Eerie Red Sun Through Clouds with Visible Sunspots

I know you're not supposed to look directly at the sun even through clouds, but it's so tempting when you step outside and see this eerie red sun glowing to the West through a layer of uniform clouds - especially when you've been seeing tweets all day about the huge active region (sun spots) on the face of the sun right now. What an easy opportunity to try to capture some sunspots and this weird red sun in a flat background of gray. I tried looking at it first with a pair of eclipse glasses, and couldn't see anything at all, so then I took a few sideways glances and set up my camera.

Single frame Canon T5i 300mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/500 sec very minor contrast tweak in iPhoto otherwise straight from the camera. Active regions visible in the middle (sunspots). 

Chris and Zack said they could see the sunspots with the naked eye. Eeeeeeh! I wasn't going to stare at it long enough to try to see them, but I could clearly see them through my eyepiece on the camera.

My photo vs. NASA SOHO to show the labeled active regions. I played with curves and sharpness to try to bring them out a little bit more. Had to remind myself it's through clouds so it's not going to be super sharp, but WOW look at the size of those things!

I tried to get some context photos, and I've found that the DirectTV dish on the roof makes a convenient foreground target, and it's vaguely space-ey so I guess it works haha.

If you look closely you can see the sunspots even in this wider shot. Single frame with Canon T5i at 75mm, ISO 100, f/8, 1/500 sec

And yet another context shot, with my iPhone before I ran inside to get my tripod. I think this weird red sun through clouds beats out my eerie yellow sun from a few years ago. What do you think?

iPhone photo wide angle showing the sun in the sky with the solid gray clouds

I guess I had HDR turned on because the roofline has a glow around it, but this wasn't meant to be a cool iPhone photo of the sun just an example of the setting with the weird gray sky and red sun high in the sky. It's like the color of a sunset but much higher away from the horizon. The iPhone photo makes it look a little darker than it really was because I was trying to properly expose the sun.

Huge Sunspot, Active Region 2665 on July 9, 2017

I don't have amazing solar imaging gear - just a DSLR and a home made solar filter - but when there is a sunspot or active region large enough, it's always worth taking a look to see if I can 'spot' it! 😂 But seriously, when I started seeing photos of active region ("AR") 2665 show up on my social media feeds, I had to grab my camera. 

Single frame with Canon T5i, black polymer solar filter, 300mm, f/7.1, 1/60 sec, ISO 100

My lens isn't quite sharp enough to really pull out all the detail, and who can compete with the Solar Dynamics Observatory with crystal clear live images of the sun. 

Image above compared to the SDO HMI Intensitygram

Nevertheless, I've found over the years that my best chances are to focus the camera while it's tethered to my laptop, rather than relying on the auto-focus or trying to focus by hand looking through the viewfinder. 

If you stop and think for a second, it's pretty darn cool to be able to see a sunspot like this with very little equipment. Controlling my camera from my laptop makes me feel super cool, as if I have my own observatory at my disposal. 

Love being able to control my camera using the EOS Utility app

My laptop perched on a chair near the sliding door so the USB cable can reach the camera.

My camera slowly following the sun so I don't have to keep re-adjusting it.

DIY solar filter on DSLR on motorized mount

I don't think it's my best sunspot photo, but it definitely was an honest attempt. If you take a look at the weather conditions, they were just okay I guess. I've tried stacking solar photos before and it just doesn't boost the clarity as nicely as moon photos. I'll quit moaning and just enjoy this sunspot the size of Earth, captured on my DSLR in my backyard. 

Weather conditions, Noblesville, IN July 9, 2017

Do Solar Eclipse Glasses Fit and Work Over Regular Glasses?

Yes, traditional cardboard solar eclipse glasses fit over regular prescription glasses. Yes, solar eclipse glasses work over prescription glasses, and allow you to see the sun as a crisp orange circle (or blue/green depending on the eclipse glasses). I wanted to post about this because I wear regular prescription glasses everyday and I want to assure people that they will have a comfortable and enjoyable view of the solar eclipse with the cardboard total solar eclipse shades directly on top of their regular eyewear. See photos!

I know this can be a concern for people, because you don't want to sacrifice the clarity of viewing with your prescription, but you also don't want to hurt your eyes duh! As someone who used to buy contact lenses just so I could go to 3D movies, I'm always worried about whether or not the additional eyewear will go over the top of what I'm already wearing!

Testing out my eclipse shades over my Rx glasses for the total solar eclipse

Front view eclipse glasses over regular

Side view solar shades over regular glasses

These particular eclipse glasses I ordered from the St. Joseph, MO Convention and Visitors Bureau online store on their event page for the 2017 eclipse. I got a 6-pack for $10+$4 shipping. St. Joseph is where I'm going to view the eclipse, so I figured it would be nice to have souvenir eclipse glasses to save in my memory box to mark the event.

You can also get eclipse glasses on Amazon for cheap, and you'll probably see more and more of the custom printed ones popping up closer to the event. These were actually printed by Rainbow Symphony, which is the exact same ones they sell on Amazon, and if you wanted to really wow your neighbors or co-workers you could order your own custom printed ones.

The sun appears as an orange dot through the glasses. It doesn't provide any magnification, but remember the sun is the same apparent size as the full moon during an eclipse, so you'll be able to see enough of the disc of the sun to notice a huge slice covered on its way to totality. 

6-pack arrived in the mail in a couple days

Some safety instructions printed right on the inside of the glasses

These are branded for the specific event I'm attending so it will make a great souvenir!

I have my itinerary narrowed down with my sister. We have our hotels booked, and our driving route planned. If you're going to be in St. Joseph let me know in the comments, and if you have any tips for a first-time-total-solar-eclipse-viewer let me know in the comments!

Active Sunspot Region 2443

Had thin clouds on Sunday but I wanted to try to get a photo of active sunspot region 2443 that I've been hearing so much about. I haven't taken many sun photos with my DIY solar filter for my DSLR, but when there is an especially large active region they are fun to catch.

I had a little haze - well, more than haze, I had thin clouds I was trying to shoot through. The sunspot active region was large enough to see even though the clouds without a telescope. I just used a 300mm lens with the DIY solar filter over the top.

The hardest part is focusing with the additional filter over the lens and the glare of trying to look at the camera display screen in the daylight. Auto focus doesn't quite do it with the additional layer over it, of course the clouds don't help either.

November is looking good for some stargazing, but I don't think I'll be taking many more solar images during the week. By the time I get home it's already getting dark!

Active sunspot region 2443 on Sunday, November 1, 2015 - Single shot with Canon T5i edited in Instagram

Instagram actually does a good job bringing out the contrast in sunspot images. I didn't list the acquisition details under the image above because I cheated it too much. Below is the original image out of the camera, which in this case is my trusty Canon T5i.

Canon T5i single frame at f/7.1, 1/30 sec, ISO 100, 300mm

For comparison, here is a look at what the face of the sun looked like at the same time, but through much better gear from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

And if you were wondering, this is what my setup looked like. Identical to my setup last year, but with worse atmospheric conditions. In both cases, stacking actually didn't do much good and I ended up using single images.

Canon T5i and home made solar filter attachment

October 23 Partial Solar Eclipse from Indiana and AR12192

We had clear skies all day and then got clouded out right before sunset. I had my camera set up in my office with a west-facing window, and planned to snap some pics before a 7:00pm meeting. I got a few through the clouds, and a chance to spot the huge sunspot (active region) AR12192, which is now the biggest since November 1990.

Single frame with Canon T5i, 6:06pm, ISO 100, 300mm, f/7.1, 1 sec, exposure adjust in Lightroom

Single frame with Canon T5i, 5:58pm, ISO 200, 300mm, f/7.1, 1/20 sec

Single frame with Canon T5i, 6:06pm, ISO 100, 300mm, f/7.1, 1 sec

Single frame with Canon T5i, 5:58pm, ISO 1600, 300mm, f/7.1, 1/25 sec

Single frame with Canon T5i, 5:59pm, ISO 200, 300mm, f/7.1, 1/15 sec

 

Single frame with Canon T5i, 5:08pm, ISO 100, 300mm, f/7.1, 1/25 sec

Sky conditions during the solar eclipse... what the heck!

Shooting the sun from my office

Huge Sunspot October 21, 2014

Single frame with Canon T5i, 300mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/30 sec

I tried stacking my sunspots again and I was actually more pleased with the clarity of single frames rather than the stacking result. I did some developing in Lightroom, which included turning down the contrast (brings out the lighter area around the sunspot) and turning down the shadow (similar to decreasing contrast) and turning up the clarity (just a bit). Next I brought the brightness down a little bit and was pretty pleased.

This is a gigantic sunspot! I can't wait to see if it is still in view during the partial solar eclipse on Thursday. I'm bringing my camera with solar filter to work with me on Thursday, and I'm also hoping to get a shot with some foreground - which I'm learning uses much different settings compared to the shots through the filter. Check out my home made DSLR solar filter shoutout on Universe Today!

Single frame with Canon T5i, 300mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/30 sec

DSLR Solar Observing Test and Sunspots October 19, 2014

Using my home made solar filter attachment for my DSLR, I did my first solar observing test today. I couldn't have asked for anything more for a first try! How exciting! Not only do I have a ballpark set of numbers camera settings to use on the partial eclipse, but I was able to observe and identify sunspots for the first time ever!

Canon T5i, stack of 15 frames each at ISO 100, 300mm, f/7.1, 1/15 sec

Same as above with sunspot active regions labeled. 2192 recently produced a large solar flare (link).

So this solar observing test also prompted me to learn a little more about sunspot naming or labeling. It turns out, "There is no naming or numbering system for sunspots. There is a system for numbering active regions, however. An active region can contain one or more spots. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) numbers active regions consecutively as they are observed on the Sun" (source).

During this test, the sky wasn't totally clear - but I was still able to observe sunspots. Can't wait to try it again when the sky is perfectly blue.

Sky conditions during my solar observing test

I looked up the sunspot active regions on the SOHO website and easily compared it to my photos. Here is a side by side version. I had to rotate my sun to match the orientation of the SDO image.

Comparing my photo to the SDO image at the same time, you can clearly see the two large active regions, and faintly make out the two tiny ones in between. They are more apparent if I crank the contrast but it ruins the look of the image. 

I learned a lot about taking photos in the daytime. It was really difficult trying to focus on the sun, but I used the live view method of zooming in and manually adjusting while looking at the large LCD screen. The reflection on the screen was so bad, I had to cover myself and the back of the camera with a jacket in order to see it clearly. I felt like one of those old-timey photographers with the hood over the back of the camera.

Whatever gets the job done!

Also, in case you were wondering what the photos look like straight out of the camera, here is an untouched shot prior to stacking and cropping. It still has a pleasing orange color because I'm using black polymer instead of Mylar. To compare, I think the telescopes had Mylar filters for the transit of Venus event that I photographed with my iPhone through the eyepiece.

Single frame straight from Canon T5i, ISO 100, 300mm, f/7.1, 1/15 sec

Here's another look at my home made solar filter, it looks pretty good in the daylight

Eerie Yellow Ball Appears During Foggy Sunrise

What could this strange object be!? Oh, right, it's the sun. It looks very strange and eerie, similar to a foggy sunrise I saw last year. This time, I grabbed by DSLR to get a close up using the dense fog as a natural solar filter. In hindsight this was very risky and could have led to permanent damage to my eye or camera or both, but I took a chance and the dense fog held together keeping the sun rather dim.

Single frame with T5i, ISO 200, 200mm, f/5, 1/1000 sec

I messed with this one a bunch in iPhoto so I won't give the acquisition details

Single frame, iPhone photo

Comparison of my image and the HMI Intensitygram image from the Sun Viewer app. I was hoping to catch a sunspot, but the face looks pretty quiet right now - not much to see even if I had a clear image

Eerie pale yellow ball, single frame with T5i at ISO 200, 300mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec

December 21, 2013: Happy Winter Solstice!

You can either think of the Winter Solstice as the shortest day of the year (9 hours 21 minutes of sunlight from my latitude), or the day when the sun stops getting lower in the sky and starts it's climb toward midsummer (June 21, 2014). From my latitude, the sun will be up for 15 straight hours during the Summer Solstice!

Sunrise has shifted to the SE, photo from December 11, 2013 taken on iPhone

Today, the sun will rise at 120.4º and set at 239.6º, looking at a compass face, it's easy to see that the sun will not "rise in the East and set in the West" like it's supposed to. Rather, it will peek its head over the horizon in the SE to SW sky.

Compass face showing the position of sunrise and sunset on the Winter Solstice from my latitude

Augmented reality view through the app PhotoPills showing the path of the sun today on the Winter Solstice

Since we have had rainy overcast skies for 90% of the month, it's no surprise that we have showers today on the Solstice. Using the app PhotoPills , with augmented reality views of the sun's path and some seriously amazing daylight planning charts (below), I suppose I can enjoy the Solstice through the eyes of an app.