Combined Sunspot Group & Disk Image Report

2024-05-11 14:17 UTC


Massive sunspot activity on the morning following an Aurora Borealis evening.

Observer Comments

Target DescriptionThis is the first solar image I ever captured other than a solitary test image with the Seestar a couple of months earlier. All of my prior solar observing experience was visual, setting up my Askar V telescope for public use at "sun parties". Because of the previous night's Aurora activity, I expected there would be exceptional sunspot activity, and was not disappointed. It was fun to find that enormous sunspot group on the right limb.
Image Capture DescriptionCaptured from my back deck on the morning following an Aurora Borealis. Conditions were good with no clouds and relatively stable seeing. Seeing is easy to monitor in the Seestar during solar imaging because the camera sends a continually updated video stream to your phone. Especially if look at the limb, you can readily judge how steady it is.

Longitude and latitude lines added by a Freeware Windows program called Helio Viewer.
Program Links
 Sunspotter Program  

Capture Details & Sunspot Analysis

ObserverMG
Date and Time Observed (UTC)2024-05-11 10:17:00
ConditionsSky Quality: Good
Seeing: 2-Good (1"-2")
Obs. Lat/Long42° 17', 073° 57'
InstrumentSeestar S50 f5.0-250mm FL
CameraSeestar Built-in SONY IMX462 Sensor
Solar Filter UsedSeestar Filter
Post ProcessingLevels adjusted in Affinity Photo
Sunspot Group Analysis (Image 1)
McIntosh Sunspot ClassificationFkc
Answer the Following:
-- Is granulation visible? Yes
-- Is penubral grain visible? No
-- Does image show Wilson effect? No
Faint granulation NE of group. I suspect sunspots are too far from limb to show strong Wilson Effect.
Disk Analysis
Total Sunspot Count:
-- (G)roups: North=2 + South=2 = 4 (total=G)
-- (S)unspots: North=2 + South=12 = 14 (total=S)
Wilson Sunspot Number (R) =
-- 10 x 4(G)+14(S)= 54
See Gallery for Macintosh Sunspot Classification for each group