Breezy March Sun

Afternoon Session

Good opportunities for solar observing are rare. I have to take advantage of each one, even if conditions aren't ideal. Such was the case on March 18th when gusty wind threatened to blow my laptop light shield box off the observing table. Wind speed diminished a bit in the afternoon, so I risked poor seeing and began imaging at 3:15 pm, EDT.

Several sunspots and filaments were distributed across the solar disc as you can see in the 11-panel mosaic below.

Significant prominences were located only in the lower right quadrant displayed in the next 7-panel mosaic.

Individual sunspot groups show well in the next two close views. First, single umbra sunspot 4030 appears near center. Curious, dim, triple umbra sunspot 4028 is to the lower right. (Click on images for a larger view.) The enlarged image shows a complex of magnetic arches to the upper left of sunspot 4030. The triple umbra in 4028 resembles a dog face!

The second close view shows a diagonal string of complicated sunspot structure above center. Running from upper left to lower right along the diagonal line are sunspots 4031, 4025, and 4022. Solitary umbra 4021 is below center. 

These images look unexpectedly decent in spite of episodic periods of bad seeing.