Solar Granulation and Sunspot AR12882 in Motion – Time Lapse and Photos
Alqueva´s Dark Sky Reserve | By Year: 2021 | Solar Ha | Time Lapses Photography
Captured on October 7, 2021, from my backyard near Dark Sky® Alqueva region, Portugal, I made a try on pushing hard my 120ED telescope to the limits of its resolution. Equipped with a Lunt Solar Wedge, a Baader green continuum filter and a crazy combination of two Televue Powermate barlows of 4x plus 2,5x in a relatively good atmospheric stability day, it was possible to record a time lapse video sequence taken between UT12h24 and UT 13h32 (Universal Time) which comprising 167 sequences stacked and processed individually. The final result helps to reveal the convection cells in motion around the medium size (but larger enough to maybe fit a planet Earth inside) Sunspot AR2882. A close-up view also reveals the dark hole from Umbra, surrounded by bright fibrils alternated with dark filaments which forms the Penumbra region. Solar photosphere is boiling and bubbling each minute, and these granulation cells are changing so fast, that only in 3 to 4 minutes we can see the diference in size and shape. Unfortunately I was not able to resolve even more up to the point of clearly distinguish the polygonal shape and intergranular zones, but I think that probably this is the limit of the limit of a 120mm telescope.
PT: Captada a 7 de Outubro de 2021, a partir do meu terraço perto da região do Dark Sky® Alqueva, Portugal, fiz uma tentativa de puxar até ao limite da sua resolução teórica, o meu telescópio 120ED. Equipado com um Lunt Solar Wedge, um filtro contínuo verde Baader e uma combinação excêntrica de dois barlows Televue Powermate de 4x mais 2,5x em um dia de estabilidade atmosférica relativamente boa, foi possível gravar uma sequência de vídeo time lapse feita entre UT12h24 e UT13h32 (Tempo Universal) que compreende 167 sequências empilhadas e processadas individualmente. O resultado final ajuda a revelar as células de convecção em movimento ao redor do mancha solar de tamanho médio AR2882 (mas grande o suficiente para talvez abarcar um planeta Terra inteiro lá dentro). Uma visão de perto também revela a região escura da Umbra, rodeada por fibrilas brilhantes alternadas com filamentos escuros que formam a região da Penumbra. A fotosfera solar está fervendo e borbulhando a cada minuto, e essa granulação sofre alterações tão rapidamente que em apenas 3 a 4 minutos podemos ver a diferença de tamanho e forma. Infelizmente não consegui resolver ainda mais a ponto de distinguir claramente a forma poligonal e as zonas intergranulares, mas acho que provavelmente esse é o limite do limite de um telescópio de 120mm.
Technical details | Detalhes Técnicos
SW Esprit 120ED Professional | EQ-6 Pro mount | Lunt Solar Wedge | Baader Green Continum filter| ASI174MM | TV 4x + TV2,5x | ZWO EAF | Stack of 150 frames for each single image, captured in good seeing conditions from Dark Sky® Alqueva territory, Portugal.
Important Note | Nota Importante: Never look and point a telescope or any other optical equipment directly to the sun without a proper and specialized safty filters! It can blind you forever. PT: Nota Importante – Nunca aponte um telescópio ou qualquer equipamento óptico directamente para o sol e observe através dele sem filtros especializados e seguros. Causará cegueira irreversível!
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