue Powermate 2.5x (Image 4) and 4x (Image 5). Exposure time 6.5ms, gain 189. This region first appeared on the solar disc during 15th March and if you want a quiet spot to sit down and relax on then AR12970 is just for you. 

 

 

 

Thank you for dropping by.

 

John

Edited March 18, 2022 by Hughsie
Usual typos and spelling mistakes

[Pete Presland]

A superb set of images, very nicely captured.