Observe The Sun Safely – Never look at the Sun without a proper filter! Solar Programs are held 1st Sunday of every Month 2:00-4:00 PM at Houge Park weather permitting.
Got Sun?
When the wisps of clouds were not in the way – which was not often – we saw some great H-Alpha Flares (prominences), Sunspots, Filaments, Plage, and solar granularity today. In fact the flares were better than average prompting some folks, like Anne pictured above at Carl’s scope to take some photos of the sun in our club’s 100mm Lunt. It was the first time I’ve seen a nice H-flare show up in an smart phone camera.
Below – Today’s Sun in H-Alpha (rotated and flipped to match view in eyepiece). Credit – http://halpha.nso.edu/
There were lots of birthdays at Houge today so we called those parties over to the scope. Terry from Santa Clara’s Open Space Reserve also stopped by with a small entourage:
Mag -26.74 Skies,
Michael
Astronomical observer for 20 years and optical engineer. I design non-imaging prism and reflector optics for commercial, medical and high-end retail lighting.
Hi Michael!
What a great surprise to check the blog and see a photo of me, my dad, and Carl! My dad enjoyed it so much. Just wanted to send a link to the photo I captured on my iPhone through your telescope, thanks so much for lending your gear and sharing your knowledge on the sun. It really was an amazing experience, hope to come out and learn more soon!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thuyanne/10132125013/
Anne, I can’t believe how good that shot came out!