Solar Images

Astronomy doesn't only have to take place at night! After all, the nearest star to us is our own Sun. But a safe Solar Filter is an absolute must. See the description of the Baader Solar Film filter. 2000 is a good year for Sunspots! The faint circles on the sunspot closeups in the right hand group are simply shadows of dust particles, probably on the CCD chip.

--

On 26th. June a quick look with the 80WA showed numerous sunspots, including an attractive triangle of large spots, so out with the C8. Unfortunately it clouded over before I got the final group, but I imaged it the following morning (further onto the disc). Incidentally, any of the three large spots would swallow the Earth with plenty of room to spare!

 

After an interminable period of cloud and rain, the weather relented on 16th. July, and I obtained these images. A very messy Sun!

 

The third and fourth weeks of September 2000 saw the largest Sun Spot group for many years (Active Region 9169). The weather was variable, with some cloudy days, but I was able to image it on three seperate occasions. The first on September 21st. 2000 and last on the 27th. were taken hurriedly in the morning, and the telescope was not fully temperature stabilised on both occasions. But the middle set was taken at the Loughton Astronomical Society Star Party at Thetford, Norfolk, on September 23rd. and the 'scope was nicely settled down. Although there was a breeze, the atmosphere was quite stable, and crisp images were possible. The group was at its best then, and was breaking up by the 27th.

September 21st., Boldon, Tyne & Wear, 1030 UST	------
September 23rd., Thetford, Norfolk, 1245 UST	------ ------
September 27th., Boldon, Tyne & Wear, 0845 UST	------

Here is an impressive group captured on 30th. March 2001, using my Olympus 2100UZ Digital Camera afocal with 40 mm eyepiece on my Meade LX90. Spots at maximum optical zoom (x10). Thin cloud arrived while I was photographing the full disc.

During my trip to Africa for the Solar Eclipse in June 2001 A fellow camper (not of our party) allowed me to use his Coronado Solarscope, and I was able to take a photograph through it, showing prominences and surface markings.

During mid August 2002 although solar maximum was supposedly past, a huge spot, the largest on record for many years, traversed the Sun. 3 days in the life, and the immensity of the spot can be gauged from the scale overlay of Jupiter in the middle image. Unfortunately seeing conditions were poor on all three days with a mixture of broken thin cloud and upper atmosphere turbulence. Solar discs with the Olympus 2100 afocal with 40 mm eyepiece, close ups Vesta Pro at prime focus of LX90

On the 11th. September 2002 - the anniversary of the tragic events in New York - a large group again rotated into view. Almost certainly a development of the above. With my newly acquired Infrared blocking filter, I consider the detail to be much improved. Or it might just have been better seeing! This activity may also have triggered the Aurora of 7th.September - here on the Olympus page. Disc with Olympus 2100 afocal with 40 mm eyepiece, close up mosaic of two frames with Vesta Pro at prime focus of LX90

Annular Eclipse, 2003

Dawn on 31st. May featured an Annular Eclipse of the Sun, partial throughout most of the British Isles, but with a full annulus visible from sites in the North of Scotland. British weather being what it is, I decided not to travel North, but simply take the 5 mile trip to the North Sea coast and watch it from a local headland (Souter Point Lighthouse, South Shields), along with three other members of the South Shields Astronomical Society. Although haze on the horizon unfortunately masked the maximum obstruction which would have shown a pair of 'horns' rising from the sea, ten minutes after maximum the sun became visible through the haze, and we were rewarded with a view of the entire remainder of the eclipse.
The haze cut down the sun's light to a level which was safe to observe without filters for most of the eclipse, even through the LX90, and superb views of the deep red eclipsed sun were seen. I took several photographs, the best shown here. The closeups were afocal through the telescope with a 40 mm eyepiece, the long shot direct, zoomed to 100 mm.
The uncoloured image is a single frame from an AVI (DivX codec) showing the final phase of the eclipse, filtered with Baader Solar film. This was taken using the Vesta Pro Webcam with a 135 mm lens. Click on the image to view the (32 KB) AVI. Depending on the configuration of your browser you may need to download the AVI first.

Digital Magic! When I was in Africa in 2001 for the Solar Eclipse, I was able to take a Hydrogen Alpha image of the Sun through a Coronado telescope belonging to a fellow camper. See Eureka Page. It showed prominences, although I was rather disappointed by the lack of surface detail. But now, on applying the techniques suggested by James Weightman in the July 2004 Sky and Telescope magazine, all is revealed! There is some vignetting from the lens system, barely noticeable in the original brighter image, but the majority of the frame is acceptable, and shows much more of the surface structure than was at first apparent. For anyone who has read the article, the Green channel was the one to use in this case.

Here is one from 29th. April 2005. Taken with three different methods. The full white light disc was with my Olympus 2100UZ digital camera, afocally with a 40 mm eyepiece on the Mirage 8 SCT. The Hydrogen Alpha with the Artemis camera at prime focus of the Helios 1, and the spot close up with a Toucam webcam at prime focus of the Mirage. For the white light images, a full aperture Baader Solar film filter was used. Full Size

In June 2005 I bought new a Solarview50 Hydrogen Alpha telescope to replace my (secondhand) Helios 1. I've been rather remiss in posting images, but here is a selection from late 2005. Firstly a montage from 13th. August 2005.
Here is a superb prominence from 25th. September 2005. I just happened to take a look in the late afternoon, and was extremely lucky to capture this. This and all following images were taken using my Artemis285 CCD camera, some of the prominence and spot details with a 2x Barlow as well.
Although the Sun at this time is in a period of minimum activity, nevertheless on 12th. November 2005 there were some nice prominences visible, and the one to the lower left of this image was associated with an active Sunspot area which appeared over the next few days. For once I was favoured with a run of fine days, and was able to capture a succession of images showing the progress of the spot across the Sun's disc.
Here are the Disc and Spot on 15th. November 2005
The Spot on 16th. November - I didn't have time to get the Disc.
17th. November
18th. November It gives one pause for thought when realising that the major spot would easily swallow the Earth, and the distance between the major and minor spot is 2/3 the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
19th. November
The clouds returned, so no more of that sequence. But here is an interesting prominence from 12th. December 2005.

Although the Sun is passing through a sunspot minimum, during which other activity is also relatively quiet, there are still occasional flurries. I was fortunate in capturing this interesting prominence on 15th. February 2006. Artemis camera and Solarview 50. Disc at prime focus, prominence detail with 2x Barlow.

March 29th 2006 saw a Total Solar Eclipse, with the path crossing through Turkey. I was fortunate in being able to travel to Side on the Turkish coast, and experienced a good eclipse, only slightly marred by some high thin cloud at totality. I'll be setting up a seperate page once all the photos have been exhaustively processed, but here is Totality to be getting on with. This image appears in the July 2006 Sky at Night Magazine cover disc 'Hotshots' section, and in the July-September 2006 issue of the SPA magazine. Larger image

This small animation shows the diamond ring just before and just after totality.

Here's an interesting prominence from 23rd. April 2006. Artemis camera and Solarview 50. Disc at prime focus, prominence detail with 2x Barlow.

In early November 2006 a quite large sunspot appeared, shortly after the Solar magnetic pole reversal signalling the start of the run up to Solar maximum in a few years' time. It was quite active with considerable disturbance to the local magnetic fields. Image stack of 30 subframes with Artemis 285 barlowed x2 on Solarscope 50. North is up, East left i.e. binocular view. Colour added in Photoshop

An interesting Sunspot crossed in early February 2007, and I was able to capture it on 2nd. Artemis 285 and Solarscope 50.

I had some fine weather towards the end of April 2007, although occasionally plagued by clouds driving in from the North Sea on an Easterly breeze. The first sunspot for some time rotated into view, and a brief window on 29th. April allowed me to capture this image, using my Artemis 285 Camera and Solarscope 50, Barlowed 2x.
The following day (April 30th) the weather was clearer again, with this result. Again the Art285 and Solarscope50 Barlowed 2x.

With the Solar minimum dragging on, no worthwhile H-alpha images have been obtained for some time. But during a few days' stay at Kielder in April 2008, although the latter part of the stay was predominantly cloudy, Wednesday (9th) was a reasonably sunny day with many breaks in the clouds. And the upper atmosphere was cold enough to produce ice crystals in the upper atmosphere and grant us a Solar Halo. When a cloud covered the Sun, there was enough contrast to photograph the phenomenon directly. As for the Lunar Halo photographed a few weeks earlier, the circle is always 44 degrees in diameter. Larger image

In the extended Solar minimum there were very few sunspots appearing, and none I had an opportunity to photograph, but there was still some activity, and on 1st May 2008 I happened upon one of the rare flurries showing some attractive prominences. But no sunspots! Artemis 285 and Solarscope 50, prominences Barlowed 2x.

August 1st 2008 saw a Total Solar Eclipse, with the path passing over the far North Atlantic, Siberia and Northern China.  I was sorely tempted to travel to Novosibirsk in Siberia to view the eclipse, although totality was relatively short at 2 minutes 23 seconds, because that day was my 65th birthday! But in the end I decided to celebrate my birthday at home. I did miss a good totality - although it was cloudy for much of the day in Novosibirsk, it was completely clear for the eclipse.  But a partial eclipse was visible in the UK, and I obtained these images. The upper one with my Artemis 285 CCD camera through my Solarview50 Hydrogen -Alpha telescope, the other two with my Panasonic TZ5 camera. As you can see it was cloudy at times, indeed at one point cloudy enough for the eclipse to be safely viewed without filters and a direct photo taken. The third photo was through a telescope with Baader solar filter film. Timed as follows: H-Alpha 0921 UT Direct view 0931 UT Baader filter 1004 UT

The 7th May 2009 was beautifully clear, albeit windy, and when observing the Sun through my specially filtered solar scope I saw that there were some faint prominences. So took this image showing the prominences and surface structure. The dark spot towards top right just might be a baby Sunspot. Not many around these days - the Sun is taking an awful long time to get cracking on the next cycle. There is even talk of it entering a quiescent period similar to the Maunder minimum between 1645 and 1715 which coincided with the 'Little Ice Age' when Ice Fairs were held on the frozen River Thames. Solarscope50, Artemis 285. Moon filter used for the disc shots. Disc - inner, 0.01 second frames, outer 0.05 second frames (better to show the faint prominences). Prominence close up, 0.1 second frames with 2x Barlow Processed, co-registered and coloured in Photoshop.

After a long wait a genuine Sunspot! Small but perfectly formed ;-) June 1st 2009, also accompanied by a couple of nice prominences - maybe the Sun is waking up at last! all imaged with my Solarscope 50 and Artemis 285, close ups with 2x Barlow.

On 6th July 2009, not only was it a sunny day, albeit with lots of puffy clouds scudding across the sky, but there was a decent spot visible! Designated AR 1024. Artemis 285 with Solarscope 50 (cropped when imaging) and 2x Barlow. Stack of 15 frames, captured during a break in the clouds.

During a trip to Les Granges in 2009 I took my Solarview 50 and QHY5 guide camera - it has a good size chip for use with that telescope. Although only 8-bit, I was able to capture this image on 23rd September.

After an extended Solar minimum the Sun eventually became more active. A substantial prominence was visible for a few days in mid March 2010. I was clouded for a couple of days, but was able to image it on 19th. Artemis 285 camera     Disc at prime focus, prominence close up with 2x Barlow, all on my Solarview 50 .       Some promising swirls below the filament. Nice to see some real action after a long wait!

More activity at the beginning of April 2010, this being captured on April 1st. A couple of active areas and an interesting prominence. Artemis 285 with Solarscope 50. Disc at prime focus, prominence with 2x2 barlow

 

At the end of June 2010, finally our long awaited extended holiday began, and after some interesting stops in America we arrived in French Polynesia for the July 11th Total Solar Eclipse. Although staying on Tahiti and the adjoining Moorea, to view the eclipse we flew to Tatakoto Atoll which was situated very close to the centre line. This was the diamond ring at second contact, with some Bailey's beads evident along with prominences. All these Solar images were taken using my Canon 350D camera and Canon 400 mm f5.6 L lens, and ISO 100. This single frame 1/1000 second. Full size.
We witnessed 4 1/2 minutes of totality, but as always the time flew past. Nevertheless I was able to view the event while taking a range of photos. This is a composite of several frames between 1/1000 and 1 second. Despite the thin haze, I also succeeded in capturing Earthshine, and several stars, the brightest being magnitude 3.5 Delta Geminorum (above the disc). This image appeared in the December 2010 issue of Sky at Night magazine Larger image.
All too soon came third contact with again a nice diamond ring and prominences. We were very fortunate with the weather - clouds before and after, indeed totally obscured 10 minutes later. Phew! Full size.
As well as taking close ups I managed a wide angle shot with my Panasonic TZ5 on a lightweight tripod. The Sun was washed out, but my wife fortunately took a photo with her Canon Ixus 40 at a shorter exposure nicely showing the 'black dot', so this is again a composite. Note Mercury lower right of the Sun. This and the above two pictures featured in the August BBC 'Sky at Night' programme with Sir Patrick Moore, and this photo appeared in the September 2010 issue of Astronomy Now. Larger image.

14th September 2010 was a clear sunny day albeit with occasional cloud. And an interesting solar view worthy of imaging. Several prominences and a very active area with a small sunspot. Of particular interest was the large patchy filament, the nearby long filament and the chain of smaller patches around the upper section.   All images taken using the Solarview 50 Hydrogen-alpha telescope with the Artemis 285 camera. Disc at prime focus, close ups with 2x Barlow.

After a prolonged solar minimum with only occasional 'burps' it seems as though the Sun is at last waking up. February 16th 2011 saw a nice display of sunspots al;though not much in the way of prominences.   Artemis 285 with Solarview 50, close ups with 2X Barlow.       AR 1158         AR 1161

March 21st 2011 saw a lot of activity on the Sun with some magnificent prominences and a large active region containing a small spot. The main prominence group measured approximately 172600 miles (276000 Km) across and 34000 miles (54400 Km) high. Puts the 7960 mile (12740 Km) diameter Earth into perspective! Single frames chosen as best from a selection, Artemis 285 with solarscope SV50. Prominence with 2x Barlow.

On 12th April 2011 the Sun displayed a number of interesting features. A couple of beautiful prominences and some active areas and filaments. Unfortunately I omitted to insert a 'Moon' filter for the prime focus disc image and the chip bloomed slightly, hence the rather bright area at the top of the image. I would have re taken the photo, but by the time I found out what had happened, the clouds arrived!   Disc at prime focus, prominences with 2x Barlow. Artemis 285 on Solarscope SV50. All single 'best' frames hand picked from several.

   

The 28th September 2011 was a beautiful day - we were having an 'Indian Summer'. And Sunspot group AR 11302 was nicely positioned in the centre of the Sun. Not a huge spot, but the area of activity was considerable. There had been Auroral activity two nights before - possibly this spot was the progenitor. Artemis 285 on Solarscope 50 (cropped from the full frame.)
And a close up of the spot, Artemis 285 on Solarscope50 with 3x Barlow. Full Size  This image appeared in the 'Hotshots' section of the February 2012 Sky at Night magazine

 

Much of January and early February 2012 were cursed with cloudy nights although a persistent ridge of High Pressure brought cold but bright days in early February. So no opportunity for deep sky imaging. Unfortunately I missed a couple of Aurora shows in late January. But the Sun on 8th February although lacking in active regions likely to produce aurorae showed some beautiful prominences and filaments. Artemis 285 on Solarscope 50. Disc at prime focus, closeups with 2x Barlow.