Solar Awakening

Solar Prominences
Sketch and Details by Les Cowley

After weeks of inactivity the sun stirred at the end of September ’08. The 28th saw a huge but faint prominence on the Southeast limb and the next morning revealed two large and bright prominences almost diametrically opposite each other on the SE and Northern limbs. They are pictured here as viewed from England through a Coronado 60mm H-Alpha single-stacked telescope at 50 and 80X. The sketches were made at the eyepiece with Derwent Studio, Watercolour (dry) and Drawing pencils on black Canford paper. A black hood blocked out extraneous light. Each had to be finished within 10 minutes because the prominences, particularly the southern one, were evolving quickly.