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Observing and Imaging Group
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Spent a bit of time this afternoon experimenting with various bits of kit for the forthcoming solar eclipse on 20th March.
Given that we look like having a multitude of scopes available at the Royal Observatory Greenwich for our viewing event, I thought I'd try something a little different. So, I'm intending to bring a DSLR with a telephoto lens and 2x lens extender, taking the focal length to 400mm (600mm equivalent with a cropped sensor). I've got a Thousand Oaks solar filter for the camera lens, which gives a nice yellow-orange colour to the Sun.
It's not going to produce the most detailed of images, but my idea is to connect the camera to a laptop so that people can see a live image of the Sun.
The Sun was disappointingly free of any activity this afternoon, apart from a sunspot near the eastern limb. Still, my set up managed to pick up the sunspot quite nicely:
Sun white light filter through DSLR by MikeMey67, on Flickr
This is just a single shot (1/100 second, ISO 100, f/5.6, 400mm focal length).
All we need now are clear skies on the morning of Friday 20 March!
Posted : 07/03/2015 7:52 pm
The visitors are going to love seeing that orange sun on the laptop screen, Mike. I also bought a Thousand Oaks filter (and glasses!) to enjoy the look of the sun. Its not that sharp though, compared to my solar wedge or Baader filter but as you say for a live show, its perfect! I really regret I wont be there 🙁
Posted : 08/03/2015 11:56 am
Do you know where this sunspot will be on Friday 20th at the time of the eclipse?
Posted : 09/03/2015 8:45 am
Topic starter
Do you know where this sunspot will be on Friday 20th at the time of the eclipse?
I suspect it may just be disappearing off the western limb by 20 March - it may just be still visible. The Sun is really quiet at the moment, even though this active region did produce a near X-class flare on Saturday. It would be nice to have a few sunspots to view during the solar eclipse, but I'd settle for clear skies!
Posted : 09/03/2015 9:02 am
The appearance of this large sunspot coincides with the increase in solar flare activity observed in the GEOS 15 data and on the VLF daily chart for yesterday. So perhaps a few more spots for the 20th?
Posted : 10/03/2015 8:23 am
