solar images (Blue Mountains)

While warm and pleasant, we were not looking at as gorgeous a day today. Regardless, I wanted to look at the Sun again. We fired up the TV101 and C14 with appropriate solar filters.

The Hα and full spectrum images were good. On reviewing the spaceweather.com web site, I learned that there were in fact 3 visible sunspot complexes on the face of Sol. From east to west they were 1243, 1244, and 1242. I had only seen the big one, 1243, yesterday, in white light.

I captured a number of images with the MallinCam in the Tele Vue 101 'scope. I used the MCC software solar profile but shortened the exposure to 1/6000 or 1/8000 to try to coax out more detail.



I also played with the gamma (defaulting to 0.45). When the gamma was high, at 1.0, it blocked the flares but punched up the filaments.



North is toward the wording in these images; east is toward to the top-right corner.

Clouds drifted between us. Clouds that would later block everything.