Sunspots at the far side seen from Mars rover Perseverance

The Sun rotates on its axis once in about 27 days. This rotation can be seen by observing sunspots. This also means that Sunspots at the far side of the Sun can not be seen from Earth. With help from Helioseismology it's possible to create images of the far side and it's sunspots. Another interesting source is coming from Mars. The Mars rover Perseverance uses it's MastCam Z camera to take pictures of the Sun. Those pictures are not perfect but huge sunspots are visible and this can be interesting at the moment planet Mars is positioned towards the "far side" of the Sun.

For Mars Perseverance Images see this link.

I made a comparison between an image from the rover and the far side using helioseismology. The images are both made on December 22, 2023. We will see a week from now what it will bring.

Updates available SharpCap, APP, JSol'Ex, ASIStudio

As the year ends, I made some time to update my astrosoftware :

ASIStudio : 1.9.5

AstroPixelProcessor APP : 2.0.0 beta26
SharpCap : 4.1.11536 

JSol'Ex : 2.0.0

Still need to retest the new Stellarium and N.I.N.A. together with my EQ6.

Have fun. 

Sol'Ex Presentation at VVS Capellla Hoegaarden

At the request from astronomyclub VVS Capella Hoegaarden my collegue Walter and myself (collegue Johan was excused) gave a lecture on our project Sol'Ex. The title of the lecture was "DIY The Solar Explorer".

We arrived quite early, so early in fact that we were the first. Plenty of time to settle in and explore the place. A little later Joost, chairman of the club, arrived and treated us to a drink. The room slowly filled up and Henk ensured that online streaming could take place. The lecture could begin, a bit awkward at first, but after the first of the many questions were asked it went much more smoothly. Walter supplemented well and provided additional explanation where necessary. Ultimately, the lecture lasted an hour and a half and the feedback from those present was good. The conversations at the bar continued with satisfaction.

The online recording is available and can be viewed via this youtube link.

The presentation (PDF version) itself is available via Google Drive  via this link. 

Sol'Ex Presentation @ VVS Capella Hoegaarden

 

Together with my collegue Walter, I wll be talking our Sol'Ex project next thursday December 21, 2023 @ VVS Capella in Hoegaarden. 

Latest Solar Maps and images on the internet

The latest Solar images and maps with all kind of information can be found on the internet. But where?

I made an overview of some interesting websites (but without being complete).

Spaceweather 

Spaceweatherlive   

NOAA Spaceweather Prediction Center

Solar Influences Data Analysis Center SIDC

Solarmonitor

Helioviewer - create your own images or movies with all available images 

Student Helioviewer

Facebook Struve Solar Society

NSO Gong H-alpha Network 

My blogpost number 2000! Celebrating with a Halo

Yes, this is my 2000nd blogpost since I started back in december 2011! And I'm celebrating with a halo around the Sun. 

Spectral Lines of Hydrogen, Calcium II H&K and Helium I (D3)

In astronomy ionization of atoms are noted different then in chemistry

Neutral Hydrogen : H I
Neutral Helium : He I
Neutral Calcium : Ca I
Ionized Calcium : Ca II or Ca+ (noted in chemistry)

Clarification of spectral lines of Hydrogen (H I)

 

Spectral lines can be explained due to electron transitions between energy levels.

For neutral Hydrogen or H I :  

Lyman series : transition to groundlevel
Balmer series : transition to energy level 2; all transitions are within visible wavelenght
Paschen series : transition to energy level 3
Brackett series : transition to energy level 4
Pfund series : transition to energy level 5
Humphreys series : transition to energy level 6
Hansen-Strong series : transition to energy level 7

The H-alpha line is due to an electron making a transition between energy level 3 to energy level 2.

Clarification of  Helium I (D3) lines

He I (D3) line - 587,572nm via Ortho Helium 1s3d to 1s2p but more in detail :

587,5545nm 1s3d 3D1 – 1s2p 3P2

587,5561nm 1s3d 3D2 – 1s2p 3P2

587,5562nm 1s3d 3D3 – 1s2p 3P2

587,5571nm 1s3d 3D1 – 1s2p 3P1

587,5588nm 1s3d 3D2 – 1s2p 3P1

587,5913nm 1s3d 3D1 – 1s2p 3P0

Clarification of  Ca II H and K line

Calcium electron configuration : 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s1

Ca II H line :  396.847nm

Ca II K line :  393.366nm