Category: faculae

New Active Region

2011 05 09, 1429UT-1550UT
Solar NOAA 11203, 11204, ??, 11209, 11208

www.pcwobservatory.com

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix
DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell, ETX70 AT w/tilt plate and white light glass filter.

All sketches done scopeside and flipped in Photoshop to match standard orientation. H-alpha sketch created with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ crayon and pencil, Derwent charcoal pencil, black oil pencil. White light sketch created on photocopy paper with 0.5mm mechanical pencil and #2 pencil.

Transparency made it nearly impossible to view prominences at the start of the session with the thin layer of cirrus creating a milky white sky. There were small breaks that allowed me to sketch in some of the detail on a western prominence, that later as the transparency improved, showed an abundance of thin whispy structure that wasn’t captured on paper. By that time, I was already working on a full disk sketch in h-alpha. Seeing was terrific until I started on the white light observation, but had I set up the ETX at the beginning of the session to let the scope adjust to the warmth, it would have been much better by the time I observed with it. As it was, I observed in the observatory for protection of the wind as I view with a shade attached to the objective and wanted to avoid vibration.

There is a possible new active region between 1209 and 1208 that, while observing in white light, had several little spots forming an elliptical shape with pointed ends like a football. I noticed facula around 1208, but the seeing was so bad that I couldn’t make out a definite shape. The umbra of the preceding spot in that region was displaced, as was the preceding spot in 1203. I didn’t notice any sunspots in 1209 during my observation, but that may have been the result of the seeing.

The band of active regions is still putting on a nice show in h-alpha with more-defined plage around them.

Sunspots and Proms, Filaments and Plage

2011 03 08, 1703 UT – 1945 UT
Solar h-alpha, NOAAs 11164, 11165, 11166, 11169, prominence sequence 240 pa (11165)

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA – Erika Rix
www.pcwobservatory.com
Temp: 16.8°C, Humidity 34%, SE winds 8mph
Seeing: Wilson 3.5 w/moments of 1, Transparency: 1-2/6
Alt: 44.5°- 36.4°, Az: 168.1°- 221.1°

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell

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

It was a nice surprise to see the Sun out and the thin clouds scattered enough for a solar session, especially with 4 active regions present. I didn’t pull out a white light filter. It certainly would have made a great comparison to the h-alpha views with all the sunspots scattered about. The fibrils in NOAA 11166 were outstanding and plentiful, reaching out through plage in wide arcs. 11164 looked etched near the limb with stark contrast between the filaments and plage.

It was 11165 that kept most of my attention today with its area of prominence changing so rapidly that I’m fairly certain portions of it erupted and then collapsed on itself. Two times sections had broken free and floated off. During those times, a sketch was completed every 5-10 minutes.

I would have liked to have stayed out for at least a few more hours, but the transparency became too horrendous to pull detail out of the prominences and full overcast skies was soon to follow.

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

Anatomy of an Active Region

Anatomy of an Active Region

Solar Active Region 11029 on October 25, 2009
Sketch and Details by Stephen Ames

Subject: AR 11029
Crayola Cerulean for plage
Conti White pencil for filament
white 20# paper with Aqua Green disk
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

Intensity, Energy, and Beauty

AR 1019

Solar h-alpha, Active Region 1019 on June 2nd, 2009
Sketch and Details by Deirdre Kelleghan

Active Region 1019
June 2nd 2009
PST 40 mm / 8mm TVP Up scaled by eye
Pastel, and Conte on black paper
11:00 UT

After several months of drawing tiny proms dancing on the solar limb I was thrilled to see an new active region forming. Experimenting with solar drawing is fun because it is a challenge to achieve accurate details as the view is so tiny. Solar granulation as seen in the h alpha is very difficult to depict. I will continue in pursuit of my goal accuracy in observing and depiction. Drawing helps me understand what I am looking at , which in turn helps me in my efforts to understand the sun.

Deirdre

Sunny Delight

Proms 053109

Solar h-alpha, 2009 May 31, 1610UT – 1725UT
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

2009 May 31, 1610UT – 1725UT
Solar h-alpha, Erika Rix
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell
Sketch created scopeside with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white
Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang watercolor pencil, black oil pencil.

Temp: 23°C-24.8°C , Humidity 48%
Seeing: Wilson 3, Transparency: 2/6
Clear with haze, winds N ~8mph
Alt: 59.9, Az: 118.2

Initial impression was a bit of disappointment because the huge
prominence that others are reporting wasn’t apparent to me at the
eyepiece. Later today, that large prominence was reported to have
dissipated by 1600UT, so I believe I had just caught the tail end of
it. It was to the northwest and at 1615UT, all that I could see in that
area with our poor transparency was a faint wisp of a prominence.

There were three areas of plage; one nearly midway across the disk and a
second one to the east, both in the northern hemisphere; and another
small area ~ 150° just inside the southern limb. This southern one
makes me wonder if it could be an ephemeral region. Three fairly
obvious filaments could be seen, the largest nearly reaching the small
prominence at ~190°. The center of the disk was full of the dark
hairlike fractures of fibrils or spicules, making a beautiful scene when
moments of better sky conditions would allow for it.

Sleeping Giant Stirring Again?

Proms 051209

Solar prominences on May 12, 2009
Sketch and Details by Stephen Ames Jr.

Is ole sol finally waking back up?

Crayola Cerulean for plage
Conti White pencil for filament
Crayola Aqua Green pencil for proms
white 20# paper with Aqua Green disk
I scan into photoshop and invert.

Blue skies,

Stephen Ames Jr.