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A picture of my observatory dome. Looking rather sad as it still faces SW into the last storm.
It has to be taken down by crane. Before I can add the 4.2m/14' dome on top of the enlarged building.
This will require the top of the building is clear. So I can fit the additional rotation rollers onto a thick, new ring of Baltic birch plywood.
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I was blown away by the beauty and detail in this superb, solar image. So I have duplicated it here with a simplified explanation. It deserves wide appreciation. Perhaps inspiring others to try solar imaging and observing. Or taking an interest in Solar Astronomy.
This outstanding image was posted on the SolarChat forum and SGL [Stargazer's Lounge] by Dave Smith of Essex, UK.
https://solarchatforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=39518
https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/406286-same-cme-as-nigella/
It shows a CME [coronal mass ejection] with the Earth for scale. Though our tiny planet would never survive being this close. Nor provide such a dramatic perspective. In reality it would be a small, distant dot at this scale. If the Sun were [say] 30cm in diameter. Then the Earth would be 2.7mm in diameter and slightly over 32m away.
A coronal mass ejection can cause damage on Earth. If it is extreme enough and the eruption facing the Earth at the time. Captured on the 7th February 2023in H-alpha [deep red] light. [False colour added.]
The original image data would be captured as a video. Usually in black and white on a specialist camera. Mounted on the tail end of a specially filtered telescope. Beware of the dangers of pointing any other instrument at the Sun! Instant blindness or even a fire would be very likely. Specialist solar telescopes are always used by solar imagers and observers. Particularly for H-alpha [deep red light] use.
The resulting, B&W, still image, after digital processing, is usually coloured to the imager's [digital photographer's] own taste. The very deep red of H-alpha light being rather dark for illustration. While black and white doesn't really do justice to such amazing subject matter.
I have cropped the image slightly in height. Then added the solar imager's name. To share the beauty of the sun and the sheer scale of its often irregular activities.
Here is Daves Smith's link to his solar images on his website.
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