Solar Garden

Solar h-alpha on May 15th, 2009
Sketch and Details Erika Rix

2009 May 15, 1515UT – 1625UT
Solar AR 1017

PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

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

Temp: 21.8°C – 25.6°C, Humidity 42%
Seeing: Wilson 4, Transparency: 4/6
Light cirrus, winds calm
Alt: 50.3, Az: 110.2

Glancing at a lower magnification with the zoom eyepiece, three main
areas of prom immediately came to view at approximately 40°, 130°, and
215° position angles. Then adjusting the outer Etalon, the plage of the
AR most westwardly popped out, followed by the eastwardly portion of it.
I’m a bit unsure if there were actually 2 active regions I was viewing
but I’ve only seen a designation for AR1017. It appeared to be two
separate active regions from today’s views.

Increasing magnification with excellent seeing conditions and the light
cirrus not bothering me, I concentrated on the prominences first and it
was then that I spotted another at approximately 280° PA. It twice as
tall as the spike in the group near 120° and spanned across 30° of limb.
It was very soft looking but I could still make out strands of structure
vertically within it – beautiful and certainly the treat of the day.

Going back to the active regions, in both areas, I could make out what I
believed to be magnetic lines. You can almost see the subtle renderings
of them in my sketch if you look hard enough. I did find myself
rendering the contrast a little more severe than true to the view, but
the details of this region were as true as I could make them through
sketch by making fine adjustments to the FOV as well as the Etalons of
my double stacked Maxscope.