Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS. 16x and 25x ( Ha )
The Sun is loaded today with plages and active regions! They are six numbered active regions in the southern hemisphere and two numbered active regions in the northern hemisphere. In addition to these several other unnumbered systems are visible. AR12906 and AR12907 are in the SW quadrant. Despite the poor seeing I can still make out filaments in both of these systems. AR12908 and AR12909 are just over the CLM in the SE quadrant. Two fine filaments can be seen within AR12908. I can see spots in AR12907-908 and 909 as well. An easy group of plages is seen in the far SE quadrant. Only one of these are numbered ( AR12912 ) but I can pick out seven plages here alone! One of these is divided by a filament so it may actually be one system. AR12912 is at the NE corner of the plage grouping and has a single tiny spot that is more easily seen in white light. Just to the east of AR12912 is another plage of the group. The NW quadrant shows the plage of AR12910. The GONG Cerro Tololo image shows a spot there but it's a bit small to see at the low magnifications I am using. AR12911 is seen in the NE quadrant as a plage with a spot on it's western side. The brighter part of the plage is east of the spot. I can also see a disturbance in the far NE.
An easy long patchy filament lies south of the AR12907-908 complex. Another lies SE of AR12909. I can see six filaments in the NW quadrant as well.
Prominences are few and small today. I notice only three. Two on the NE limb and one on the SW limb.
The mottles are seen without difficulty today.
To summarize Ha today I think I did surprisingly well despite the poor seeing. Using this small Ha refractor at such a low magnification helps negate seeing. As well as using the current GONG Cerro Tololo image as a guide I also used Stuart Green's earlier FD Ha image since it gave a more contrasty and sharper view than GONG does. Even though he took it a bit earlier the Sun hadn't changed that much so it proved of value. Thanks Stuart!!
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope 25x and 41.5x ( WL )
Today I stayed below 50x because of poor seeing. I can see fourteen systems on the continuum photosphere today! Six numbered in the south and two numbered in the north. The remaining ones are unnumbered systems. AR12906 in the SW is visible as a single spot. No other detail is seen in it. AR12907 is a smattering of pores and small spots with a larger one at the eastern end of the group. Despite the low magnification and poor seeing I can still make out a penumbra around a dark umbra to it. AR12908 is a fair sized spot with a smaller one to it's SE. AR12909 shows a fair sized spot with a penumbra. I can see a pinching in of the umbra barely. SDO shows a light bridge there that I cannot resolve. I can see a few more small spots/pores in it's vicinity including one to the east of the bigger spot. With these lined up spot groups it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins!!
I can see six patches of faculae in the far SE quadrant. Three of these contain spots. The two westenmost ones are single pores. SDO shows two in the NW one is actually not single but two. I cannot see the tiny second one. The NE faculae belongs to AR12912. I can see a single not too-small-spot. SDO shows a penumbra but I cannot make it out.
AR12910 in the NW shows a spot and pore amid faint faculae. AR12911 in the NE shows a single sizeable spot. I can only barely make out it's penumbra. No faculae visible here. I can see a fairly bright patch of faculae near the NE limb. SDO HMI continuum imagery shows a single pore here but I cannot see it.
I cannot make out the granulation at all today.
Today's music is Winter Songs by Ola Gjeilo.
Carpe Noctem!
James
- GONGha+StuartGreenHa+SDOHMIc_12-19-21.JPG (168.63 KiB) Viewed 355 times
P.S. Is ol' Sol smiling in a wicked sort of way or is it a frown? Look at those wide set eyes! In Stu's image he looks like the " Great Pumpkin "!!
sounds good to me. Have a beer 
with that! And Alexandra, I hope the Sun 
finds you soon.