After a complete white out
the day before, I bin scanned the Sun in the morning
and saw that the sunspot had rotated quite a lot.
.
In the evening, I took some
shots from 17:00 GMT for half an hour, while dodging
cloud and showers. I found both prominences and some sunspots
that I hadn't seen in the binoculars earlier.
July 2nd
The bad weather continued
and I got a drenching shortly after doing the day's
drawing! I couldn't make out any of the smaller sunspots I
saw the day before through the PST.
July 3rd
The unseasonally bad weather
continued and I managed to catch the Sun through thin
cloud before it rained, yet again.
July 4th
Of course, I should have bin
scanned the Sun before going to work, as it was cloudy
for the rest of the day. I managed a peek through the clouds
just before sunset and the sunspot had rotated and faded.
I couldn't remember the last
time I had any night action but Jupiter was shining
clearly to the south. A bin scan showed 3 moons, with 2 on
one side and a rare hint of equatorial cloud banding. I also split
Alberio and Delta and Epsilon Lyrae. Venus should have been
visible but was clouded out and that was that but at least I
saw something.
July 5th
An early morning bin scan at
07:20 GMT suggested that the sunspot had faded or rotated
off, although the conditions were so poor, I have to admit
the observation was inconclusive.
A further bin scan at 19:30 GMT
seemed to confirm the absence of sunspots but, again,
the conditions were poor.
July 6th
The appalling weather in England
continued but I actually managed a clear view of the Sun
without cloud for the first time for ages. There were definitely
no sunspots visible to my binoculars, so I can conclude that
there were almost certainly no sunspots of binocular resolution
the day before either.
The dusk patrol wasn't much better,
with Venus and Saturn completely obscured to the west.
Elsewhere, there were clear patches between the clouds but they
were moving quickly, so there was no chance of a decent photo.
However, I managed to see 2 of Jupiter's moons through the binoculars,
probably Ganymede and Callisto. The onlt other action was to
split Mizar/Alcor, Epsilon and Delta Lyrae and Alberio. The double
stars in Draco were clouded out and there was nothing else to see.
July 7th
I woke up early and tired but my
mood changed when I saw a completely clear sky. At 06:25
GMT, I bin scanned the Sun but didn't see any sunspots. A first
quarter Moon hung high in the south west. Most of the ray systems
were no longer visible but Tycho and Clavius were joined by
many southern craters. Grimaldi was well placed, due to libration,
and the Appennines were a wonderful sight. I regretted that
I couldn't use the Mak to take a photo.
It wouldn't take a genius to guess
what happened next, although I didn't guess that there
would be lots more detail on the solar disc than I expected.
The close-up looked even more amazing:
Finally, I snapped the prominences
on their own:
At 21:35 GMT, I did a bin scan in
the western sky. Venus was too low to photograph but it
showed a 30% phase. I could see Saturn's shape a few degrees
to the north. Regulus was in the same area, which caused some
confusion at first.
I returned out with the Startravel
at 22:15 GMT. First target was Mizar/Alcor which split easily.
It was also amazing how many more background stars I could
see with the 9x50 finderscope. Unfortunately, only Mizar came
out as a double in the photograph:
Irritatingly enough, Alberio didn't
come out in the photos, although it looked nice visually,
against the background stars.
Jupiter's three visible moons made
a nice pattern, even in the finderscope. Unfortunately, I
came to the conclusion that, even with a steady mount, the
Startravel just didn't have enough aperture to capture them. Although
the disc photographed, none of the cloud belts was visible. In fact,
the low elevation made them a difficult target visually.
July 8th
The conditions hadn't returned to the
bad ones of the previous week but a bin scan of the Sun didn't
reveal any sunsposts. I was rather surprised to see the Spanish
Inquisition. I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!
I checked the Sun with the PST at 10:20
GMT. The big prominence from the day before had turned into
a flare.
The close-ups brought the details out:
Afterwards, I bin scanned the Moon.
It wasn't as spectacular as they day before but Grimaldi
showed well and Plato was on the terminator.
July 9th
The weather forecast was bad, so I looked
at the Sun before breakfast at 06:50 GMT. I saw a new sunspot,
which corresponded nicely with the active region I had spotted
in hydrogen alpha light the 2 days before.
The waning crescent Moon was visible
in the south and its phase was apparently shrinking more
rapidly than normal (quite possible if it is closer to us).
Only Grimaldi was immediately recognisable.
July 10th
The sunspot had not only rotated and got
bigger but noticeably darkened. It was too cloudy to try
hydrogen alpha observation.
I managed a bin scan of Venus at 21:05 GMT
and the apparent phase increased to 35%, possibly due to atmospheric
effects.
July 11th
I managed to recover the sunspot on the morning
bin scan but it was far too cloudy to detect any smaller/fainter
sunspots that might have been there.
July 12th
It was pretty much a complete whiteout until
early afternoon, when I was able to bin scan the Sun through
thin mist. I saw a smaller sunspot that may have been present
for a day or two but I missed due to the conditions.
At 18:15 GMT, it cleared enough to do a hydrogen
alpha shoot. Visually, there was a small prominence to the
left of the disc and I could see a lot of activity around the sunspots.
The first shot shows the small prominence and the second and third
the granulation and faculae.
The attempted close-ups of the active refion
came out but showed no more detail than the full disc shots.
July 13th
Conditions were bad and it was a case of tiny
gaps appearing in fast moving cloud. I can't say my estimated
positions of the sunspots were 100% accurate but the conditions
showed the value of bin scans and drawings.
July 14th
The cloud had thinned somewhat since the day
before. The smaller spot had disappeared.
July 16th
The previous day had been totally lost to rain
and cloud. Fortunately, I managed to see the sunspot at the third
attempt.
At 22:00 GMT, there was some limited dusk viewing,
although most of the sky was still covered by cloud. I could clearly
see 3 of Jupiter's moons through my binoculars but wasn't quite
sure whether I could make out a fourth or not. I split Alberio and
Alcor/Mizar and made out the main stars of Melotte 111.
July 17th
I first attempted a solar bin scan at 07:15 GMT
and didn't see any sunspots but it was too cloudy to be conclusive.
An attempt later in the morning showed that the
sunspot had rotated and was about to leave the disc.
July 18th
I managed to find a clear patch of sky in the morning
and grabbed the opportunity as soon as possible, in case it rained
solidly for the rest of the day.
Well there were a couple of evening surprises. Firstly,
it was actually clear and the predicted rain didn't come. Secondly,
the Sun was active. Although the sunspot was about to rotate off,
there were many faculae around it and there were plenty of nice prominences
on the other side.
I did a bin scan soon after sunset at 20:30 GMT. Unfortunately,
I couldn't find Venus, although it was quite cloudy in the north
west. The Moon showed a thinner crescent than would be expected at
five days. Mare Crisium looked nice, just near the terminator and
there were lots of craters around, although I didn't know any of them
by name. Jupiter was visible between the clouds low in the south east
but I couldn't see anything more than a disc and it was too light
to see any moons.
No later viewing was possible as it clouded right over
soon afterwards. I was hoping for a lunar shot.
July 19th
I bin scanned the Sun at 08:20 GMT in slightly hazy
conditions but good enough to see limb darkening but noted that
the sunspot had rotated off and no new ones were visible.
July 20th
Despite one of the wettest summer days I could ever remember,
a clear gap appeared in the clouds at 17:30 GMT as I was leaving
work. For the first time, I found myself doing a solar bin scan with
an umbrella! However, there weren't any sunspots.
July 21st
The overall conditions had
improved from the day before and I bin scanned the Sun through thin
cloud at 07:45 GMT. I saw limb darkening clearly but no sunspots.
July 22nd
Neither morning nor evening bin scans showed any sunspots,
although any new faint ones could have been missed.
I managed to see a first quarter Moon at 19:00 GMT. The
"seas" were clear and I could see a lot of southern craters through
my binoculars, despite the daylight and low elevation. However, the
hoped-for photo shoot didn't happen as it clouded right over after sunset.
July 23rd
I bin scanned the Sun at 11:10 GMT. I could make out parts
of the disc as cloud moved across. I'm sure I would have seen any
major new activity had there been some.
July 24th
I was amazed to see bright sunlight but a bin scan at 08:15
GMT confirmed that there were no sunspots.
I couldn't find Venus on a dusk patrol at 20:45 GMT but I saw
Jupiter with 2 moons and our own Moon looked great, with Sinus Iridium
on the terminator.
I returned at 21:45 GMT to do a photo shoot and I noticed that
Plato and Clavius had also come into view:
This was the best of the Sinus Iridium close-ups.
My Alberio shots didn't come out but I managed to split Mizar,
with Alcor in the background.
Not bad for an 80mm achromat (still suffering with back trouble)
and first night action for ages.
July 25th
Conditions had more returned to normal but I managed to see
the Sun through thin cloud at 07:15 GMT but confirmed that no sunspots
were visible.
July 26th
Despite an absolute downpour in the morning, it finally cleared
early afternoon, for me to do a scan at 14:30 GMT. No sunspots, though.
July 27th
I actually managed a bin scan in clear conditions at 09:00 GMT
but still no sunspots.
July 28th
It wasn't completely clear when I bin scanned the Sun at 07:50
GMT but I drew a blank. Literally!
July 29th
The day before (Saturday) ended with a lot more rain and it was
not possible to see the whole Sun at one time due to cloud. I checked
at 08:40 GMT and, although some faint sunspots may have been missed,
I would ahve seen any bright ones had they been there.
It cleared enough for hydrogen alpha viewing later at 13:15 GMT.
Unfortunately, the solar disc was quite bland with only one facula visible.
It didn't come out in the photos, so I just showed the prominences as
best I could:
I tried a close-up of the prominences but it didn't come out as well
as the full disc shot.
I checked again visually at 14:00 GMT but the prominences had faded.
I tried again at 16:20 GMT and the prominences had improved and I
could see a filament which just about appears here:
Unfortunately, the close-ups didn't work this time, either.
I returned out at 21:15 GMT with the full Moon low in the south east.
Libration from north to south was quite noticeable, as Plato was further
from the limb than normal. Here's the full disc shot:
This was a nice shot of Tycho:
Here's Plato, another of my favourites at full moon:
The final close-up was Copernicus:
After processing the photographs, I went out again to find Comet LINEAR
VZ13. It was amongst the cluster Melotte 111 and showed a short, faint tail
pointing away from the Sun. It was no Hale-Bopp but it was nice to chalk
up the 18th comet I've seen.
Jupiter showed 3 moons with 2 in close conjunction. I would have enjoyed
a bit more night but it was already past bedtime.
July 30th
Bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions at 06:25 GMT but there were
still no sunspots. I returned 15 minutes later with my PST and the Sun
still looked quite bland but there were some small prominences to the left
and some granulation visible.
July 31st
Bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions at 09:35 GMT but didn't see any
sunspots.
I tried an early evening photo shoot at 17:10 GMT. There was a filament
present in an otherwise bland disc but it didn't come out in the photo.
I couldn't catch the filament on a close-up either but did catch some
prominences at the bottom:
