Sun and Shadow

Gossamer Filaments

The Sun had three sunspots, several filaments, and nice prominences on October 5th. Now, after the autumnal equinox, the Sun is getting lower each day, its light blocked by more and more trees as it travels across the sky. My observing window is shrinking. In another six weeks it will be very difficult to continue imaging. It's time to make the most of the remaining days.

Here is a 3-image mosaic showing two sunspots and one nice prominence.

Sunspots 1582(left), 1579(right) and a prominence (click for full detail.)

A more detailed view of the prominence in the image above shows arching streams of gas following magnetic field lines.

More detailed view of prominence (Click for full detail.)

Here's the same prominence alone, displayed with a new color.

The third sunspot showed activity in the white area below the spot.

Sunspot 1585 (Click for full detail.)

This 5-image mosaic shows how the three sunspots were arranged on the solar disk.

(Click for full detail.)

In the midst of my observing session the solar image suddenly disappeared from the computer screen. At first I thought the camera was malfunctioning. The screen showed bright and dark areas, but no curved solar rim and no solar features. Focusing didn't help. Just minutes before everything was perfect! What in the world was causing this problem? I got out from under my light-blocking cloth and looked at the front of the telescope. There I discovered a triangular shadow cast by my chimney covering three quarters of the front lens! In just a few minutes the shadow moved off the lens and a sharp solar image returned. This is what happens in my less than ideal observing location as the Sun gets lower in the autumn sky.

Here is a 3-image mosaic spanning the Sun's southern limb. Notice the filament-to-prominence transition visible on the left, the nice, flame-like prominence in the middle, and the diffuse, veil-like filament on the right.

Filaments and Prominences (Click for full detail.)

Here's a closer view of the gossamer filament seen on the right in the image above.

Gossamer filament (Click for full detail.)