Sunspots: what to see?

I used my picture of the huge sunspot AR3664 to point out what to see beyond the umbra and penumbra.

 

My picture of Sunspot 3664 on STCE website and newsletter 20240524

My picture of the very active Sunspot AR3664 taken on May 9th, is published on the Solar Terrestrial Centre of Excellence (STCE) website.

See also the newletter in pdf. 

Video : Aurora - Northern Light

I made a video of about 100 images taken on May 10th during the Aurora show above Belgium. Enjoy watching the video.

Click on the picture to watch the video

More picture of the Northern Light of May 10

Some more pictures taken of the aurora of 10 May above Averbode (Belgium). All pictures taken with Nikon D7500, 15mm f/4, ISO1600 and 5s exposure time.

 

Sunspot AR3664 responsable for Aurora above Belgium

On May 10, I made some images of sunspot AR3664. This huge sunspot (2400MH) was very active with M and X flares. The resulting CME's are responsible for a fantastic live aurora show above Belgium and many other countries.

Setting:

SolarMax III 70/400 f/5.7 with ASI290MM

Reducer x0.5

Lights : Exposure time 0.675ms, 82 fps, 3000 frames

Use of flats. 

Software : SharpCap 4.1, AstroSurface, CS4  

Aurora or Northern Light

 Some more pictures of Aurora or Northern Light above Belgium.

Aurora or Northern Light visible from Averbode (Belgium)

Sunspot AR3664 is very active and is creating ongoing CME 's. This evening Kp went from 7 to 8 and even 8.75. So good chance for Northern Light... and yes it was there. At certain moments the phenomen was even visible with the naked eye... how cool. 

Big Sunspot AR3664 AR3668

Sunspot AR366/3668 is about 1200MH big and was also responsable for a flare X2.1 this morning. When lookng at the sunspot you will see a lot of details: umbra, penumbra, fibrils, umbraldots, lightbridges and granulation. It's one of my few pictures with such clear granulation.

Setting:

TAL200K f/8.5 with ASI290MM

Barlow x2

Filter: Solarfilter ND3.8, OIII filter and IR/UV cut filter

Exposuretime 1ms, 3000 frames, 81fps

Software: Sharpcap 4, AstroSurface, CS4

Pictures of Solar Eclipse April 8 2024 in Kerrville Texas

Below my pictures of the Total Solar Eclipse of April 8, 2024 taken in Kerrville Texas. For my report of the trip please see this link on my blog 

Equipment: used: 

Nikon D7500 with TLAPO80/480 f/6

Filters : Solar filter ND3.8 and UV/IR Cut

Setting : ISO100 

Diamant ring, Baily's bead and Prominences

Total Solar Eclipse Kerrville Texas - Report

Today, April 8, 2024 was the day we planned for... the solar eclipse. At half past four this morning we left San Antonio for Kerrville. The latest weather forecast  were no't good at all and we even had some droplets falling on the way to Kerrville.

We arrived at six o'clock and went straight to the parking lot..... and it closed. So we drove back for a couple of miles to stop at Starbucks for a coffee and muffin! At seven o'clock we drove back to the parking lot and took the shuttle bus to the recreation park "Louse Hays Park" in the middle of the city. 

Everything was ready for the Kerrville Eclipse Festival. The park was still empty when we arrived around a quarter to eight, but it was filling up by eleven o'clock up to 20.000 people. In the meantime, we had already met people from Seattle, Chile, Mexico, etc. Everyone was in a good mood and willing to have a chat. NASA was also present and provided the necessary explanation about the solar eclipse. Astronaut Reid Wiseman gave an interview. He was recently named commander of NASA's Artemis II mission to the moon. 

 Despite the cloudy sky, the sun regularly came through and we could enjoy the natural spectacle. Just as the sun completely disappeared behind the moon, the sky opened slightly, just enough to see the full solar eclipse. It remains an amazing phenomenon: it slowly gets colder and darker until it is as dark as night. As befits a festival, a group also came to sing: Judah and the lion. They played country/folk music and quite a few people stayed around to listen. Despite the clouds, it was still a successful eclipse.

After leaving the park we went back to San Antonio which took us 1 hour longer due to traffic jams.

We found out that a couple a days before the eclipcse,  Kerrville issued disaster declaration. 

First release of Solar Eclipse 2024 in Kerreville Texas

This is a first release of my pictures of the Solar Eclipse april 8,2024 @ Kerreville Texas. Due to high and later low clouds pictures are reworked. I could not make pictures of third and fourth contact due to low clouds. A more detailed report will follow later.

All pictures taken with TLAPO 80/480 f/6 and Nikon D7500 with solarfilter ND3.8 and IR/UV cut filter.

ATT Essen 2024

It was my 6th time I visited the ATT Essen. This time I was a little bit nervous as I went with my new EV. But at the end... no reason to be nervous as at a walking distance 8 charging stations were available. We went with 5 collegues and two cars. It was Johan R's first visit to ATT Essen and he enjoyed it greatly. As a conclusion, ATT Essen (May 4, 2024) was again a great succes with a lot people. Lot's of material, learnings, discussion and of course some good fun! Thx to Walter, Jean-Claude, Johan R and Jean-Marie

Pascal, Walter, Jean-Marie, Johan R & Jean-Claude (from left to right)