Object Name: Sun
Object Type : Full disk
Location: Montreal, Canada
Date: June 29th 2012
Media: Red pastel on black paper, Photoshop CS3
This is my first sketch of the sun in H-alpha using my new solar scope Lunt LS60THa. The Lunt Zoom eyepiece, 7.2 – 21.5 mm, was used. Seeing was 3/5.
Jean Barbeau
An exciting day under the Sun. Observing with both a Coronado PST h-alpha & white light 8” Dob fitted with a 3.5” solar filter. Sketches were made at the eyepiece(s).
Seeing was good to excellent. After sketching details of the 4 sunspot groups I could readily see with the PST, I noticed one of the plages (bright spots) on the 1513 sunspot brightening intensely. As it brightened the bottom portion (to the South) of the plage developed a greenish/blue hued widening irregularity. There was also a linear band that extended from the widening directly to the center of sunspot 1513. Above the sunspot there appeared a filament which I tried to capture as well in my sketch. Within 5 minutes the dark patch was gone. From some research and asking more experienced friends, I believe I witnessed a solar flare, probably a minor one but still very exciting. I have been observing with the PST for over a month now, but this was a first for me. The plages around all the major sunspots continued to brighten & fade during the observation period, but none to the intensity of 1513. The PST was loaned to me by a friend after my excitement over white light observing. It’s a wonderful instrument showing many features of the Sun not evident in white light solar filters.
Solar prominences on the limb were also detailed today with the larger one appearing as somewhat of a vortex shape, while another more north prominence appeared as a broken loop. I had observed yesterday & did not see this broken loop then.
I moved to white light observing & could see much greater detail in all the sunspots, including many that did not show up well with the PST.
White light filters are primarily for observing details of the photosphere (like sunspots, facule & granulation), where h-alpha narrow bandwidth shows detail in the chromosphere. The chromosphere or “sphere of color” is the second of the three main layers in the Suns atmosphere and is roughly 2,000 kilometers deep. It sits just above the photosphere, and below the corona.
I am in love with the ever changing face of the sun. I am sometimes tired at night by the time the sky clears but the morning is always mine!
Coronado PST 40mm
9mm Plossl 44X
8” Dob w/ masked 3.5” Astro Baader Solar filter (homemade)
25mm Plossl 48X
4,000 ft elevation
Maui, Hawaii
Aloha!
(Cyn) Thia Krach
Location : Seoul, S. Korea
Date : June 6, 2012
Media : Black Paper, Pastel
Equipment : Coronado PST40, Nagler Type6 9mm
2012 05 20 Partial Annular Eclipse
PCW Memorial Observatory, Texas, Erika Rix
www.pcwobservatory.com
www.solarastronomy.org
Knowing that we fell within a good band to view a partial portion of the annular eclipse, Paul and I scoped out the local county roads earlier in the day for optimal horizons. The partial eclipse for our location was due to start at 1932 ST (0032 UT) which would only give about 50 minutes of eclipse viewing before sunset. The skies cleared up and we were fortunate to have perfect viewing conditions that evening.
I started off drawing the full solar disk in h-alpha. Four active regions lined up east to west with two more to the south (depicted to the top of the first sketch in the animation). I then made a quick second sketch to use for recording the times and placements of the Moon as it passed between Earth and the Sun.
First contact was at 0032 UT. The first marking was at 0035 UT. I set my iPhone’s timer to go off every five minutes until sunset, marking the Moon’s progress each increment with my oil pencil along with the times. In between, Paul and I would alternate using a pair of solar glasses from solarastronomy.org and the views from my double-stacked Coronado Maxscope 60mm h-alpha telescope.
The first image of the animation shows the original sketch in its entirety. Later, I used the second solar disk sketch as a reference to recreate the eclipse on the original sketch with a cut out circular piece of black Strathmore paper. This animation is the result.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa201/ErikaGRix/20120520-animation.gif
As the solar disk became too dim to view (represented in the last couple frames of the animation), I was forced to leave the eyepiece and enjoy the last several minutes with the solar glasses and my camera.
Two original sketches created at the eyepiece with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ crayon and pencil, white Prang color pencil, Derwent charcoal pencil, black oil pencil.
2012 05 03, 1845 UT – 2130 UT.
Solar h-alpha, Prominences and NOAAs 1469, 1471, 1472, 1473, 1474.
PCW Memorial Observatory, Texas – Erika Rix,
Temp: 33°C, winds SE 7 mph, occasional light cirrus,
Seeing: Wilson 2-3, Transparency: 4/6, 50x,
DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, Baader Planetarium Hyperion 8-24mm Mark III .
Sketch created scope-side with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ crayon and pencil, Derwent charcoal pencil, black oil pencil.
With five active regions, the Sun made quite an appearance today in spite of the limb. There were a few decent prominences, especially to the eastern hemisphere. My favorite view, though, were magnetic fields surrounding 1471 made apparent by the very thin active region filaments (ARFs). They reached down like fingers from the sunspots in that region. Plage was very intricate and meshed into what I believe was AR 1472.
The quiet region filaments (QRFs) were in abundance in the southern northern hemisphere with a few speckled to the south. AR 1474 seemed a bit washed out with plage and faint darkened areas. There was only slight plage definition and no sunspots observed in h-alpha. I didn’t set up a white light filter today for comparison.
1473 and 1469 were blended together by the plage and many lines of ARFs, including filaments reaching out over the edge for short, bright prominences. Plage was very bright, forming the shape of a tuning fork in 1469. These were impressive sets of active regions when paired up.
This was my first solar observing session since moving to Texas about two and a half weeks ago. With all that took place in preparing the old house for sale and the move to Texas, I’ve been deprived of any observing other than naked eye. It was a relief to be behind an eyepiece once again.
Belchatow, Poland
9:00-9:30am, 26.04.2012
Lunt Ls35Tha+ Lunt Zoom
Graphite pencil & eraser on white paper…
Object Name: Sun in Ha
Object Type: Full disk solar sketch
Location: Thessaloniki, Greece
Date: April 22, 2012
Media: Adobe Photoshop CS3
Equipment: Coronado PST/Solarmax 40
Amazing view of the Sun through my Coronado PST/Solarmax 40 DS. Many active regions, filaments, sunspots and a big prominence!! Sketch made in Photoshop CS3.
Greetings from Greece!
Stratos Tsanaktsidis
Dear Asod,
I send you here my first sketch made with my L35ST Lunt H-alpha
telescope (not the first one with h-alpha telescopes tho).
I used 57x and 80x zoom for sketching.
The most interesting part was this very long filament, which was there
for 3 days constantly and almost in the same size.
The red-orange parts are showing the lighter areas.
Time & Date: 6th April 2012, UT: 9:30 – 10:00
Media: Graphite and colour pencil used on white paper.
Equipment: 35/400 Lunt H-alpha telescope on EQ2 mount.
Place: Budapest, Hungary
—
dr. Hannák Judit
– Location: Lith, the Netherlands
– Date: 22-3-2012
– Media: pencil sketch on white paper & PS CS5
Today was a beautiful day. The sky was clear, the birds were singing and the sun was shining bright.
I decided to take a look at our star with the Coronado P.S.T. There were not so many sunspots visible, but the prominences were very spectacular.
When looking through the telescope, three huge ‘flares’ were visible at the right side of the sun.
Thanks for watching!
Rutger Teule
www.rutgerteule.com
Hello Artists,
I present to you my first astro sketch in my life- i hope you like it:)
Clear Sky!
Location: Bełchatów, Poland
Date: 07.03.2012, ~3:00 pm
Equipment: Lunt LS35Tha & Lunt Zoom
Media: Graphite pencil on white paper
