The Dutch Observatory

The great transparency is over, today we have thin clouds moving through.  It probably is the last day for me to see AR2529. The Sun’s activity today is Medium with the one M-6.7  flare in AR2529 in the last two days. Total active region area today is 640 millionths of which AR2529’s part was 610.  Two regions today with a total spot count of 8.  I was able to make full disk images as well as close ups of the Region in the three wavelengths.

Following the release of a powerful C5.8 flare on the 16th, this morning AR2529 entered M-Class territory with a 25 minute M6.7 flare right after midnight.  Today’s activity is Medium with 1 C-class and 1 M-class flare in the last two days.  Region area has also increased for AR2529 to 780  millionths again.  The total spot count today is at 15 between the two regions. Today three full disk images as well as close ups of the two regions in various magnifications and wavelengths.

No images for the 16th because of our Anna Ruby Falls Solar event.  However, the last visitors of the event were treated to a C5.8 Flare in AR2529.  Sunday I had the most stable skies this year with 9-10 in seeing and transparency. The Sun’s activity was still Medium with 4 C-class flares in the last two days.  AR2529 is down to 720 millionths and the two other regions measure only 30.  Total spot count today is 21.  So it was time again for the C11, and made a number of captures of AR2529.  The first close up and so far the best image at a FL of 5600 mm is included below. Also shown a full disk image in each of the wavelengths I capture in, as well as close ups of AR2529 and 32.

Clear skies gave way to clouds, but I had time for some reasonable images. Seeing around 5/10 with clouds moving in.  The Sun’s activity is Low with 4 C-class flares in the last 2 days and.  AR2529 does  not seem to grow substantial and is today at 790 millionths.  We have a total of three active regions with a total area of 810 millionths.  The total sunspot count today is 16 of which 14 are in AR2529.  Today I captured three full disk images in the three wavelengths as well as close ups of AR2529.

I setup twice today to image. The morning yielded no useable image, the afternoon gave me 2 out of 12 runs. Clouds all over the place.  The solar activity is dropping today. A Medium with 4 C-class flares in the last two days.  AR2529 has changed from an Eho yesterday to an Eko today.  Also, its size is dropping as it went from 820 to 780 millionths.  We have three Areas with a total of 810 millionths and 11 spots. I am glad to have at least two images today.

A Year’s project comes to an end.

Over a year ago I started on the Astronomical League’s Analemma program.  Now, this program asks not only for you to record the position of the Sun over the duration of a year at your local noon, but it also asks you to calculate your latitude on Earth, the Equation of Time over the year, and even asks you to calculate the eccentricity of Earth’s orbit around the Sun based only using the data you recorded over the year.. Well, I am glad the year is over and I believe I did not do too bad….  We’ll have to wait what the coordinator from AL tells me.  Anyway, simultaneous to this, I made two more Analemmas using pin-hole cameras.  One tilted about 15 degrees, the other around 33.  The exposure times for these cameras was 2 minute exposure at Local Noon – 5 and -3 minutes.  On the 15 degree image you can also see the tree line behind the house as well as a one day arc of the Sun.

Cloudy morning with a brief clearance around midday.  However two layers of clouds moving through, one moving East the second moving North East, made if hard to find the open spots.  Seeing 5/10 and transparency 3/10.  Active Region 2529 has still the same size as yesterday, bur AR2528 has disappeared.  A new, not named region AR2530?), is starting to show.  Total spots today at 16 and AR2529 produced 10 C-class flares in the last two days making the activity Medium.  Three full disk images as well as close ups of AR2529 in the three wavelengths.  The not named area is shown at the bottom.

Cloudy this morning, but some openings in the late afternoon, So I imaged at the same time as Monty Leventhal in Australia was observing. I had to break off the session as clouds obscured the Sun again.  Today, AR2529 has grown from 350  to a size of 820 millionths!  That makes you alert to flares and the Sun’s activity today is Medium with 11 C-class flares in the last 2 days.  AR2528 has been reduced to 10 millionths so the total Active Region area today is at 830 millionths, with two regions and 9 sunspots.  Today I also made the mistake by trying to short cut my capture process.  I focus at 2x magnification and than did not go back to the full view, resulting in the WL image being shifted.  Anyway I hope the four images show what’s happening.

The session started with good transparency and seeing, but deteriorated fast with wind gusts up to 27mph.  With the arrival of AR2529 the Sun has picked up on activity to Medium with 9 C-class flares in the last two days and all from AR2529.  The area has spread and has changed from a Hkx to a Dhi on the McIntosh scale. Total active region area today has decreased to 360 millionths with one more sunspot than yesterday.  Today full disk images in the three wavelengths as well as close ups of the regions.

Clear Skies again this morning with seeing at 8/10.  Just as one might think that the Sun would go silent, we saw in yesterday’s image of the Eastern limb the announcement of a new active region, and today AR2529 shows up great at 330 millionths.  It produced already 5 C-class flares bringing the total for Solar activity to 7 flares in the last 2 days, listing the solar activity as Medium.  Total Active Region area today is 370 millionths and a total of 6 sunspots.  Images today from the two active regions as well as the full disk images in all three wavelengths.