Category: Sun

Calm Before the Storm

Object Name The Sun
Object Type Star
Location Lost Pleiad Observatory, Tucson, AZ
Date July 31, 2010, completed at 1628 UT (9:28 AM local time)
Media HB graphite pencil on plain white paper

Additional information:
This sketch of the sun was completed the day before Active Region 11092 erupted with a C class flare that blew the dark snaking filament near the meridian right off the sun and toward earth. This eruption was responsible for the aurora that have been on display in northern latitudes over the last couple nights of August 3 and 4.

I made the sketch while observing the sun through my Lunt Solar Systems pressure tuned 60mm Hydrogen Alpha scope, and a Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom eyepiece. The sketch took approximately 30 minutes to complete, at which time the sun had an altitude of 47 degrees above the horizon with an azimuth of 98 degrees. Seeing was average, due to high humidity and passing clouds, however, there were enough moments of steady seeing to allow for fine detail to be observed within the active region (AR). AR 11092 contains a very dark and sizable sunspot that is visible even in the hydrogen alpha wavelength. In addition, there are a couple thin filaments on the following (east) side of the AR.

Alan Strauss

Foe of Icarus

I use:
Crayola Cerulean pencil for plage
Crayola Aqua Green pencil for proms
White 20# paper
I scan into photoshop and invert.

Blue skies,

Stephen Ames
270-358-8634 – t
240-376-8634 – f
http://www.AdjustableRateMarketing.com

See your life giving sun in vivid images and art
from observers all over the world at
www.SeeMySunspot.com

The Sun for Riser

2010 July 3, 1853 UT – 1938 UT
Solar h-alpha NOAA 11084
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell
Temp: 28.8°C, Humidity 57.7%-49%
Seeing: Wilson 4, Transparency: 3/6
Clear, slight breeze, Alt: 65.6°-58.1°, Az: 231.8°-247.3°
H-alpha sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain paper,
white Conte’ crayon and pencil, black oil pencil, Prang white watercolor
pencil

It appears that I missed seeing a dual pair of CMEs (coronal mass
ejections) on the Sun today. It took at place at 1154 UT. My session
began at 1853 UT. Fantastic footage of it can be seen here by SOHO
coronagraph.
http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2010/03jul10/cme_c2_big.gif?PHPSESSID=kljak6da6ng8ifu6v1gf6p7ch3

AR 1084 still looks like a spiral galaxy (or a chicken eye with the wide
yellow/pink skin wrinkled around the pupil). A fantastic
filament/prominence reached over the limb in the SW. The filament was
thick and fibrous reaching out to the west and on either end, long and
slender.

Riser, my regular solar buddy, aka 14-year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, took
a pretty hard fall today and had to watch me observe from a distance in
the comfort of the shade at the top of the hill. He’s resting
comfortably now on a very thick duvet. Poor ol’ boy.

Best regards,
Erika Rix
pcwobservatory.com

The Sun in H-Alpha

2010 June 20, 1315 UT ñ 1450 UT,
Solar h-alpha,
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix.

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell,
H-alpha sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain
paper, white Conteí crayon and pencil, Derwent charcoal pencil,
black oil pencil.

Temp: 22.9C-29C, Humidity 73%-65%
Seeing: Wilson 5 – 3, Transparency: 5/6 ñ 2/6
Light cirrus, Alt: 35∞-53∞, Az: 087.3∞-104.5∞

Erika Rix

3D Solar Sketch – June 13, 2010

H-Alpha Sun
H-Alpha Sun: June 13, 2010
By Theo Bakalexis

Object name: Sun.
Object type: Full disk in Ha line.
Location: Peristeri (GREECE)
Date: 13 June 2010
Media: Used laptop.

The seeing is not good but i make an observation and i see many thinks.First of all a great detached prominence at the NW of the disk. My goodness she`s great. I see one only sunspot on the region 1081 and a marvelous filament like a hook near the region 1080.The disk has to much small Q.R.Filaments in different shapes.

Used my coronado maxscope SM 60mm D.S 0.5A Ha on EQ5 base together with eyepiece Nagler 9mm.

Prominence – June 9, 2010

Solar Prominence
Solar Prominence – June 9, 2010
By Peter Desypris

A new beautiful prominence appeared on the NE Limb disk on 09-06-2010. This is a Sketch of the Prominence.
LUNT LS60THa/LS50FHa DS/B600
Eyepiece 9.7 S.P Meade 4000 on a “Vixen Porta” Altazimuth Mount

SYROS,Greece

Media (digital tools PS)

Thank you
Peter Desypris

Island of Syros,Greece

http://www.ceo-despet.blogspot.com/

H-Alpha Sun – March 31, 2010

Sun - March 31, 2010
H-Alpha Sun – March 31, 2010
By Stephen Ames

I use:
Crayola Cerulean pencil for plage
Crayola Aqua Green pencil for proms
White 20# paper
I scan into photoshop and invert.

Blue skies,

Stephen Ames
See your life giving sun in vivid images and art
from observers all over the world at
www.SeeMySunspot.com

H-Alpha Sun and Filaments – May 10, 2010

H-Alpha Sun - May 10, 2010
H-Alpha Sun and Filaments – May 10, 2010
By Erika Rix

2010 May 10, 1355 UT – 1610 UT
Solar h-alpha featuring filaments – Erika Rix
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell

H-alpha sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore paper, white Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang watercolor pencil, Derwent charcoal pencil, black oil pencil.

T: 5°C-11°C, H: 45%
S: Wilson 3, T: 3.5/6
Clear/slightly hazy, light breeze
Alt: 40.3-62.8, Az: 101-139.7

Paul had a late night imaging so I brought the dogs outside with me, puppies included, to keep it quiet in the house for him. This, of course, meant lots of extra paws running around the observatory floor instead of just the steady snoring of Riser, my regular observing buddy. The views were shaking so badly that I finally gave up and tore down the rig, resetting it back up in the grass. I should have done that to begin with I suppose since seeing wasn’t the greatest and would have been a lot worse in the observatory, especially with the temps rising so quickly after our freeze last night.

There were quite a few features to concentrate on, but what really caught my eye were two areas of filaments in the NE quadrant. The transparency and seeing were just poor enough that I really struggled with pulling any detail out of the prominences on that section of the limb. I didn’t want to miss out trying to capture them as they reached inward across the disk, forming a beautiful display of soft looking filaments. Then even further inward reaching toward the center, the details were sharper with the next set of filaments.