TheSkySearchers

I started out preparing to shoot this very large active region as the sun came up... 0700 hrs. I wanted the equipment to acclimate to the colder (41 deg) temps and setting it up three hours beforehand meant much less difficulty during the shoot.

80mm ED scope with a Quark hanging off the back end... Camera: ASI174MM-cooled.

Thanks for the peek.

Left-Click for better view... Clear Skies & Stay Safe

Very nice

Looks great John with superb knotty detail.

So did you get everything set up at 4 am? Were skies clear or smoky?

I watched the moon set through the smoke a few minutes ago, still in the dark.

Excellent detail John.

Nice to see the Sun getting busier after such a long period of modest activity.

If this keeps up I'll have to get my Seymour Solar Sheet out. Would I capture any detail around a major Sun spot?

Regards

Graeme

helicon wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2020 12:57 pm Looks great John with superb knotty detail.

So did you get everything set up at 4 am? Were skies clear or smoky?

I watched the moon set through the smoke a few minutes ago, still in the dark.

Michael... I didn't set up until 0700 hrs. Although I was up at 0400 hrs studying the AR to get ready for the shot.

My smoke was literally gone yesterday morning. The change in winds made my sky perfectly smokeless for the first time in a month.

For what it's worth, here's my logbook entry for yesterday...

0700 HRS (Sunrise)… TEMP 44.6 DEG, WIND 3 MPH. Humidity 33% (seeing 1.24 arc sec)
Mounted equipment on mount to allow for acclimation… COLD!!.
Sun will be at 30 degrees above horizon at 1001 hrs. 33 degrees at 1031 hrs. (PDT)
Seeing at 1030hrs will be 4.5/5 according to MetroBlue. (1.02 arc sec) (Jet Stream 9m/s)

1000 HRS… TEMP 68 DEG, WIND 0- GUSTING TO 4. Humidity 21%. Seeing was about 4/5 as the Jet Stream was kicking up since earlier forecast.
Flipped a bunch of switches and started tracking while the Quark warmed up.

1015 HRS… The Live View in Sharpcap looked like the sun was underwater. Decided to shoot 2000 frames, vice my usual 1000. Took ten shots of surface, tweaking the histogram between shots. The little “teepee” prom that was on GONG this morning has fallen away to nothing. Oh well!

1100 HRS… Got everything “in the can”. Now, to “hope”. LOL

Graeme1858 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2020 1:20 pm If this keeps up I'll have to get my Seymour Solar Sheet out. Would I capture any detail around a major Sun spot?

On a spot that large, there should be plenty of detail. I was just on Solar Chat and there are several white-lite images of 2778 that are well detailed.

Hi John. Another superb solar image from you again. Your AR2778 capture shows lots of nice fine details. Also, according to Raben Systems, AR2778 has a very new neighbor AR2779, also near the Earth side western limb of the Sun. Thanks for another great solar work John, and the very best of regards.

Makuser wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2020 1:53 pm Also, according to Raben Systems, AR2778 has a very new neighbor AR2779, also near the Earth side limb of the Sun.

Marshall, I was just looking at that on GONG. I'm going to try to catch 2778 & 2779 together today. Seeing isn't great 3.5/5, but it's worth the effort. We'll see.

Congratulations John on having your image selected as todays TSS APOD!

app.php/article/10-29-2020-tss-astropho ... of-the-day

Congrats on winning the APOD John.

Congratulations on the APOD.

Nice deal on the APOD John, and that is some great detail! Also nice to hear your skies have cleared some; I'm still waiting here...

All the best buddy,

Thanks Everyone. I appreciate the APOD honor very much.

Clear Skies & Stay Safe

It's wonderful. Thanks, John, for sharing, and congrats on the APOD.

Love your sunspots and love your Halloween AVATAR. Just the AVATAR is worthy of an award!

BABO

BABOafrica wrote: ↑Fri Oct 30, 2020 12:58 pm Love your sunspots and love your Halloween AVATAR.

Thanks BaBo! Just wait until you see my Christmas AVATAR.