212 replies to this topic

[Philip Pugh]

I've just seen new prominence and filament activity on the eastern limb. I'll do the photos later.

[Philip Pugh]

Photos are now loaded up:

http://philippugh.fo...servations.html

[Philip Pugh]

Some of yesterday's shots weren't good but some close-ups showed prominences, filaments and faculae.

Check the usual places for details.

[Philip Pugh]

The Big Bear observatory pictures show 3 sunspots but I could only make out one through my binoculars in cloudy conditions.

[Philip Pugh]

There's a lot of sunspot activity and some faculae are surrounding them. I couldn't see any prominences in my PST but there may be some visible to larger aperture instruments:

http://philippugh.fo...servations.html

[Philip Pugh]

It was much too cloudy today to even think of using the PST but at least I could make out some sunspots through the clouds.

[Philip Pugh]

It has been over a week since my last look through the Sun with my PST.

Here's the latest shots: http://philippugh.fo...servations.html

The solar disc was rather quiet. There has been some sunspot activity but now there's only 2 small ones that are out of reach of my binoculars and Baader filter.

It's cloudy and wet here today again, so not much hope.

[Philip Pugh]

The nSun has been quiet in "white light" for a few days. It was fairly quiet in hydrogen alpha but some small prominences and minor disc activity was visible th my PST:

http://philippugh.fo...servations.html

[Philip Pugh]

I'm in Texas this week and just have white light binocular equipment. Some sunspot activity hasrotated into view and is worth following.

[Philip Pugh]

Couple of large sunspots visible in "white light". Big Bear shows some fainter ones that could be picked up in larger instruments.

Massive filament visible in my PST.

Photos and sunspot drawing to come later.

[Philip Pugh]

A couple of philaments are visible and there's some prominences to the north.

Something in "white light" too, as Big Bear is showing another sunspot rotating from the other side.

I'm behind with recording my observations, so please be patient.

[Philip Pugh]

The large sunspot group appears as a single large spot in my bins and is about to rotate off. Too cloudy to use the PST today.

[Philip Pugh]

Action at last!!!

Although some sunspots are visible on Big Bear, they were too small to detect in my bins, despite it being a clear sky. My first views of the Sun with my PST didn't show more than some small proms but when I switched eyepieces to get  acloser look at them, I was amazed to see the active region showing well. There's no reason why a Skywatcher zoom eyepiece should outscore a CEMAX Plossl but it did. This is clearly an area for further investigation.

Watch this space!

[Philip Pugh]

Nothing in "white light" yesterday but a nice filament and some prominences were visible in my PST yesterday. It's clouded out today but the Big Bear images show a couple of sunspots that could be visible in amateur instruments.

[Philip Pugh]

There's quite a lot happening in "white light" at the moment with 2 large active areas in the NW and a new one in the SE. There's lots of faculae in hydrogen alpha but my photos were a disappointment yesterday.

[Philip Pugh]

My PST is showing some prominences, including one that seems to becoming detached from the disk and one large filament in particular. Although my early bin scan showed nothing, I have a sunspot to report:

http://philippugh.fo...servations.html

[Philip Pugh]

Sorry no news of late. Work has been very busy. The Sun is quiet but the weather in the northern hemisphere is pretty bad all round.

[Philip Pugh]

With no viewing possible for days, I've created an animation to music of my solar drawings for 2010:



Watch this space, as I will soon be creating a solar news page and will be using Twitter to advise of any updates. You don't need to create an account to read my (or other astronomers') updates but you get an e-mail every time there's an update if you do follow someone.

I currently post these updates here and on the Meade site but will just be updating my own page when it is ready.

[Philip Pugh]

I'll no longer be updating this thread and will be posting here instead:

http://philippugh.fo.../SolarNews.html on my own website. It automatically updates with the latest Big Bear hydrogen alpha image and my latest solar drawing. If you have any pictures you'd like to contribute, please PM me. Even better if you have a "latest image" on your website which I can link to directly.

All contributions will be gratefully acknowledged.

The first entry contains a link to information about the forthcoming partial solar eclipse.

[Philip Pugh]

The Sun is gradually getting more active, with more sunspots forming. Keep up to date on my website. Just Google my name.