Telescope Reviews: Post your very first sketch over here!

The chromospheric detail is quite interesting to me. Each line you see is really a pattern of slightly dark spots. When each of these dots rotates to the limb it is seen as a spicule (a very small spike). It is my opinion that the pattern of the dots is persistent over the course of hours or days even though each spicule averages a lifetime of 8 minutes. I am under the further assumption that the lines represent neutral places between magnetic fields.

I initially just wanted to record the locations of the proms so I printed a Tilting Sun Graphic from Wes Crowley's excellent program for my location, mount and scope. When I got to the EP I decided I would record the chromospheric network so that today I could see how much of it persisted for 24 hours. I used a very sharp #2 pencil as it was all I had out there. Having a softer pencil would have been easier in some ways.

Trying to find the locations of these very low contrast objects was a challenge so I divided the sun in to pieces in my mind by bisecting. So, starting with the northern hemisphere I started with a feature toward the center. Then 1/2 way between there and the limb I added the network. Over the course of an hour there were only a couple of places that I had not added. I focused on them and recorded those places. It was not an exact science and I will surely need more practice to get the details in the right place.

I set the telescope EP in the shade and left the objective in the sun. I was using a Vixen zoom EP and was at 12mm for most of the time (with a 500mm f/l .5A Lunt H-alpha scope). In moments of good seeing I could go to 9mm on the prominences. I found that even though I could see the entire sun in the field that I have a preference for where my eye is comfortable to view. I scanned my alt/az mount so that the area I was focusing on was just east of this field. As the sun would drift by I would start to get dark adapted and the detail would show it's self. This allowed me to find one or perhaps two lines worth of data. I would record it and go through the whole process all over.

Erix work has long facinated me and the only reason I thought to even try a sketch was because of her influence. The Mt Wilson daily sun spot drawings represent a style I think a non-artist like me can emulate. Here is an example here:

ftp://howard.astro.ucla.edu/pub/obs/drawings/2005/dr050914.jpg