Solar Activity 28 Feb

[brianb]

Another month finished, and another day with solar observation possible! Conditions were tolerable rather than good, high cloud spoiled the view of what may have been a spectacular prominence given good transparency.

Solar disc activity continues to run down, AR1050 is now almost defunct and AR1051 appears to be in decline, with only a single smallish spot seen visually in white light. The calcium disk image shows little other activity.

2010 Feb 28, 1128 UT. Coronado PST CaK, prime focus (f/10), DMK41.

Three-colour view of AR1051:

2010 Feb 28, 1308 UT. Solarscope 60, x2 barlow (f/16), DMK21.

2010 Feb 28, 1147 UT. 80mm, x2 & x3 barlows (f/36), Baader ND5.0 solar film & solar continuum filter, DMK21.

2010 Feb 28, 1334 UT. 60mm, Lunt B1200 CaK diagonal, x3 barlow (f/25), DMK21.

Multiple prominences are shown on the Ha disc composite:

2010 Feb 28, 1256 UT. Solarscope 60, Atik x0.5 focal reducer (f/5), DMK41.

Note particularly the enormous but very diffuse prominence around the north pole. I tried to image this in close up but got problems ... nasty join & Newtons' Rings :crazy:

2010 Feb 28, 1324 UT. Solarscope 60, x2 barlow (f/16), DMK21.

Efforts at imaging the other major prominence groupls on show were rather more successful!

2010 Feb 28, 1318 UT. Solarscope 60, x2 barlow (f/16), DMK21.

2010 Feb 28, 1311 UT. Solarscope 60, x2 barlow (f/16), DMK21.

2010 Feb 28, 1317 UT. Solarscope 60, x2 barlow (f/16), DMK21.

Transparency variable, fair to poor, with continuous thin milky cirrus cloud & intermitent drifting low cloud. Seeing variable, mostly poor but with some reasonably good intervals. Temp 7C, wind SE force 3.