April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
- DeepSolar64
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April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Session time is 11:00am until just after noon EDT local time ( US ). The skies were a mixture of clouds and sun which permitting me to observe for about an hour before going largely overcast again. Seeing sucked today after me having the last several days with fair to decent seeing. And I chose to image today. The temperature was 72F.
I had some stuff to do today with my wife and did not get to post during the day so come late evening I gathered my observing notes, GONG and SDO images saved from this morning and edited my own images to post this report in the wee hours of night. Better late than never....
Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS. 32x, 44.5x and 64x ( Ha )
The first thing I notice on the solar disc is the long dark filament in the NE. Except for a smaller one near the north pole it's the only one I see on the disc. It's certainly the only one of significance. I can barley pick out the plage below it. It's the only plage I can see on the disc.
I can see all the proms shown on the GONG Cerro Tololo Ha image. They are nice examples in the NE, NW and SW. I especially notice changes in the SW prom over the hour or so that I observed. At one time I could see at least three voids/bubbles at the base of the prom and one in the main body of it. They move and change over the time I observed. Even my images show it!
None of my disc images turned out. Too blurry. but some of the prom ones while not the sharpest were usable. I over-colorized and over-sharpened one a bit in an attempt to show more detail and cropped it at full size.
The mottles were visible easily across the disc and the limb spicule layer could be seen but not resolved.
Celestron NexStar 102 GT w/Altair wedge and 540nm filter. 55.5x ( WL )
The only thing I noticed was a sparse patch of faculae near the SE limb. It took a close look to see. No spots or pores seen today. Despite the poor seeing I can see the granulation a bit.
Carpe Noctem!! It's bedtime for me.
James
I had some stuff to do today with my wife and did not get to post during the day so come late evening I gathered my observing notes, GONG and SDO images saved from this morning and edited my own images to post this report in the wee hours of night. Better late than never....
Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS. 32x, 44.5x and 64x ( Ha )
The first thing I notice on the solar disc is the long dark filament in the NE. Except for a smaller one near the north pole it's the only one I see on the disc. It's certainly the only one of significance. I can barley pick out the plage below it. It's the only plage I can see on the disc.
I can see all the proms shown on the GONG Cerro Tololo Ha image. They are nice examples in the NE, NW and SW. I especially notice changes in the SW prom over the hour or so that I observed. At one time I could see at least three voids/bubbles at the base of the prom and one in the main body of it. They move and change over the time I observed. Even my images show it!
None of my disc images turned out. Too blurry. but some of the prom ones while not the sharpest were usable. I over-colorized and over-sharpened one a bit in an attempt to show more detail and cropped it at full size.
The mottles were visible easily across the disc and the limb spicule layer could be seen but not resolved.
Celestron NexStar 102 GT w/Altair wedge and 540nm filter. 55.5x ( WL )
The only thing I noticed was a sparse patch of faculae near the SE limb. It took a close look to see. No spots or pores seen today. Despite the poor seeing I can see the granulation a bit.
Carpe Noctem!! It's bedtime for me.
James
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
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Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
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- marktownley
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Nice report and images James! Lets hope activity picks up soon.
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Thanks James and also hoping for busier-times..
Terry
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
I really like the last image James, that's a cracker and lovely report too
Alexandra
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Very nice James. You’re getting decent results even under challenging conditions.The main filament was very striking on Thursday and Friday, though seeing left a lot to be desired here too.
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
SWProm2 was actually taken before SWProm but I labelled them in the order I edited them. At least if my memory is right....
Alexandra, I did the disk in yellow because I couldn't get the black to look right. It picked up too many bright areas at the base of the prom and darkened them. The disk edge looked like a black wavy horizon. Like the edge of the moon! It was far less apparent in yellow. I almost left it in monochrome.
Thanks everyone and yes the sun has been really calm lately.
Yesterday I had poor seeing and today I have clouds and rain.
James
Alexandra, I did the disk in yellow because I couldn't get the black to look right. It picked up too many bright areas at the base of the prom and darkened them. The disk edge looked like a black wavy horizon. Like the edge of the moon! It was far less apparent in yellow. I almost left it in monochrome.
Thanks everyone and yes the sun has been really calm lately.
Yesterday I had poor seeing and today I have clouds and rain.
James
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
James, you don't have to have a wavy line, are you using GIMP?
Making a prominence mask in GIMP
Open GIMP
Open Image
Click on Ellipse selection tool (tool box icons) on top left
On the left panel tick ‘fixed’ so that when you drag it remains a perfect circle.
I also clicked expand from centre but do what you prefer.
Click on your image and drag out an initial circle. While it still has a box round with corners you can put the mouse over the centre of the ellipse, click and hold and move the circle, then go to a corner, click and expand or contract. Keep doing this until you get the exact right size to cover the disc of the Sun.
When happy, click on the ‘bucket fill’ icon (in the tools top left)
Tick, click whole selection (on the left hand panel) and make sure that your foreground colour is set to black. Have the Fill type (left hand panel) checked as FG colour fill (foreground).
Take your mouse over to the circle and click once on it. It should fill with black.
Alexandra
Making a prominence mask in GIMP
Open GIMP
Open Image
Click on Ellipse selection tool (tool box icons) on top left
On the left panel tick ‘fixed’ so that when you drag it remains a perfect circle.
I also clicked expand from centre but do what you prefer.
Click on your image and drag out an initial circle. While it still has a box round with corners you can put the mouse over the centre of the ellipse, click and hold and move the circle, then go to a corner, click and expand or contract. Keep doing this until you get the exact right size to cover the disc of the Sun.
When happy, click on the ‘bucket fill’ icon (in the tools top left)
Tick, click whole selection (on the left hand panel) and make sure that your foreground colour is set to black. Have the Fill type (left hand panel) checked as FG colour fill (foreground).
Take your mouse over to the circle and click once on it. It should fill with black.
Alexandra
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Nice report, proms are good
Robert
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Thanks Alexandra. I do use the GIMP editor. I have been doing it an entirely different way using the select color tool. Your way sounds more user controllable. I will try it the next time I image. Thank you very much. I nice even solar edge is much more appealing.
James
James
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Very good images, James, you captured the prominence really well.
Franco
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Re: April 9 2021 Observations. Visual and Imaging.
Thank you Franco. I wasn't satisfied with the majority of my images yesterday. They seemed to lack definition. I am beginning to process today's images now. I hope they have turned out better.
James
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "