March Solar Chats.

[Gordon]

Well here we are. March already.

At least in my 'sunny Arizona' location (not!) I haven't been able to do much solar work.

[Thefatkitty]

March already is right. DST on the 12th, my daughter turns 18 on the 16th, finally St. Paddy's is on a Friday, then spring on the 20th.

Were supposedly in for 20-30cm's (8 inches to a foot) of the white fluffy stuff on Friday, with more to follow next week

Methinks you won't be seeing much from me solar-wise in the next bit; I hope you all have better luck!

[Makuser]

Hi Gordon and Mark. March certainly is going to be a busy month and you forgot the Roman "Ides of March" on the 15th (also called doomsday). The weather here has warmed up this last week but we still have 90/95% humidity most mornings and tapers off only a little bit later in the day. Hopefully I can get out and do some solar white viewing soon with one of my refractors and a solar filter, as the sun has really been heating up a lot lately and there should be some great active regions to see.

[Thefatkitty]

Well, guess who got lucky today After Fridays (March 3rd) massive dump of snow and the weekend of humidity and snow fit for making a snowman with slightly above freezing temps, I woke up today to clear AM skies and crunchy snow underfoot with a temperature of -15F (5C).

I got in at 2PM and used my C80-HD with Baader 5.0 OD film and Baader Solar Continuum with UV/IR filters. 150 shots at ISO 800 at 1/200th sec exp with my Canon EOS 550D. Aligned in PIPP and the best 75% of the pics stacked in AS3. Mild sharpening in PSP9 with the planets to scale.

Full size image here


Hope you're having some luck as well!

All the best,

[Tillibobs]

Thanks for posting Mark, excellent images ! We actually had some clear sky yesterday and I've decided to get my Lunt ready for action on my next " good " day. The Sun is getting higher in the sky by the day. On the downside we have snow forecast up to the weekend.

[LDW47]

I have progressed up through the solar ranks over the last few years, I started with a PST, a 1.25" Lunt solar wedge and a couple of different size Baader WL filters for a couple of my refractors. Then I bought an Altair Astro 2" wedge and a Lunt 40mm Ha scope and I just sold it and moved up to the Lunt 50mm because I wanted to try the pressure tuning feature. I mounted my scopes on AZ mounts until I bought a SW HelioFind mount, a huge jump forward, it functions perfectly. Unfortunately I have yet to try the new 50 because of the well below freezing temps and lack of sun that hasn't been free of ice crystals the last few months. This solar world has been exciting and has sure extended my viewing time during retirement (75 yrs old) !

[messier 111]

I haven't had the chance to use my apm wedge yet.
the temperature here is execrable to be polite.
but I know that the days are longer and hotter so my turn will come.

[Thefatkitty]

the temperature here is execrable to be polite.

!! Le meme chose ici mon ami!! But at least so far it's clear. Hope you get a chance to try it soon

Second clear day in a row and only -10C (14F); better than yesterday.

Same scope, equipment, camera and settings as above.

Full size image here


Methinks that's the end of my little run.

@Tillibobs, hope you have some luck Keith!!

All the best,

[messier 111]

very nice take , I can't wait to see Helios. thx .

[Makuser]

Hello Mark. Some very nice solar images in white light. Lots of active regions visible, and as always, I enjoy the size comparisons and annotations. Thanks for sharing these with us Mark and the best of wishes for many clear skies.

[Thefatkitty]

Thanks Marshall! But I'd gladly trade my views of the Sun for your views of rocket launches!!

Well, third day's a charm. This will be my last views of the Sun for a bit. Snow expected tomorrow...

Full size image here


I've also been looking at HA scopes... Wow, a 40mm Lunt is barely within my budget. I was thinking about the Daystar as well. Either way, ouch! Any other options?

Clear skies to you all,

[NGC 1365]

A sketch of todays large prom as seen through a Lunt LS100THa at 143 and 204x magnification from near Sydney Australia.

[Gordon]

Here's one from the other day.

Telescope: Explore Scientific ED80CF
Mount: Orion Atlas EQ-g
Camera: ZWO ASI174mm-c
Filter: Daystar Quark Chromosphere

[NGC 1365]

Here's the large prom that sprung up within the last day, sketched at 9.15am local time Sydney Australia. I had another look at it around 3pm and it was starting to lift off. but still anchored at one point. A thunderstorm came through 15 minutes later and it was all over half hour later (the prom and the storm). The liftoff can be seen on the GONG Learmonth site.
Sketched as seen through a Lunt LS100 single stacked scope at 143x magnification

[Lady Fraktor]

Some great images from you all!
I managed to get out for about 20 minutes with the wedge, very enjoyable as it has not happened as much as I would like lately.
I am going to have to start thinking about a new Ha refractor soon.

Good luck everyone.

[Makuser]

Hi Gabrielle and all. Thanks for the many great solar images on this thread. I have been working on getting a Lunt Ha telescope for years now, but when I see the fantastic solar Ha images from Gordon and others here on TSS using the Daystar Quark Chromosphere, I am starting to change my mind. I can use this on one my telescopes and not have to buy another mount. Something to think about.

[Tillibobs]

It's horses for courses Marshall. I tried a Quark a few years ago but found I wasted too much time dialing in the various temperatures etc. I'm not knocking the Quark, just saying it's not for me ( in fact it's with Fraz now to see what he can make of it ) It'll have to be good to compare with his Mods.
Keith.

[Lady Fraktor]

If going to dive into the Ha pool, good with both feet first
https://www.meade.com/coronado-h-alpha- ... h-bf30.pdp

[Thefatkitty]

Thanks for the above, all, and thanks Keith. I was looking at the Quark but a big Hmmm on that... I prefer less electronics And Gabrielle, I agree on the scope but the price tag? Wow is all I can say!

I'll satisfy myself with everyone else's HA shots/sketches for the moment

We've had less sunlight here the past few months since well before I was born; 83 years.

ontario-just-lived-through-one-of-the-darkest-winters-in-more-than-80-years


Today though was sunny from the get go. I felt good having the Sun rise to clear skies at 7AM; getting all that Vitamin D from ol' Sol. The glare though from the snow was blinding!


I rolled in at 2:30 PM in a great mood and thought to share my sunny day with Sasha the cat who was waiting at the back door. Sarah thought to take a video of all this. You can see it's already not going well 5 seconds into it...

Sasha was not in the mood to share my happiness. So happy to see me, so angry when I acknowledge her royal presence.

Yup, time to let the feline be...

She satisfied herself with some dry food and I got my usual white light arsenal. If I had realised that there was so little going on with ol' Sol I might have skipped this photo session. For what it's worth:

Full size image here



Tonight was supposed to be clear, but that's not going to happen. At least the feline is at rest....

Half a month to go for March; should be fun to see how it works out.

All the best,

[messier 111]

Thanks for the above, all, and thanks Keith. I was looking at the Quark but a big Hmmm on that... I prefer less electronics And Gabrielle, I agree on the scope but the price tag? Wow is all I can say!

I'll satisfy myself with everyone else's HA shots/sketches for the moment

We've had less sunlight here the past few months since well before I was born; 83 years.

ontario-just-lived-through-one-of-the-darkest-winters-in-more-than-80-years


Today though was sunny from the get go. I felt good having the Sun rise to clear skies at 7AM; getting all that Vitamin D from ol' Sol. The glare though from the snow was blinding!


I rolled in at 2:30 PM in a great mood and thought to share my sunny day with Sasha the cat who was waiting at the back door. Sarah thought to take a video of all this. You can see it's already not going well 5 seconds into it...


cat01.jpg



Sasha was not in the mood to share my happiness. So happy to see me, so angry when I acknowledge her royal presence.


cat02.jpg



Yup, time to let the feline be...


cat03.jpg



She satisfied herself with some dry food and I got my usual white light arsenal. If I had realised that there was so little going on with ol' Sol I might have skipped this photo session. For what it's worth:


Sun_03_15_2023s.jpg


Full size image here



Tonight was supposed to be clear, but that's not going to happen. At least the feline is at rest....


sky.jpg



Half a month to go for March; should be fun to see how it works out.

All the best,

I have no problem believing you, I would say in Quebec near Ottawa, for my cause.
The winter has been and is still very dark, filled with clouds and clouds and clouds.
I guess you got it, clouds.
nice cat and pictures .

merci pour le lien mon ami.