I was able to take some more images of this wonderful huge Sunspot late yesterday afternoon and this time I used my little planetary ZWO camera, which showed so much more detail around the active area than the DSLR images that I took on the 26th November 2020.
 
We are having a heat wave here at the moment so it’s very very hot outside taking pictures of the Sun…but it’s worth it :-)
 
Images were taken on the 28th November, with a 127mm refractor telescope fitted with a glass solar filter and using a ZWO 120 MC-S camera. The camera was at prime focus for the first image, and then I attached a 3x Barlow lens for the higher magnification images. AVI movie files were captured with 2500 frames and stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.

~ Sunspots AR2786, AR2785 & AR2783 ~
On the 26th November 2020 
​
​It’s very exciting to see the Sun becoming so active again and this new active region AR2786 is really putting on a spectacular display, smaller sunspots are now developing close by and it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens in the couple of days :-)
 
Images were taken on the 26th November 2020 with a 127mm refractor telescope fitted with glass solar filters for safe viewing and imaging of the Sun (Please see my setup image attached) using a Canon 700D camera.
 
The full disc image was taken at prime focus with ISO200 & 1/640th second exposures. The close up image had a 2x Barlow lens attached, exposures were 1/60th second and ISO 400, twenty images were stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.

(Please be careful looking at the Sun)

This is the first chance I’ve had to image this huge sunspot AR2781 because of cloud cover and its now facing toward the Earth on the solar surface.
 
This is the biggest sunspot of the new Solar Cycle 25 and it looks like the Sun is now awakening from its slumber!
 
There have been some really stunning images posted on Spaceweagther.com one in particular is from Alan Friedman, which featured on the front page at:
https://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=09&month=11&year=2020
 
The image was taken with a Canon 70D camera and a Tamron 18-400mm lens with a 2x converter making a focal length of 1280mm, which was mounted on a non-tracking camera tripod. 15 images were stacked in RegiStax 6 and processed in PS CS4, the e27812727xposure time was 1000th second and ISO320.

The sunspot is now looking very small in the 127mm refractor telescope as it rotates towards the western limb of the Sun on the 11th June 2020. During this afternoon observing session I was racing against time as cloud was coming all across the western sky.
 
After taking some images with the refractor I quickly removed it off the Pro HEQ5 mount and replaced it with the Lunt 60mm solar telescope to try and capture some images in Ha. (I always use this tracking mount when using both these telescopes)
 
It was really lucky to get a break in the cloud to capture just two AVI movie movies of the area with the Ha telescope before the whole sky clouded over and that was that…no more observing!
 
The white light image was taken with a 127mm refractor telescope that was fitted with a glass solar filter and using a Canon 700D camera.

​Just one image was captured with an exposure time of 1/320h second and ISO400.  The Ha image was taken with the Lunt solar telescope and a ZWO ASI120MC-S camera attached capturing an AVI movie file and stacking in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.

It was quite late in the afternoon by the time I could finally take an image of this new sunspot on the surface of the Sun. I was having a lot of trouble trying to get some close detail on the sunspot and really could not understand why?
 
After packing up, I looked up towards Mt Tamborine and saw the reason why, a huge forest burn off was taking place and a large plume of smoke was spreading across the western sky. Because of where my telescope was setup between the two houses I was unable to see this smoke, Oh well, at least I was lucky enough to got some images of the sunspot even though they were a bit smoke affected :-)
 
My images were taken on the 5th June 2020, with a 10inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that was fitted with a glass solar filter and using a ZWO ASI120MC-S camera with a focal reducer attached. The full disc image was taken with a Canon 700D camera, exposure time was 1/500th second and ISO200, 12 images were stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4. The sunspot looked quite small on the full disc of the Sun.

This new sunspot is from the next Solar Cycle 25, please read more about this from
​Dr Tony Phillips who pens the excellent website Spaceweather.com
https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2019/12/25/reversed-polarity-sunspots-appear-on-the-sun/
 
Another site to keep a daily eye on the Sun is NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) at: https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov

~ Our Sun on 20_02_2020 ~
 
I just had to take a photo of our Sun today for this special numerical date of the 20th of February 2020, because it’s such an awesome date to remember the year when solar minimum occurred…. and Yes, the Sun’s still ever so quite and spotless today :-)
 
Image taken with a Canon 70D camera and an 18-400mm Tamron lens with a 2x converter (focal length 1280mm) with a glass solar filter attached to the lens for safe solar imaging. The exposure time was 1/400th second and ISO 320, 10 images stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.

To read more about our quite Sun and solar minimum please go to this excellent article written by Dr Tony Phillips from Spaceweather.com
https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2019/12/17/sunspots-set-a-space-age-record/
 
If your are interested in keeping an eye on what the Suns doing daily, then please go to NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory website at:
https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Goddard Space Flight Centre has just released two YouTube videos to celebrate
​SDO’s 10th Anniversary of watching the Sun.
Please see below the short video...'SDO Celebrates a Decade of Watching Sun'

Below is the longer and informative video called
‘Highlights From SDO’s 10 years of Solar Observation’
 
In February 2020, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory — SDO — is celebrating its 10th year in space. Over the past decade the spacecraft has kept a constant eye on the Sun, studying how the Sun creates solar activity and drives space weather — the dynamic conditions in space that impact the entire solar system, including Earth.
 
Since its launch on Feb. 11, 2010, SDO has collected millions of scientific images of our nearest star, giving scientists new insights into its workings. SDO’s measurements of the Sun — from the interior to the atmosphere, magnetic field, and energy output — have greatly contributed to our understanding of our closest star. SDO’s images have also become iconic — if you’ve ever seen a close-up of activity on the Sun, it was likely from an SDO image.

I decided to set my other telescope up in all this heat today to see if that new sunspot could be seen developing on the surface of the Sun, it was very very faint but YES…there is was, I got it :-)
 
There was a lot of heat haze and high thin cloud in the sky so I was extremely lucky to even capture the sunspot, it’s not been designated any number yet but I’m sure it won’t be long.
 
To find out more about this new solar cycle just keep checking the Spaceweather.com website at: https://www.spaceweather.com
 
The images were taken with a 127mm refractor at prime focus that was fitted with a solar filter. I used a Canon 700D camera to take the pictures, exposures times were 1/500th second and ISO 200. Twelve images were stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4.

This is my telescope set-up that I used to take a picture of the Sun on the 9th January 2020. I used a 127mm (5inch) refractor with an Orion glass solar filter attached to the front lens.

(DANGER: Never look through a telescope without a solar filter)
 
The little Tele Vue Sol Searcher that you see on top of the telescope is just a wonderful piece of inexpensive equipment for lining up the Sun. It has a hole at the front, which the sunlight passes through and falls onto a clear screen when the telescope is lined up with the Sun. I would not be without this great little gadget :-)

~ Solstice Sun ~

Today is the summer solstice here in Australia, this is a time when we have the hottest weather and the longest day of the year, unlike the people who live in the northern hemisphere who today are experiencing there shortest day of the year and it’s probably very cold…isn’t our world an amazing place!
 
I took this image at 2.30pm this afternoon through quite a lot of smoke haze with the surrounding landscape having a soft yellow hue that was filtering down from the sky.
 

I couldn’t help myself, but the Sun looked so bland that I decided to have a bit of fun and made a
​ ‘Sunny Christmas Bauble’ to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year :-)
 
Image taken with a Canon 70D camera and an 18-400mm lens with a 2x teleconverter. There were eight images stacked in RegiStax6 and processed in PS CS4. The exposure times were 1/100th second and ISO 500.

​~ Spotless Sun on the 19th December 2019 ~

​I have not taken many images of the Sun lately because it’s been so quite and the surface just so bland to look at.

But when I read on Spaceweather.com that the sunspot inactivity has now broken an all time space record, then I just had to get the camera out and record the event…and Yes, as you can see from my image, it’s still spotless :-)
 
We are now really and truly in the mist of solar minimum and one of the deepest since solar records began!
 
I've also captured a beautiful sunset photo today and because of the smoke haze there are all these awesome colours on display...very pretty.

SUNSPOTS BREAK A SPACE AGE RECORD: Solar Minimum is becoming very deep indeed. Over the weekend, the sun set a Space Age record for spotlessness. So far in 2019, the sun has been without sunspots for more than 270 days, including the last 33 days in a row. Since the Space Age began,
​no other year has had this many blank suns.
 
The previous record-holder was the year 2008, when the sun was blank for 268 days. That was during the epic Solar Minimum of 2008-2009, formerly the deepest of the Space Age. Now 2019 has moved into first place. 
Solar Minimum is a normal part of the 11-year sunspot cycle. The past two (2008-2009 and 2018-2019) have been long and deep, making them "century-class" Minima. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1913, which had 311 spotless days.
Last week, the NOAA/NASA Solar Cycle Prediction Panel issued a new forecast. Based on a variety of predictive techniques, they believe that the current Solar Minimum will reach its deepest point in April 2020 (+/- 6 months) followed by a new Solar Maximum in July 2025.
​This means that low sunspot counts and weak solar activity could continue for some time to come.

Solar Minimum definitely alters the character of space weather. Solar flares and geomagnetic storms subside, making it harder to catch Northern Lights at mid-latitudes. Space weather grows "quiet." On the other hand, cosmic rays intensify. The sun's weakening magnetic field allows more particles from deep space into the solar system, boosting radiation levels in Earth's atmosphere. Indeed, this is happening now with atmospheric cosmic rays at a 5-year high and flirting with their own Space Age record. It's something to think about the next time you step on an airplane. Stay tuned for updates!
https://spaceweather.com/

We had such a beautiful clear day here today, so I raced home and spent most of the day imaging our Sun with my different cameras and telescopes to capture these two big sunspots.
 
Active region AR2740 has now split up which can be seen quite clearly and the new sunspot AR2741 has a very dark umbra and a large penumbra area surrounding it.
It looks like this one is going to be quite an active sunspot too!
 
These images were taken with my 127mm refractor telescope with a glass solar filter attached using a Canon 700D camera. The first image was taken with a ZWO ASI 120MC-S camera with a 2x Barlow lens.