Solar Imaging Session - April 1, 2012 (Long NE Dark Filament)

I wake up late this morning after trying to get more rest after having to update my personal webpage till 3:00am due to the long queue of images that I haven't posted in my webpage :(

Anyway, as I wake up, I saw sunlight coming in from my observing window so I didn't waste any more time to setup and image the Sun asap. AR11445 Sunspot group is still the biggest group on the Sun today with AR11449 Sunspot Group showing a bright flare inside its core. The rest of the the sunspot groups are small as well as about to exit the western limb.

A nice large eruptive prominence can be seen in the SW limb while a huge dark filament is now entering the NE limb and this should be an interesting feature to monitor in the days to come.

I wasn't able to do any white light images today as I got obstructed already by our roof after imaging through H-Alpha wavelength. :(

Solar Imaging Session - March 24, 2012

The sky this morning is fair but seeing is not that good. The Sun in very quiet despite having more than 6 sunspot groups on its face :( Several small to medium eruptive prominences can be seen in the NE limb. A new possible AR11444 Sunspot Group can be seen in the SE limb.

Solar Imaging Session - March 19, 2012 Huge SE Hedgerow Prominence!)

The sky this morning is very hazy and seeing condition is not that good as well. It was very hard to observe and image the Sun this morning as lots of stubborn clouds keep on passing in front of the Sun thus giving me a hard time to image. Amid the hard circumstances, I was still able to image 2 shots before my roof obstructions puts an end to my session :(

There is a huge hedgerow prominence that is visible in the SE limb while a lot of dark filaments can be seen near AR11433 Sunspot Group. Got clouded out already as well when I was trying to image AR11434 and AR11435 Sunspot Group.

Venus and Jupiter Conjunction - March 18, 2012

I spend some time with my kid KC to observe and image the Venus and Jupiter conjunction before we go window shopping in Trinoma in Quezon City.

Venus & Jupiter Close Conjunction - March 15, 2012

The sky this afternoon was really bad and after a failed attempt to image the close pair in the western sky yesterday, I was still hoping that I would be given a good break today to get a decent shot of the close conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter. After more than an hour wait, the pair finally pops out of the clouds and let me get a chance to image them beside Dr. Jose Rizal Monument in Luneta Park.

Mars Imaging Session - March 11, 2012

Finally, I was able to image Mars again after finishing all my webpage updates! Unfortunately, sky was a bit hazy and seeing condition is very poor. I still proceeded to image Mars and can see some main features such as a shrinking North Polar Cap and Mare Acidalium , Chyrse and Mare Erythraeum. Some light patchy Martian clouds are also visible.

Solar Imaging Session - March 11, 2012 (Huge AR11429 Sunspot Group & Huge NE Dark Filament! )

The sky this morning is partly cloudy and seeing is also not that good. I had to make a quick imaging session to try to outrun the passing clouds but unfortunately, clouds eventually catch up on me while I'm trying to image white light but i still managed to get a quick seconds shot of AR11429 Sunspot Group before I get totally clouded out :( Image was not that good but at least it still shows how it look today :0

AR11430 Sunspot Group has decayed even more while AR11428 continues to maintain its size and structure more or less. 2 new sunspots AR11433 and AR11434 Sunspot Groups pops out today in NE and SE limb to join another new kid on the block, AR11432. The trio are not big sunspot groups but at least it will still give us a good view in the days to come.

The NE FilaProm that is visible yesterday had snapped but is still an awesome sight to view in the NE quadrant!

Solar Imaging Session - March 10, 2012 (Huge AR11429 Sunspot Group & Huge NE FilaProm!)

The sky this morning is clear but sky is a bit hazy and seeing condition is fair. AR11429 Sunspot Groups continues to be the crowd drawer for solar viewing and imaging but it has started to decay with its middle section starting to decay a bit. AR11430 Sunspot Group continues to decay further while AR11428 Sunspot Group maintain its size. The SE huge hedgegrow prominence has simmered down a bit but is still a joy to look at in Ha wavelength. There is also a huge FilaProm in the NE limb near a new AR11432 Sunspot Group which is still very small.

Waning Gibbous Moon - March 9, 2012

After I return from some groceries, I saw the Waning Gibbous Moon is shining clearly so couldn't help myself and I set up my Canon EOS 500D DSLR on Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 with Canon EF 1.4x teleconverter on sturdy photo tripod to image it.

Solar Imaging Session - March 9, 2012 (Huge AR11429 Sunspot Group & Huge NE FilaProm!)

The sky this morning is clear and seeing condition is fair. AR11429 Sunspot Group has I think achieve full length but unfortunately is also starting to decay. There is also some remnants of yesterday's flare from this group. AR11430 Sunspot Group is decaying already as expected from my comments yesterday while AR11428 Sunspot Group is still slowly growing in size. A new possible new AR11432 Sunspot Group is emerging from the NE limb. A huge FileProm is also visible in the NE limb as well as a a huge Hedgegrow Prominence in the SE limb.

Lastly, I was told by my ALP colleague Jett Aguilar this morning that our solar images were mentioned in spaceweather.com today! 2 ALPers in spaceweather.com . What a great way to start the day!!!

Solar Imaging Session - March 8, 2012 (Huge AR11429 Sunspot Group!)

The sky this morning is clear and seeing condition was unexpectedly very good :) AR11429 Sunspot Group is now about to show its true size and length as it almost comes out of the Wilson Effect thus will more or less reveal to us its true size tomorrow or two. Very good details on the umbra and penumbral structure of this sunspot group as well as light bridges on the main umbral core of this group. It is also now a naked eye sunspot group! (CAUTION: One needs a protective solar filter to see the sunspot as well as the Sun itself). AR11430 Sunspot Group is also growing in size a bit but i don't think this will further grow more in the days to come. AR11428 Sunspot Group, on the other hand is growing and I think has a good chance of growing some more in terms of its umbral and penumbral structure in the days to come.

In Ha wavelength , there are 3 huge eruptive prominences that are visible in the NE, SE and NW limb. AR11429 and AR11430 as well as AR11428 Sunspot Groups are quiet and shows only a small solar activity inside their core structure.