Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: CptTrips on March 26, 2011, 11:13:39 AM

Title: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: CptTrips on March 26, 2011, 11:13:39 AM
For the couple of astro types we have on this board.....

No biggie, just H-Alpha I took this morning.  I'm a bit rusty.  Business and personal issues kept me from doing photography for the last year.

Same image, just the raw grayscale and an attempt at false color:

(http://jasonirby.net/Astronomy/Solar/solar2.png)


(http://jasonirby.net/Astronomy/Solar/solar2c.png)

Clear Skies,
Wab
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: caldera on March 26, 2011, 12:02:37 PM
That is one big ball of coal!


Very cool.  :aok
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: xNOVAx on March 26, 2011, 12:24:01 PM
That is one big ball of coal!


Very cool.  :aok

Bahahaha!  :aok

Awesome pics Wab!
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: ROX on March 26, 2011, 12:31:10 PM
I LOVE sunspots!   :rock

They make it possible for me to communicate around the world on relative low output power to friends all over.

Thank you for sharing!!!!
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: Nefarious on March 26, 2011, 06:24:31 PM
Wonder what would happen if you stuck your finger in that hole.  :D

Cool Pics.
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: EskimoJoe on March 26, 2011, 06:32:29 PM
Wonder what would happen if you stuck your finger in that hole.  :D

Cool Pics.

Well, you'd probably evaporate into nothingness before you got there,
but if you did, it'd probably deflate like a basket ball  :D
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: 1Boner on March 26, 2011, 06:38:59 PM
That is one big ball of coal!


Very cool.  :aok

Its not really that big---it just looks big cause its only 500 miles away. :O
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: jolly22 on March 26, 2011, 07:56:31 PM
That is one big ball of coal!


Very cool.  :aok
:rofl :rofl
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: ROX on March 26, 2011, 08:01:06 PM
Wonder what would happen if you stuck your finger in that hole.  :D

Cool Pics.

You'd need a REALLY BIG finger.

Most sunspots are the size of Earth...many even far larger.
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: Vudu15 on March 26, 2011, 10:19:21 PM
Suns just a myth like manbearpig...

Cool pics  :aok
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: CptTrips on March 28, 2011, 12:18:32 PM
You'd need a REALLY BIG finger.

Most sunspots are the size of Earth...many even far larger.

Here is a rough approximation of the scale:

(http://jasonirby.net/Astronomy/Solar/solarEarthScale.png)

Regards,
Wab
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: Lepape2 on March 28, 2011, 12:41:14 PM
Dang... your pic is as good as this one : http://spaceweather.com/ (http://spaceweather.com/)
How much did you pay for your equipment? I think the filters for such observations are over 500$... not to mention the telescope and its mount.

Very nice  :aok
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: dedalos on March 28, 2011, 12:53:20 PM
Well, you'd probably evaporate into nothingness before you got there,


Not if you fly at night!
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: W7LPNRICK on March 28, 2011, 01:10:34 PM
I LOVE sunspots!   :rock

They make it possible for me to communicate around the world on relative low output power to friends all over.

Thank you for sharing!!!!


CQDX CQDX CQDX W7LPN calling CQ and standing by....  We like sun spots too.
73's
 :old:
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: CMC Airboss on March 28, 2011, 01:18:25 PM
Amazing shot
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: CptTrips on March 29, 2011, 08:13:51 AM
Dang... your pic is as good as this one : http://spaceweather.com/ (http://spaceweather.com/)
How much did you pay for your equipment? I think the filters for such observations are over 500$... not to mention the telescope and its mount.

Very nice  :aok


Lepape,

Thanks for the kind words, but his photos are a lot better than mine.

First, he uses a 90mm double stack system, I'm only using a 60mm double stacked.  Thats enough to make a large difference in the resolution and low noise.

Second, he is just really really good at his processing. His tonal control and false-color processing are perfect.  That comes with years of practice.



I'm using a Lunt Solar Systems double stacked 60mm H-Alpha scope.  I think it was around 2k when I bought it.


Clear skies,
Wab



Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: BoilerDown on March 29, 2011, 09:37:14 AM
Interesting to see a sun spot.  We (we as in the human race, earth, everything in the solar system) just went way longer than usual with very few of them.  It would have been interesting to see if there was a new long-lasting solar minimum instead of the 11 year cycles for a while.  As it is the 11 year cycle rule can be safely trashed and instead make into a 10-14 year cycle rule or something along those lines.

Also... the one thing that has the biggest influence on the Earth's climate and weather isn't carbon emissions, melting glaciers making rising seas changing ocean currents, or anything global warming related.  Its radiation from the sun.  They say during a solar minimum there is actually less radiation coming from the sun than at maximum (which seems unintuitive because a sun covered with cool spots would be less bright, right?  Apparently the rest of the sun emits more radiation to more than make up for the sun spots).  Some people blame the "little ice age" on the sun's extended solar minimum that occurred around the same time.  Our sun just seemed like it might go into another extended minimum... if it had would it have effectively wiped out all the global warming on earth?  If global warming is real, and the sun starts back up again, are we going to be hit with a double-wammy?  One of these things, we're gunna find out I think.
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: ROX on March 29, 2011, 11:04:23 AM
Here is a rough approximation of the scale:

(http://jasonirby.net/Astronomy/Solar/solarEarthScale.png)

Regards,
Wab


Yeah...REALLY rough.

Spend some time on spaceweather.com.  Bookmark it and come back over time.  "Emerging" sunspots (like the one pictured in the OP) start out small and get bigger (WAY BIGGER) sometimes 2-3 times bigger than the Earth.  The sun turns on an axis as well and has a 28 day cycle.  Sometimes these sports will form on the Earth side and sometimes not.  They might even start "emerging" and then fizzle out.  They might "emerge" and then by the time they Sun rotates around again turn into a massive 3 or 4 spot formation of big spots, spewing C Class flares out into space.

Lust like W7LPN, I use sunspots to communicate world wide on the higher HF radio bands.  On Ten Meters (28.000 to 29.700) with high levels of sunspot activity (solar flux) a 100 mW signal (the same power as your garage door opener) can be used to communicate world wide with skill, good antennas, and some luck.
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: Jack16 on March 29, 2011, 08:11:31 PM
Awesome! :aok :cool:
Title: Re: Solar Hydrogen-Alpha Photography
Post by: mbailey on March 31, 2011, 06:39:11 AM
Great pics Wab!  Hope you get a chance to shoot more soon, love ur posts  :aok