Solar Disk with looping prominence

[Paul Haese]

Whilst capturing the hi res image of the looping prominence today I also captured entire disk. Lots of things to see. Several really large filaments, active regions and of course the prominence which is at the 2 o'clock position.

Click here for solar disk

[h0ughy (David)]

ohhhh wow that is a fantastic image Paul

[michaellxv (Michael)]

Stunning detail Paul. So much going on its hard to know where to look.

[iceman (Mike)]

Beautiful image!

[Kevleu (Kev)]

Hi Paul. That is amazing! How did you do that?
My interest in astronomy is only recent, I have never seen
the sun like that before apart from computer special effects.
Thankyou

[Shiraz (Ray)]

Wonderful image Paul - and hearty congrats on the contest results. Regards Ray.

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Beautiful image Paul! That loopping prom looks great.

Cheers,
Stephen

[Paul Haese]

Originally Posted by Kevleu

Hi Paul. That is amazing! How did you do that?
My interest in astronomy is only recent, I have never seen
the sun like that before apart from computer special effects.
Thankyou

Hi Kev. This image was produced with a specialised solar telescope that sees the part of the solar spectrum known as hydrogen alpha. This particular model is tuned to 0.5 angstroms which means we see the detail as it is presented.

You might be aware that there are all manner of wave lengths of light and this one allows us to see the plasma and magnetic field lines that exist in the Suns atmosphere.

So to get this I took a video through the telescope of 1 minute and then I stacked the images in a image stacking program to get a monochrome image. I then take the image into photoshop and colourise the image to what I think is pleasing.

Hope that explains things. If you need further clarification by all means ask.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Amazing loopy image that Paul

Nice

[Kevleu (Kev)]

Thanks for your explanation on how you capture these images.
Do you have video on loops forming? Do they rise up like a bubble or
does one side arc over to the other side?

[Kevleu (Kev)]

Are the dark streeks on the solar disk more loops viewed from above?

[Paul Haese]

Hi Kev, no I don't have a video of a loop forming. These typically take many hours to form and to dissapate. This one was fully formed when I viewed it, so I cannot really tell you what transpired before hand.

The dark streaks are filaments which are prominences as seen from above.

Looping prominences are quite rare, most times prominences don't form with a loop.

[Kevleu (Kev)]

Thanks again Paul, this is so interesting.

[El Paso Eric (Eric)]

Hi Paul,

Absolutely stunning !

That's the most interesting solar image I've seen yet. Not only is there the looping prom, but a lot of prom activity on the main disk as well. Truly stunning!

I noticed that you're shooting with a 60mm Solarmax. At 0.5A, I assume its double stacked. What are your thoughts about this scope (Focuser, etalon/filter, etc.)?

I'm still shopping scopes. I think my preference is toward the Lunts with the Crayford-style focusers (ie Feather Touch) and the clear aperture. But your images are really spectacular. So it keeps me thinking...

I've also investigated an adapter and filter stack for my FSQ-106ED. But the cost of a filter, adapter and diagonal nearly pays (or in come case more than pays) for an entire dedicated scope.

Anyway, I was just interested to hear your thoughts on the SM60.

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Eric. If I had to go through the selection process again I would opt for larger diameter like your FSQ. The Solarmax is a good scope but but it is limited by its diameter. Better resolution could be gained I think by a larger scope. My main preference would be for a day star filter on a good refractor. It allows for using a bigger sensor at high mag, and there is no hot spots with that filter.

Having said that the focusor and dedicated scope is quite nice and very portable. It came in handy this year at Science Alive for National Science Week. Something bigger could be more cumbersome.

I think the Lunt units offer something a little better overall than the Coronado systems. The feather touch focusor is a real boon and means you can use remove focusing. Besides they offer a 100mm scope with double stacking. That extra 10mm does have an effect on the overall image.

My advice, save more money and get the biggest unit you can buy or go for the larger filter sizes and install on your refractor.

[El Paso Eric (Eric)]

Thanks Paul. Isn't that always the case with astro gear (save until you can afford the biggest and best).

I had been in touch with the folks at Daystar. I had also been reading about their etalons. They have a really informative site. They typically require a scope around f30 for their filters. So for my FSQ (f5), they recommended to stop down the aperture (essentially increasing the f#) in addition to adding a powermate. 90mm + 4x powermate would have some vignetting, but 80mm + 4 or 5x powermate would not.

Seems like a very viable solution, but I'd end-up with an 80mm scope. I'll have to think about the cost-benefit of that option.

I sold my twin turbo sports car to fund my dark astro imaging system. So I'm back to saving for a solar scope.

Thanks for the feedback...

[Martin Pugh]

Hi Paul
this is an outstanding image.

I have recently acquired a DS90, and while the view is okay, the imaging result is pretty woeful.

I have tried two approaches so far. First is the very old (and tiny) Phillips Toucam Pro. The one I thought would work a treat is the Canon 550D using HD video mode....not very happy with this result.

Focus is indeed difficult, so I appreciate the quality of this image.

cheers
Martin

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Martin, nice scope. I look forward to the images you can obtain.

[Star Catcher (Ted Dobosz)]

Lovely image Paul. Those loops are a gem.

Ted