The Dutch Observatory

The last post of 2011.  This morning the sun seemed very active with prominences all over the place.  I decided to capture a full disk image and 2 closeups of AR1388 and 89.  One with a 2x barlow and another one with a 3x barlow.  The 3x barlow is pushing the limits of my equipment, but there is still nice detail in the umbra and penumbral structure and even some detail in the core of the sunspot. Pretty happy for these images.  Now we’re getting ready for a new year and I wish everyone who visits my blog here a happy and healthy 2012 with lots of Sun shine!  And if you care, visit our chapter’s outreach page.  If you would like to help us in our effort, we do accept tax deductible donations to bring astronomy to many schools in our region. 
http://ceastronomy.org/blog/outreach 

Wow, what an imaging session today.  Where yesterday I observed the hedgerow prom at the NW limb, today I saw it being ejected in the solar system.  A full image of the sun today and a close up of the first frame of the animation as well as the animated gif showing the progression of the ejection between 15:58 UT and 16:23 UT.  It was beautiful seeing it lift off and blow away.

           Click this image for the animation                                   

A clear sky today but very windy with unstable seeing. AR1388 is coming into good view now with a nice prominence at the SE limb and a short hedgerow prom decorated the NW limb, but the unstability made for a low quality detailed images.  A full disk with AT1384,86,87,88 and closeups of some proms and AR1384 and 1388.

Christmas eve and Christmas day were cloudy and rainy, as well as most of today.  However, today’s forecast was for a 2 hour break in the cloud coverage and I managed to miss most of that   (e.g sleep thru it).  At the end, the brightness of the sun managed to wake me up just in time to image one full image of the sun with a nice prominence at the western limb. Today NOAA reports 6 spots in the Southern hemisphere and just 2 in the Northern with 1384, 86 and 87 to be the most prominent spots.

The clouds and rain have passed by and the sun was out gain this morning.  Everything was still pretty wet, but OK to image the sun again.  Today the sun looks very nice with some large parallel filamens stretching accross the CM and active regions AR1376, 81,82,83 and 84.  Also a number of nice prominences on all sides of the sun.  However, the prom at the NE limb take the prize today.  Here the full solar disk as well as a closeup of AR1383 and 84 as well as the NE limb prom.

A real quiet Sun today.  The prominence from yesterday has disappeared.  Today the Sun with AR1374,75,76,77 and 80. 

A quiet sun at first glance, but a faint prominence at the eastern limb made it pretty interesting.  Not enough time to make an animation today because of our chapter meeting.  Today a full Sun with AR1374, 75, 76, 77.

Following watching the grazing of the sun of comet Lovejoy last night, today’s sun is not very exciting.  AR1376 keeps growing and when I was watching Lovejoy last night I saw a small flare in AR1377.  Today a full disk image as well as a closer up of AR1376.

A clear sky today before the clouds and rain come again later today. A full disk image of the sun with AR1366, 74, 75, 76, and 77, with a closeup of the Eastern limb and a few filaments.  Active Region 1376 is developing in a very nice and big region!

Today the sky was filled with high cirus clouds and had to image through this mess.  I area of relative thin clouds allowed me to come up with this image today.  However, too cloudy for Registax 6 to run correctly.  today’s regions AR1366,67,74,75, and 76.