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Title: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: Sam KS2AM on June 10, 2008, 10:51:05 AM http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=5982 (http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=5982) (http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/images/articles/img200806091213021836.jpg) Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: KA1ZGC on June 10, 2008, 12:14:00 PM They've all gone for the new Solar Flare Sundae at IHOP!
--Thom Killer Agony One Zipper Got Caught Actually, no... it's all my fault. Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: KA1ZGC on June 10, 2008, 12:18:25 PM Actually, I just checked... there's one on the eastern limb, about 22 degrees south lattitude.
FWIW. Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: W3RSW on June 10, 2008, 12:36:25 PM Just looked at latest white light image, (not Halpha) and couldn't see much other than smudges on my screen.
It appears to be a very quiet sun, late to blossom this cycle and hinting at another Maunder minimum... oh joy... Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: KA1ZGC on June 10, 2008, 01:03:05 PM Just looked at latest white light image, (not Halpha) and couldn't see much other than smudges on my screen. White light is not the best for sunspotting, but it's there, alright. Perhaps you're looking at an image from a day or two ago, like the 304 Angstrom image that Sam posted (171 and 195 do a better job showing the sunspots, 284 does a great job showing coronal holes). There's only one place to get up-to-date solar imagery: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html) Look just below the equator on the left-hand side. Can't miss it. --Thom Killer Appetizer One Zesty German Chocolate Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: Pete, WA2CWA on June 10, 2008, 02:21:03 PM Ya don't need sunspots for Sporadic E (single and multiple hops) and we've been seeing this activity almost every day on 6 and 10 meters somewhere. MUF rising to 10 meters consistency is years away. Searching the sun will just give you a headache.
Monitor this for what's happening in real time on 6 meters: http://www.dxsummit.fi/CustomFilter.aspx?customCount=50&customRange=50 or, for 10 meters: http://www.dxsummit.fi/CustomFilter.aspx?customCount=50&customRange=28 Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: KA1ZGC on June 10, 2008, 02:55:55 PM Ya don't need sunspots for Sporadic E (single and multiple hops) and we've been seeing this activity almost every day on 6 and 10 meters somewhere. MUF rising to 10 meters consistency is years away. Searching the sun will just give you a headache. Some of us observe solar phenomena for reasons not related to HF propagation, Pete. Thanks anyway. Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: Sam KS2AM on June 10, 2008, 05:42:52 PM Ya don't need sunspots for Sporadic E (single and multiple hops) and we've been seeing this activity almost every day on 6 and 10 meters somewhere. MUF rising to 10 meters consistency is years away. Searching the sun will just give you a headache. Nor do we need them for mounbounce. Current lunar conditions: (http://www.geocities.com/rmm413/GleasonCartoonMoon.gif) Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: k4kyv on June 10, 2008, 11:18:52 PM Good news for those who operate 160 and 80m. Also good news for human space travellers.
Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: W3RSW on June 11, 2008, 09:32:39 AM Thanks for the daily sun spot pix references. I've used Big Bear's for years until they had the quakes and scope modernization projects.
Probably "singing to the choir" for most of us, so for newer astronomers on the site: For centuries refracted white light with a carbon black filter (and later through a Herschel wedge) was pretty much the way sunspot numbers were obtained. After about 1870 or so a yellow filter was used for photography on visual refractors. No fair using K, Ca, Ha, etc. ;D Yeah, sunspot numbers, like everything else have been moderized and standardized... But for long term studies modern methods are normalized to the historic white light count. Looks like not much activity was occuring during the Venus transit in '04 either. There are a couple of faint spots near disk center. Resolution of camera (complete w/hot spot, for calibration, ho, ho.) was erroniously not set to max. available. First shot was as Sun was just above horizon, in fog. Had Venus been a sunspot it would have been seen as an naked eye sunspot through the fog, just like the discounted reports of the Chinese back when the sun was supposed to be perfect and unblemished. Notice the faculae are more pronounced due to the "fog's enhancement" of contrast. Last shot is a way too wide angle of OTI 94mm/f7 APO w/Al.filter used that morning. Dissertation notwithstanding about all I was jocularly saying was that we might be in the early stages of another set of very low spot count cycles. Certainly not an original thought. Title: Re: Where have all the sunspots gone ? Post by: Todd, KA1KAQ on June 13, 2008, 10:33:15 AM Those are some nice shots, Rick. Thanks for posting them. One of the things on the 'to do' list for years was getting a camera adapter for my telescope to take moon shots and so on. Never got around to it and figured the results would be marginal, at best. Your shots provide hope for the future, even if they can't improve propagation. ;D AMfone - Dedicated to Amplitude Modulation on the Amateur Radio Bands
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