2011 06 06, Prominences and NOAAs 11231, 11228, 11227, 11226
2011 06 06, 1300 UT – 1620 UT
Solar h-alpha, Prominences and NOAAs 11231, 11228, 11227, 11226
Sketches created scope-side with black Strathmore Artagain paper, white Conte’ crayon and pencil, Derwent charcoal pencil, black oil pencil
I opened the observatory at 8:30 EST (1230 UT) but knew I’d have limited time to catch a quick sketch/observing session before taking Nigel to the vets for his appointment. Feeling slightly rushed, I was unable to complete the sketch of the SW prominence and struggled to keep up with the changes as it evolved during my session. Normally, I can complete a prom sketch in 5-15 minutes, but I found myself chasing the changes, making the sketch time drag out longer. It was time to just lay down the white pencil, sigh, and close up the roof, knowing I’d have another chance when we got back from the vets.
When we returned, I started a new session and was able to complete a new SW prom sketch, although seeing had gotten slightly worse for the first part of the session. The prominence had changed quite a bit from two hours before but the main structure of it was still fairly intact.
What caught my eye after completing that sketch was a very faint slanted arm of a prom to the SE limb. Using a solar observing cloth and not even putting pencil to paper for quite awhile, I was finally able to make out a loop instead of an arm. Then above that reaching to the north, I saw two very faint blotches of plasma that, on brief rock steady moments of seeing, showed that the two blotches were connected and actually reached down to the northern section of the looped prominence. The whole area was very diffuse because of the poor transparency, making it difficult to render a definite structure on paper. Later, I was relieved to see an image of it on SOHO, verifying that it was actually there and not just condensation on my eyepiece from the damp heat coming off my face.
Credit: SOHO, NASA
Active regions 11231, 11228, 11227, 11226 were still quite showy with plage, filaments and a couple obvious sunspots in h-alpha. Just inside the limb near the Eastern proms as well as the NW prom, the “surface” crackled with the lightened areas.
I was pleased that Paul brought his laptop down to the observatory for an imaging session when I was done observing.
Credit: Paul Rix, 1705 UT - taken with DSI III Pro, DS MS 60mm, LXD 75
PCW Memorial Observatory - Erika Rix 
Splendid prom’ drawings, as always! Excellent observing catching that subtle prom’ along the SE limb. There looks to be more fascinating activity rounding the limb into view. Also hope we see more spectacular stuff out of AR11226 before it passes totally beyond the western limb.
Good stuff!
Jim
Jim Ferreira said this on June 7, 2011 at 13:22 |
Thank you, Jim! Unfortunately, I’m on a stretch of day shifts at work and by the time I have another day off, 11226 probably won’t show any signs of lingering beyond the limb. Thankfully we’re getting more activity for great solar observing opportunities! It’s been great fun watching that western limb the past few days. Best wishes – Erika
Erika Rix said this on June 7, 2011 at 22:59 |
Nice blog thaanks for posting
Allen N said this on November 2, 2021 at 02:54 |