For the third time since I became a member of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observservers (ALPO), I have a photo on the cover of their publication, The Strolling Astronomer. Mine is the lower, purple, calcium-K light image showing a sunspot so large that it was visible through a solar filter without a telescope.Continue reading “Covered”
Tag Archives: Sun
Acorn in the Morning Light
While photographing the Sun yesterday morning, I happened to glance downward at the cement pad I was working from. This acorn with its crisp shadow caught my eye, and I just had to pause a moment to photograph it. Though small, it left a big impression. #acorn #shadow #sunlight
Passing Shadow
Yesterday the Moon passed in front of the Sun to produce this partial eclipse which I viewed using the Sunspotter telescope shown at the top. Some western states saw an annular eclipse where the Moon passed through the center of the solar disk to produce a “ring of fire” completely around the Moon shadow. SinceContinue reading “Passing Shadow”
Good Day, Lilly
While waiting for the sun to come out so I could get images, I was lured away from my telescopes by this backyard beauty. A short time later, the clouds parted and flower and I both had our time in the sun. Though I love seeing the sun through my solar telescopes, the glory ofContinue reading “Good Day, Lilly”
Sucker Hole
Yesterday my three solar telescopes waited for a promising “sucker hole” in the clouds to let me to do my daily observation and imaging of the Sun. For more than an hour, the opening in the sky lay tantalizingly close to the hot, cloud-muted Sun, but eventually closed, rather than opening. Overhead and to theContinue reading “Sucker Hole”
Sun Pox
The Sun goes through sunspot cycles about every 11 years. At minimum no spots at all can be seen most days, but now we are leading up to a maximum in the cycle, which will probably peak next year. Several large groups of spots, known as active regions, were visible, and this is normal forContinue reading “Sun Pox”
Heading South
Clouds and hot temperatures persuaded me not to get out the telescope and observe the Moon and planets last night. Somewhere in the western sky Mercury, Venus, and Mars lurked in the evening glow, shrouded by clouds. The Moon’s path is now angling toward the south, tracing the route that the Sun will shortly followContinue reading “Heading South”
Busy Sun
Yesterday’s Sun was very active with lots of spots visible on the surface as seen on the photo at top in white light. The middle image shows the intense magnetic fields (bright areas) associated with the spots on the surface. The lower image shows structures that temporarily hover over the solar surface in addition toContinue reading “Busy Sun”
Now You See It, Now You Don’t.
A large, perhaps 200,000 mile long, dark filament with a total mass of a billions of tons or more has been visible on the southern hemisphere of the Sun for the past several days (lower right side of the upper image), but it was gone the next day (lower image). Where’d it go? The filamentContinue reading “Now You See It, Now You Don’t.”
8,000
It’s really not much to look at, just a little round ball with a few scattered spots. But looks can be deceiving, this “little” round ball is actually 835,000 miles in diameter and the larger spots are nearly as large as the Earth. However, this image means a lot to me since, if I haveContinue reading “8,000”
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 