The AM Forum

Sunspot group 1158 showed up easily this morning with my Canon DSLR.

This is the HUGE complex that spouted the M-class flare yesterday.

Not the best pic in the world.....   ;D

Bruce,

Pretty neat! Yes, those spots are of significant size.  Sometimes after a BIG lull of several years, as we just passed thru, sets the stage for a huge thrust upwards.  Maybe this cycle will surprise us.

Not many amateur astronomers have the filters to see spot detail. What kind of filter do you use?
It takes a more expensive Alpha filter - $3K? to see the grainy magnetic fields and prominences, right?

I've never gotten into serious solar observations cuz of the price of that filter. But that doesn't mean we can't see the spots with simpler techniques.

T

You're right Tom...

This is very inexpensive filter material indeed.
Barely able to call it "solar filter" !  ;D

Allows 1/100,000 of the available light through.

I think a 9 x 11" sheet cost $10.

It is "ok" when I use the 8" scope, but still not outstanding detail.

I think this summer I will get a better one, that" up around $100.


This pic was just taken with the Canon DSLR handheld, with a 300mm lens.
Camera had the IR/UV filter removed.
400 ISO , 1/500 exp.

Well, you're having fun and actually seeing the spots. 99.9% of the population never sees them for real.

Gawd, I just checked the price of an hydrogen Alpha filter. How about $5400?  And this is for a small 1 1/4" focuser.

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=471-305-10761

I once axed the owner of TeleVue (eyepieces) why they were so expensive. He said the precision required to make them perfect was off the scale. This was 15 years ago. I figgered by now they wud have had a breakthru, but evidently not.  I get jealous when I see those super detailed NASA solar shots - taken with tax payer's money, of course.... ;D

One could make a whole hobby just observing the sun with one of those filters. After all, why look into deep space at billions of faint stars when we have one in our face?


T

Considering that what you shot was not in this world it's a great picture!

Thanks Steve...  I wondered about the remark "not the best picture in the world.."   :D

I was going to take the scope out and get all the electronics set up...
But now it's cloudy ... of course...


It only takes a few minutes on a good day....

I run out a 40 foot USB cable with a 4 port hub at the end...

One port for the camera, one for the motorized focuser, one for the alt/azimuth and tracking motors.
This way, I can sit inside here on the 'puter and make focus and tracking adjustments, and snap pictures....


None of that does any good if you don't have clear skies !!

Sunspot number for today is a nice round  100

Wow, we haven't seen those numbers for awhile!  What is 10 meters doing today?

73,  Jack, W9GT

To find out, it's as easy as going to the top of the QSO forum and clicking on the link: http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=24358.0

Nothing on 10 right now...

But 15 and 12 were active a short time ago....

Having solar flares is not always a good thing. More info here: http://www.arrl.org/news/sunspot-1158-produces-largest-flare-of-solar-cycle-24-cme-headed-toward-earth

NASA report:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110217/sc_afp/usastronomytelecomnasachina_20110217095946

Regards,
Joe, W3GMS

Managed to get a couple pix of the 2 big sunspot groups today...

This taken with a 1,016mm lens.

( my homemade 8" f5 telescope)   :D

With the DSLR at prime focus ( no eyepiece, just the camera)

I just read somewhere that this flare will disrupt our commuications for next few days.  and maybe power grids.  Matthew

And, turn straight hair into frizzy hair. More people wear hats after a solar flare. I read this on the internet so it must be true.

You're partly right... except the key word should be "could" or "may" disrupt communications........

Wasn't a big enough event to disrupt the grid.

In actuality it DID already disrupt communications, at the time of the flare.
No telling what the CME will do.