This is when the bottom falls out of the Solar Imaging Market

[Hughsie]

The Sun may be bright but an imagers future isn't.

From my archive we have 25th June 2020 when the Sun was quiet and imaging gear was cheap. I wonder how many of us will still be into this hobby then.

 

 

[inFINNity Deck]

Hi Hughsie,

this capture was six days before yours (19 June 2020 15:38UTC):

My imaging and processing skills were still pretty poor, but having those prominences visible was a jaw-dropping experience at the time (and there was one whole sunspot at the upper-left!).

What a difference a few years make (27 June 2024 08:23UTC)

Such a shame that she will go back to this quiet featureless orange we saw some four years ago....

Nicolàs

Edited July 9 by inFINNity Deck
typo

[Planetary Observer]

Yes, @Hughsie, I definitely will still be doing solar. I knew when I bought my solar scope that the Sun goes through its cycle, and that will be periods (a few years give or take) when it is quiet and pretty inactive. The solar scope may not come out as much then, but it will still be used. As @inFINNity Deck image shows, there can still be moments of activity, so always worth keeping a eye on, and keep observing it. 

[tomato]

I love how the sun losing 4.3 million tonnes of mass per second to nuclear fusion can be described as quiet…😊

[Highburymark]

Even during solar minimum, there’s usually a prom or two to justify the effort. It’s when mica-based filters and larger apertures are more useful, to get close up to what are often small features.

[Paul M]

I think solar maxima are more frequent than clear nights, and you don't hear night sky imagers complaining about their lot, ever!!🤣