Another clear day for a solar photoshoot. There are no new sunspot groups, and those we have been following are gradually making their way from east to west. There was a large coronal mass ejection (CME) yesterday, and it has sent a lot of sun stuff in the direction of Earth. So, there should be a very active aurora borealis tonight visible further south than usual. Take a camera out tonight and take some long exposures (a few seconds). Such things are easier to see from outside a city.
Today’s comparison photos appear below.
Today’s highlighted prominence shot shows a spectacular plume along the southwestern limb as well as other activity along the west, south, and eastern limbs.
Today’s annotated sunspot cameo looks like this.
Shown below is the new mount and dedicated astro computer for the solar scope. The mount is of strain wave design – very rugged and with negligible backlash. The computer, I think is a Raspberry Pi with 256GB of storage and software for controlling the mount and up to two cameras – main and guide cameras. The computer broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal and creates a hot spot so that a tablet or cell phone can control the entire rig.
With its carbon fiber tripod, the entire set-up is half the weight of what I had been using before. Since I take it out on the deck whenever I want to use it, the lighter weight is much better for my body mechanics – avoiding backpain and possible injury. It was easily worth the cost.
