There is currently a large sunspot group moving across the Sun’s face. It is large enough to be seen with the naked eye, properly filtered of course. I was able to see it just using eclipse glasses. This might be a good time to try out your eclipse glasses.
This group, AR3590, should be visible for the next 3-4 days before it rotates out of view over the Sun’s western limb.
Here’s an image from today taken with my Orion ST-80 (80mm f/5) telescope, Orion Solar Filter, and ZWO ASI482MC camera.
Here’s the Sun’s current orientation as viewed from Earth (this orientation changes over the course of the year). This should be the eyeball right-side-up orientation.
The arrows show the Sun’s direction of rotation: i.e., the path of sunspot movement. The grid is set out in 10 degree increments. The sunspots will move approximately 12-14 degrees per day, depending on their latitude.
Russ,
Quite interesting that you posted this. I have been imaging the sun to practice for the solar eclipse. I also imaged it because the X-Class flares that it emitted. I made a gif with the settings you gave me last year using PIPP. It is 54 frames taken every two minutes with a Canon 70D and my 400mm telephoto lens on a Solar Quest mount.
Nothing spectacular but it is interesting we both were working on this.
Nicely done animation. Very smooth. PIPP is pretty good for this type of animation. I’m glad you found it useful. Also, it looks like you’ve got your capture settings dialed in just right.
I think the movement we are seeing in the animation, however, is not rotation of the Sun itself, but field rotation. The circular clockwise movement of the sunspots looks like what I’d expect from a camera mounted on an alt-az mount. My camera-telescope combo is mounted on an equatorial mount and doesn’t show this movement.
Update: Here’s a quick-and-dirty animation of sunspot group AR3590 from Feb 20 to Feb 24, produced in PIPP.
Russ,
Thanks, you are correct. I will have the same situation with my timelapse in April. I am using a Alt-Az mount and most frown on using that because of the field rotation. I feel like it is my only choice as I will have a meridian flip during the eclipse in my location. I think I will have to live with field rotation.
I like your animation. I will have to consider trying that.
I very much appreciate not wanting to do a meridian flip. I dread having to do it during the eclipse. But, I’ve checked the timing at both of my eclipse deployment locations and will at least be able to delay the flip until after totality. I’m still checking it out, but because my mount will give me about an hour of tracking past the meridian, I may be able to avoid the flip altogether.
