Sess#279 2:30-3:15pm Driveway solar clear March 25th/01
A session with the full apeture solar filter on the SCT 8" this
afternoon. Though we are past solar maximum, there's still quite a
bit of sunspot activity.
There was one particular complex that measured approx. 100 arc
seconds across( as per reticle micrometer eyepiece ) - that's fairly
large -- probably equal to Jupiter in actual size! And that's just a
sunspot.
Made three sketches. One of full solar disk ( 63X ), one of the large
spot described above ( 222X ), and a third one of a semi-cicle
comprising of perhaps a dozen small spots ( 111X ). The entire
semi-circle measured approx. 80" across.
Much of the very faint small whitish "ribbons" of slightly brighter
solar surface, near the edges, were too difficult to render in a
sketch. However, it's noted that there were 5 or 6 different such
"ribbons observed." Next time, I should try the ALP, OIII, and other
filters, just to see what happens.
General notes: Magnifications past 111X seem useless since the seeing,
by definition, is terrible when observing the sun.
Roland
