A Year in the Sun

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 2:57 pm

A project that started with tracking a single sunspot for 7 days continued for an year and this image is the final result of an year-long project. I took an image of the sun for 365 days in a row (from 25th December 2020 to 31st Decmeber 2021, except for 6 days due to complete cloud cover). This image is a blend of all the 365 images showing all the sunspots (AR12794-AR12821) that appeared on the earth-facing solar disk.

Exif: f/6.3, ISO 100, Varied shutter speed (1/60s-1/500s)
Processing: PIPP, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop
Equipment: Nikon D5600, Sigma 150-600c Lens, Thousand Oaks White-light solar filter, Benro rhino series tripod
Date: 25th December 2020 to 31st December 2021
Location: Kolkata, India

eroel · Post by **eroel** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:04 pm

Hi:
Impressive work, lots of patience and constancy.
Best wishes.
Eric.

H-Alpha · Post by **H-Alpha** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:06 pm

Dear SoumyadeepMukherjee,
Your work is amazing!!!!

All your posts are incredible and those that show very long periods of sun activity are truly fascinating.
There is a huge work and dedication behind them.
Since your first ones, I always had the following question:
How is it possible to have 360 days of sun (even partially sunny days in a place?
Are you so lucky in Kolkata, or are you daily on the move to find a location in India where there is no cloud coverage?
Are all photos from your home?

Anyway, your work is fantastic! Congratulations once more!
Alexandros

DeepSolar64 · Post by **DeepSolar64** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:50 pm

Fantastic work! An excellent example of patience, consistency, dedication and documentation, all combined in a single image!

The solar belts are so easily seen!!

Two thumbs up!!

James

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:53 pm

eroel wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:04 pm Hi:
Impressive work, lots of patience and constancy.
Best wishes.
Eric.

Thanka a lot Eric!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:00 pm

H-Alpha wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:06 pm Dear SoumyadeepMukherjee,
Your work is amazing!!!!
All your posts are incredible and those that show very long periods of sun activity are truly fascinating.
There is a huge work and dedication behind them.
Since your first ones, I always had the following question:
How is it possible to have 360 days of sun (even partially sunny days in a place?
Are you so lucky in Kolkata, or are you daily on the move to find a location in India where there is no cloud coverage?
Are all photos from your home?

Anyway, your work is fantastic! Congratulations once more!
Alexandros

Thank you for your kind words Alexandros!

Let me try to answer your question.
Out of this 365 days, around 200 days were sunny (when I could see the sun for 5 minutes or more), around 130 days were cloudy (when I could see the sun for less than 5 minutes) and rest of the days were horrible. On those horrible days, I would wait on the terrace with my equipment for 3-4 hours (the highest being 9 hours) and the sun would appear through the clouds for 30 seconds. Since I used a rather simple set up, I was able to capture an image or two of the sun within that 30 seconds. Those 60-70 days, if seen from a general perspective, would appear completely cloudy. But those 20-30 seconds allowed me to do what I was doing. And on 6 days, I could not see the sun at all!

I hope this answers your query!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:01 pm

DeepSolar64 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:50 pm Fantastic work! An excellent example of patience, consistency, dedication and documentation, all combined in a single image!

The solar belts are so easily seen!!

Two thumbs up!!

James

Thanks a lot James!!

Giorgio · Post by **Giorgio** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:08 pm

Fantastic job !
Thanks for sharing

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:21 pm

Giorgio wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:08 pm Fantastic job !
Thanks for sharing

Thanks a lot Giorgio!

DeepSolar64 · Post by **DeepSolar64** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:29 pm

SoumyadeepMukherjee wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:01 pm
DeepSolar64 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 3:50 pm Fantastic work! An excellent example of patience, consistency, dedication and documentation, all combined in a single image!

The solar belts are so easily seen!!

Two thumbs up!!

James
Thanks a lot James!!

VERY well deserved!!

H-Alpha · Post by **H-Alpha** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:01 pm

SoumyadeepMukherjee wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:00 pm
Thank you for your kind words Alexandros!

Let me try to answer your question.
Out of this 365 days, around 200 days were sunny (when I could see the sun for 5 minutes or more), around 130 days were cloudy (when I could see the sun for less than 5 minutes) and rest of the days were horrible. On those horrible days, I would wait on the terrace with my equipment for 3-4 hours (the highest being 9 hours) and the sun would appear through the clouds for 30 seconds. Since I used a rather simple set up, I was able to capture an image or two of the sun within that 30 seconds. Those 60-70 days, if seen from a general perspective, would appear completely cloudy. But those 20-30 seconds allowed me to do what I was doing. And on 6 days, I could not see the sun at all!

I hope this answers your query!

Very complete and detailed answer! :-)
It shows what I was suspecting... Your patience and dedication is huge! You are in love with the sun! :-)
And we are all happy about this, since it can produce fantastic results.

Congratulations, respect and thanks once more!
Alexandros

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:04 pm

H-Alpha wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:01 pm
SoumyadeepMukherjee wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 4:00 pm
Thank you for your kind words Alexandros!

Let me try to answer your question.
Out of this 365 days, around 200 days were sunny (when I could see the sun for 5 minutes or more), around 130 days were cloudy (when I could see the sun for less than 5 minutes) and rest of the days were horrible. On those horrible days, I would wait on the terrace with my equipment for 3-4 hours (the highest being 9 hours) and the sun would appear through the clouds for 30 seconds. Since I used a rather simple set up, I was able to capture an image or two of the sun within that 30 seconds. Those 60-70 days, if seen from a general perspective, would appear completely cloudy. But those 20-30 seconds allowed me to do what I was doing. And on 6 days, I could not see the sun at all!

I hope this answers your query!
Very complete and detailed answer! :-)
It shows what I was suspecting... Your patience and dedication is huge! You are in love with the sun! :-)
And we are all happy about this, since it can produce fantastic results.

Congratulations, respect and thanks once more!
Alexandros

Thanks again!

Jordan Konisky · Post by **Jordan Konisky** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:10 pm

A tremendous contribution to the Forum. We so appreciate your patience, persistence and skill.

Jordan

EGRAY_OBSERVATORY · Post by **EGRAY_OBSERVATORY** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:29 pm

An excellent example of patience and that dedication,

Thanks vm for sharing your work

Terry

cmas · Post by **cmas** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:30 pm

6 days of cloud cover?! Welcome to Finland, feel free to experience what 6 days of sunshine in a year feels like

(not quite but it surely feels like it as part of the year with clear skies etalons would freeze).

Awesome work, really nice! You have gathered a lot of scientific data for that

pedro · Post by **pedro** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:06 pm

fantastic work, well done

arnedanielsen · Post by **arnedanielsen** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:26 pm

Fantastic image!

Thanks for sharing,
Arne

ffellah · Post by **ffellah** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:47 pm

Unique, excellent work !

Franco

rigel123 · Post by **rigel123** » Fri Mar 04, 2022 10:46 pm

Fantastic! I think if I were to try this in southern Ohio I would have about 50-60 (minimal!) days of total cloud cover so some big gaps in the image!!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:39 am

Jordan Konisky wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:10 pm A tremendous contribution to the Forum. We so appreciate your patience, persistence and skill.

Jordan

Thank you so much Jordan!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:40 am

EGRAY_OBSERVATORY wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:29 pm An excellent example of patience and that dedication,

Thanks vm for sharing your work

Terry

Thank you Terry!!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:41 am

cmas wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:30 pm 6 days of cloud cover?! Welcome to Finland, feel free to experience what 6 days of sunshine in a year feels like (not quite but it surely feels like it as part of the year with clear skies etalons would freeze).

Awesome work, really nice! You have gathered a lot of scientific data for that

Thank you!!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:42 am

pedro wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:06 pm fantastic work, well done

Thank you Pedro!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:42 am

arnedanielsen wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:26 pm Fantastic image!

Thanks for sharing,
Arne

Thank you Arne!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:42 am

ffellah wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 8:47 pm Unique, excellent work !

Franco

Thank you Franco!!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:43 am

rigel123 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 04, 2022 10:46 pm Fantastic! I think if I were to try this in southern Ohio I would have about 50-60 (minimal!) days of total cloud cover so some big gaps in the image!!

Thank you!

Post by **marktownley** » Sat Mar 05, 2022 8:10 am

Brilliant image! Feels like we only get 6 sunny days a year here!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Sat Mar 05, 2022 11:01 am

marktownley wrote: ↑Sat Mar 05, 2022 8:10 am Brilliant image! Feels like we only get 6 sunny days a year here!

Thanks Mark!

daniele_bonfiglio · Post by **daniele_bonfiglio** » Mon Mar 07, 2022 8:39 am

Wonderful result, and indeed congratulation for your dedication and patience!
Did you try making an animation out of this? I guess it would be impressive!
By the way, do the sunspots appear at mostly random latitude in the two bands during your one-year observations, or a (time slice of) butterfly diagram is already noticeable from your data?
I also wonder if there is an easy way to correct for the fact that the solar equator appear to us as a straight line in June and December, while it is curved towards the North pole in March and towards the South pole in September.
Best, Daniele

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:07 am

daniele_bonfiglio wrote: ↑Mon Mar 07, 2022 8:39 am Wonderful result, and indeed congratulation for your dedication and patience!
Did you try making an animation out of this? I guess it would be impressive!
By the way, do the sunspots appear at mostly random latitude in the two bands during your one-year observations, or a (time slice of) butterfly diagram is already noticeable from your data?
I also wonder if there is an easy way to correct for the fact that the solar equator appear to us as a straight line in June and December, while it is curved towards the North pole in March and towards the South pole in September.
Best, Daniele

Hi Daniele, thanks for writing. I made an animation of the first 100 days, but I did not find it much interesting.
Initially, the spots appeared on the higher latitudes and gradually came closer towards the equator.
Sorry, I do not have an answer for your last question.

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Thu Mar 10, 2022 3:38 pm

Thank you all for the kind words and support!

DeepSolar64 · Post by **DeepSolar64** » Thu Mar 10, 2022 4:06 pm

It's well deserved. That was an awesome job!!

DavidP · Post by **DavidP** » Fri Mar 11, 2022 4:03 am

A worthy project! Very well done.

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 11, 2022 4:16 am

DeepSolar64 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 10, 2022 4:06 pm It's well deserved. That was an awesome job!!

Thanks again

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 11, 2022 4:16 am

DavidP wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 4:03 am A worthy project! Very well done.

Thank you David!

Carbon60 · Post by **Carbon60** » Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:20 am

This is superb work. It shows the two active belts beautifully.

With so much precious data, captured by you with such dedication, it would be a shame not to make an animation from this.

Stu.

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Post by **SoumyadeepMukherjee** » Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:48 am

Carbon60 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:20 am This is superb work. It shows the two active belts beautifully.

With so much precious data, captured by you with such dedication, it would be a shame not to make an animation from this.

Stu.

Thank you so much Stu! I have always failed to do an amimation. The last time I made it was with 100 days of data (and somehow I didn't find it interesting!). I have been delaying processing this bunch of data for 3 months and not sure when I can gather courage to create the animation. I will try my best to make one out of it (I said it before too, but failed!)

Post by **Montana** » Thu Sep 15, 2022 6:14 pm

Well done and Congratulations from everyone here at Solarchat

Alexandra

Bill_C · Post by **Bill_C** » Thu Sep 15, 2022 8:13 pm

Very nice photo

Bill

Alun_H · Post by **Alun_H** » Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:40 pm

Awesome dedication and awesome image,well done!

Alun

DeepSolar64 · Post by **DeepSolar64** » Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:44 pm

daniele_bonfiglio · Post by **daniele_bonfiglio** » Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:51 am

Congratulations! https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronom ... nners-2022

MAURITS · Post by **MAURITS** » Fri Sep 16, 2022 11:08 am

Congrats on SPOD.

christian viladrich · Post by **christian viladrich** » Fri Sep 16, 2022 5:00 pm

Congratulations for your price !!

Post by **marktownley** » Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:27 am

Stunning!

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Sat Sep 17, 2022 11:17 am

Thank you everyone for all the kind words and support!

Laszlo Francsics · Post by **Laszlo Francsics** » Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:02 pm

Congratulations for your unique vision, your perseverance and your brilliant implementation.
As a member of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year jury, I can say that there wasn't much debate that yours should be the winning photo of the Sun category. The result is also interesting to me because many H alpha sun photos which required more fashionable but expensive equipment were left behind by your unique WL photo that was made with simple equipment, but it was created with great creativity and outstanding work.

Rob63 · Post by **Rob63** » Sun Sep 18, 2022 11:49 am

Wonderful image and dedication, well deserved win.

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Wed Sep 21, 2022 11:28 am

Laszlo Francsics wrote: ↑Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:02 pm Congratulations for your unique vision, your perseverance and your brilliant implementation.
As a member of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year jury, I can say that there wasn't much debate that yours should be the winning photo of the Sun category. The result is also interesting to me because many H alpha sun photos which required more fashionable but expensive equipment were left behind by your unique WL photo that was made with simple equipment, but it was created with great creativity and outstanding work.

Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad that this image was chosen amongst all the other outstanding entries!

Soumyadeep

SoumyadeepMukherjee · Wed Sep 21, 2022 11:29 am

Thank you everyone for your kind words! It has been a great (and tough) journey throughout this project and I enjoyed it. I'm very happy that I was able to share with all of you an image that you've loved and enjoyed.