My solar telescopes are back in the light. For the past few months I have been working on a very special project and chose to put observing on hold for a time so I could put my full energy into the project. After more than 20 years of observing the sun, it was nice toContinue reading “Leave of Absence”
Tag Archives: Sun
Captain Cook and His Telescopes
A life-sized figure of Captain Cook greeted us at the Reva Reva bungalow at Rohotu Fare in Bora Bora recently. We had brought along a spyglass telescope representative of Cook’s era that was then wrapped with thin rope made from local plant fibers to provide a comfortable grip. The antique telescope has excellent optics withContinue reading “Captain Cook and His Telescopes”
KABOOM!
I recently caught these images of gigantic magnetic explosions on the sun (bright areas near the solar limb). They are far larger than earth which is represented by the blue dot at the bottom center of the image. They result from chaotic interactions between unbelievably strong magnetic fields that explosively reconnect and shower the solarContinue reading “KABOOM!”
Sun Buddies
A chipping sparrow remained patiently at the feeder, most of the time just looking about, during the half hour I spent observing the sun yesterday morning. I liked to think that it was a little friend curiously watching, sharing the moment. Maybe not, but that’s what I chose to believe. At first I thought itContinue reading “Sun Buddies”
Sun Near and Far
It’s winter here in the northern hemisphere, so the sun must be farther away, right? Wrong! As can be seen in the photo composite above, the sun looks smaller in the sky in July than it does in January because of the change of distance. Earth is over a million miles closer to the sunContinue reading “Sun Near and Far”
Cranes in the Hood
I was taking my daily telescopic photos of the sun when I heard the distinctive rattling trill of cranes. The sun and scopes just had to wait while I scanned the sky for my feathered friends. Shortly they came into view high above the trees and began circling overhead in the rising air currents. ThenContinue reading “Cranes in the Hood”
Fall Migration
By night they rest in the shed, but by day, they look at the sun from whatever part of the yard is free of shadows from nearby trees. The telescopes even go through a migration. During spring, summer and early fall, they observe from the cement pad by the shed, but from late October toContinue reading “Fall Migration”
One Hundred Thousand Years and Eight Minutes
Warmth from morning sunbeams sent steamy vapors streaming outward and upward from the trunk of this tree. I just had to savor magic of the moment before releasing my inner nerd, for the energy that made it happen was created a long time ago. Here goes! Sometime about 100,000 years ago some protons in theContinue reading “One Hundred Thousand Years and Eight Minutes”
Sunset Siblings
Venus, the small dot near the right horizon, has taken its place as the evening star once again while the grinning crescent moon lies higher in the twilight sky. Together, they trace the path that the sun will appear to follow as it heads south towards fall and then on to winter. #venus #moon #sunContinue reading “Sunset Siblings”
Ten Thousand
If my record keeping is correct, this is the 10,000th image of the Sun that I have submitted to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. I started in 2003 but was limited by my work schedule until 2018. Since then the observation numbers have soared. I like this image; it makes the Sun lookContinue reading “Ten Thousand”
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 