Fragments of a Shattered Dynamo

pursuer · Aug 29, 2006

I thought I would share this with you guys as it is my finest Solar image to date.

Here is the surface of our Sun in the key of hydrogen-alpha light revealing the remnants of a sunspot group that has broken up in the last couple of days. Thanks for looking.

This was taken with a dedicated solar telescope and a canon 300D.

Mohain · Aug 29, 2006

:hail:

inneist · Aug 30, 2006

This is fascinating! I read somewhere that we are approaching the minimum of the solar cycle in next year. It would be nice to have a series on this.

By the way, do you have a version of the sunspots isolated from the surrounding photosphere?

Arch · Aug 30, 2006

Excellent :thumbup:

pursuer · Aug 30, 2006

Thanks guys, Tsienni the sun is currently passing through solar minimum.

This active region and a short lived sunspot that preceded it actually mark the beginning of the next solar cycle. We know this because their magnetic poles are reversed when compared to the sunspots of the last cycle. From here on out solar activity on average will slowly ramp up over a period of years until we reach the next maximum around 2010 to 2012.

tsienni said:
By the way, do you have a version of the sunspots isolated from the surrounding photosphere?

This actually isn't a photograph of the photoshere. What is visible here is the chromoshere. White light filters show the photosphere, the predominant feature of which are the sunspots. That is probably what you are thinking of.

This was shot through a very narrowband filter centered on the Hydrogen-alpha absorption line. As a result the light from the photosphere is blocked revealing the structures within the chromosphere.

I will actually be getting a full apature white light filter for my main 10" telescope soon and am exspecting to get some great images.

inneist · Aug 31, 2006

You are a true pursuer.

I only wish I could make a home observatory someday.

In late summer and at the beginning of the fall we have a clear sky at night and I do enjoy gazing at the stars. I can be awed even with raw eyes, let alone through a telescope!

Thanks, I look forward to seeing more photos from you.

mentos_007 · Aug 31, 2006

well.... I saw the photo without reading your post and thought to myself: "who the heck photographs a carpet... and what for? and...is there a hole in the carpet?" ...now I feel stupid