Observing Tips Development of large sunspot groups. Some sunspot groups reorganize themselves as they cross the solar disk, and these changes can become quite spectacular. ![]() Using sunspots as markers, you can follow the Sun's 27-day rotation period. Observe until you feel confident and enjoy your solar viewing. But practice is the key for distinguishing the great diversity of sunspot forms and noting subtle changes in them. You don't have to be an artist to become skilled in making accurate, detailed drawings of solar activity. ![]() They required about 414½ hours of drawing time at the screen. I was able to record the rise of Solar Cycle 22 to maximum activity with 706 full-disk drawings of the Sun. With a clipboard, paper, and graphite pencil, I draw the sunspots freehand on an 8-inch-diameter circle inscribed on the paper, carefully noting their relative shapes, sizes, and positions based on the projected view.įrom March 1987 to February 1991 I made daily white-light (unfiltered) solar observations using this projection method. The detail seen this way can be quite extraordinary. This results in exaggerated sunspot sizes. Unlike the traditional method wherein the sunspots' positions are plotted and their outlines traced directly on the projected solar image, he draws them freehand on a blank 8-inch-diameter circle. (You can vary the size of the image by experimenting with various magnifications and projection distances.) This rendition by Jeffery Sandel on August 9, 1987, shows several large sunspot groups, as well as faculae regions (bright patches) scattered across the entire solar disk. This setup projects an image of the solar disk 3 feet in diameter. The telescope - a 10-inch f/6.5 Newtonian reflector with a 16-millimeter wide-angle Erfle eyepiece - is positioned about 4 feet from the screen. For my projection setup I use poster paper (2-ply, 50 pounds) fastened to a wall near the doorway of my large garden shed. You don't look at the Sun directly instead a telescope casts a magnified image of the Sun onto a screen.Īny flat, white, smooth screen works well, provided the surface is not glossy, which can result in glary reflections. (See "Solar Filter Safety.") Of the many ways solar viewing can be conducted safely, I have chosen the screen-projection method. Looking directly at the Sun without adequate protective filters can result in irreversible eye damage. ![]() Of course, observing the Sun can be dangerous without the proper precautions. Long-term, consistent observations of their number, morphology (form), and distribution are valuable to researchers. Sunspots often change rapidly and unpredictably from day to day you never quite know what to expect. One activity that almost any amateur can participate in is tracking sunspots on the Sun's visible surface (or photosphere). Every clear day professional observatories worldwide and in space monitor its dynamic surface features at various wavelengths. Of all the stars in the sky, our Sun is the only one near enough to show a sizable disk. With a clipboard, paper, and pencil, Sandel sketches each sunspot freehand, carefully noting its relative shape, size, and position. ![]() Jeffery Sandel uses a 10-inch f/6.5 Newtonian reflector to project a 3-foot-diameter image of the Sun onto the wall of his garden shed.
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