Two views of the same active region, but the top one taken in double stack mode, the lower in single stack. Double stack gives more contrast as a result of reduced continuum leakage from the photosphere. Both shots were taken with a Coronado SM90, with the double stacked view being achieved by the addition of a Daystar Quark.
Conditions were far from ideal in between scudding clouds and showers following the passing of a cold front overnight, however using the lunt50 etalon double stacked with a Daystar Quark it was good to get an overview of the solar disk and the new active region that has appeared after the sun being quiet for a month.
Cycle 25 is starting to come alive, there were numerous prominences today visible on our star. Taken with the Solarmax 90, 2x cemax barlow and the IMX174 chipped camera.
Finally some weekend sunshine - it was cold and blustery, with fast moving clouds scudding through, but I did get enough time to get a full disk with the travelling kit - a Lunt 50 etalon on a 60mm/f6 scope double stacked with the Quark, camera was the grasshopper 3 ICX814. I was hoping to image a bit more extensively at other wavelengths and scales, but, the clouds returned. Still, nice to get the kit out and dust off the imaging cobwebs for the year.
With each passing day the sun gets higher and higher in the sky, and with seasonally high pressure sat over the UK this weekend allowed an opportunity to get a view of our star, It will only be a couple of weeks until the sun is clear of of my winter tree lined horizon. Till then it is a case of grabbing the gaps between the trees, and this Sunday afternoon allowed just that. The sun seems at first glance blank, but in the north east quadrant a emerging flux region shows itself as a bright point, and is likely to develop as an active region as is already showing pores in white light. Polar filaments in the northern hemisphere are already a proxy of cycle 25, and on the south western limb a flame prominence was very evident. The disk was taken with a Lunt 50 etalon on a 60mm f6 scope, double stacked with a Daystar Quark and imaged using a GH3 camera.
Check out this animation, showing activity from the SDO AIA304 channel. Look at the 10 o'clock position how a small emerging flux region develops. Given the latitude my money is on it being cycle 25...
Cycle 25 activity seems to becoming more prevalent, and over the last 24 hours or so, and in the north western quadrant of the sun an emerging flux region soon developed into an active region (AR12756?). This animation from the AIA1600 data shows the spot formation quite well.
