August 1st - Busy Ha day

[MapleRidge]

Good day everyone...

Like everyone here, the recent increase in activity has been a welcome sight and I had a wonderfully clear morning on Saturday to do some observing and imaging. The promised clouds did start to roll in close to noon so I didn't do any WL or CaK, but was able to do multiple sets of Ha through different scopes/Ha filters.

I started with the LS80T/DSII/B1800Ha solar scope and ZWO174MM camera for full disk imaging. This first image had the pressure backed right off to give a deep red filtered continuum image:

Full-Ha-OPSI.jpg (213.09 KiB) Viewed 988 times

The next is a composite of separate disk and limb frames (tuned to Ha), with the limb inverted:

Full-Ha.jpg (382.09 KiB) Viewed 988 times

The full disk showed a lot of details in the active regions and the developing region on the NE limb as well. The next series of images were taken with the modded CR-150/DSII/B1800Ha with a 3x focal extender ahead of the camera. The first image is a mosaic of the NE quadrant where the developing and AR2768 were found, with the DSII set to 0 pressure for a red continuum view:

AR2768-2769-3x_CR150-OPSI.jpg (558.52 KiB) Viewed 988 times

Below is the view with the DSII set to the Red-wing of Ha:

AR2768-3x_CR150-8PSI.jpg (1.15 MiB) Viewed 988 times

The next covers the same area with he pressure tuned back to Ha:

AR2768-2769-3x_CR150.jpg (848.05 KiB) Viewed 988 times

On the western quadrant, AR2767 was edging close to the limb, but still of of detail, with images in the red continuum, Red-Wing, and Ha:

3x_CR150_DSII-0_09_59_52-IMP.jpg (306.12 KiB) Viewed 984 times

AR2767-3x_CR150-8PSI.jpg (584.03 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_34_25-IMP.jpg (236.55 KiB) Viewed 984 times

My first impression when I viewed the sun through the LS80T was that the activity was going to be limited to the disk as the proms did not show much to my eye and the full disk images only showed smaller proms in the longer exposures. I was really surprised to see the details with the modded scope and what the longer focal length presented. Here are the prom captures, working clockwise around the limb starting on the SE quadrant:

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_24_24-IMP_SE-Prom.jpg (105.37 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_22_13-IMP_SE-Prom2.jpg (116.3 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_21_30-IMP_SE-Prom3.jpg (144.2 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_20_26-IMP_NE-Prom.jpg (135.42 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3X_CR-150_NE-Proms.jpg (421.21 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_32_18-IMP_B.jpg (292.41 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_30_08-IMP_NW-Prom.jpg (223 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_29_20-IMP_NW-Prom2.jpg (221.16 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_28_25-IMP_NW-Prom3.jpg (128.43 KiB) Viewed 984 times

3x_CR150_DSII-75_10_25_54-IMP_W-Prom.jpg (92.13 KiB) Viewed 984 times

After imaging all these features I changed the 3x extender over to the 5x Powermate to try to pull out more details. Below is a mosaic of the NE limb and the second is the SW limb with AR2767:

AR2768-2769-5x_CR150B.jpg (1.02 MiB) Viewed 979 times

5X_CR-150_DSII-15_10_43_05-IMP.jpg (608.28 KiB) Viewed 979 times

The number of detailed AR's have been so few in the past few years I have not had much opportunity to evaluate the large aperture attempts using the C9.25 Edge, so I put it to work with the PST mod and a 2x focal extender. The images of the the NE and SW quadrants are found bellow, with the emerging AR on its own (my frames did not allow it to fir in the mosaic:

2x_C9_DSII_11_30_39-IMP.jpg (470.38 KiB) Viewed 979 times

AR2768-2x_C9.jpg (990.37 KiB) Viewed 979 times

AR2767-2x_C9.jpg (587.01 KiB) Viewed 979 times

The clouds that rolled in on Saturday brought much needed rain on Sunday...too late for the winter wheat, oats and barley, but this should go a long way to salvaging the corn and soybean crops in the more hard hit drought areas. Besides, a cloud day bought me time to process these

Hope everyone finds something of interest in these, and questions and comments are always welcome.

Brian

[dhkaiser]

Wonderful set of images. I might try some of your techniques.

[marktownley]

Lots of great shots Brian, looks like you had a very productive morning!

[MalVeauX]

Great session Brian, lots of great captures!

Very best,

[MapleRidge]

Dan, Mark, and Marty...

Thanks for your comments and feedback on these images. Always much appreciated

Brian

[Montana]

I think you have some of the finest spicule edge details I have ever seen Brian, you must have had wonderful seeing a super solar harvest! I am glad you have some rain (can't believe I said that, I wish we could get rid of ours).

Alexandra

[Derek Klepp]

Great day Brian.

[ffellah]

A very fine set of images, Brian ! Not only a large number, but with very high resolution and detail. The proms and spicules detail is truly excellent.

Franco

[JochenM]

Looks like you had quite the productive session there, Brian. Great results.

[MapleRidge]

Alexandra, Derek, Franco, and Jochen...

Thanks everyone for the comments on the session...much appreciated

Alexandra, the seeing was better than my typical offering, but I wouldn't say it was that great. I did not have the SSM setup while experimenting with the scope/filter combinations so it may have been better than I thought

Take care everyone,
Brian

[eroel]

Brian:
A fruitful session, beautiful images all of them.
Best regards,
Eric.

[MapleRidge]

Thanks Eric

Brian

[yltansg]

Hi Brian,

Great shots. You have covered so many aspects!!

Alfred

[MapleRidge]

Thanks for your comments Alfred

Brian

[rsfoto]

Hi Brian,

Excellent. Are you sure that on one of the H-alpha images you are on the Red wing ? I see some bright spots which could be Ellermann bombs ¿?

[DeepSolar64]

Brian,
I noticed some bright points very near the sunspot in a couple of your images. Could these be the Ellerman bombs that Montana seeks? Or is it a part of the plage/faculae structure that surrounds the spot? Or an artifact? These bright places are shown on the 6th and 7th images.

The spicule layer looks great in your images!!

James

[MapleRidge]

Rainer and James...

Thanks for your comments on the image series

James, these bright spots in the Ha wings have been referred to as Ellerman Bombs in the past...though there may be some dispute about that now. Either way, they are not artifacts as they have been recorded in my off band images for years.

Rainer...I have been hunting for details on what side of the Ha centre-line the Ellerman Bombs are found on and most have been non specific or simply say they are in the 'wings', so I take that as being found in both the Red and Blue wings. In the Solar Astronomy Handbook (Beck, Hilbrecht, Reinsh and Volker), they refer to them being in the Ha wings. Based on this I have taken them to be a feature of both sides of the centre.

The first image in the series was taken with no pressure in the pressure tuned etalon, so it's acting like a deep red filter and not showing the typical Ha features...hence my continuum reference. The second image that shows the features in question had pressure increased to about 1/2 that which gives me the on-band image (3rd in the series). This is usually in the 7.5-8 PSI range and if the pressure is run up to the low 20 PSI range I can get the features on the other side of Ha. If the zero pressure is passing red the red continuum, I can only assume that as the pressure is increased the tuning progresses through the Red wing to centre-band, then onto the Blue wing at the higher pressures. I currently cannot tune much past 17 PSI due to a pressure by-pass tripping the the Lunt remote tuner, the image posted is not past the on-band one. The remote unit needs service! Oh, I generally find the modded scope hits Ha centre around 15 PSI.

Now, I stand to be corrected on my interpretation both the ability to detect the Ellerman Bombs in both wings, and my interpretation of the low pressure in the Pressure Tuned etalons being in the red wing and higher pressure migrates to the blue.

The floor is open

Brian

[DeepSolar64]

Brian,
I was picking up brighter areas near the spot today using my SMII90 but I stop short of definitely identifying them as Ellerman bombs. In your photos they have a more pointlike appearance. Like a bright spark. These I saw were a little larger and not so bright compared with the background. Probably brighter areas within the plage structure. But one never knows. However it should be possible with correct tuning to pick the bombs up given the scope has adequate resolution.

James