At the moment I am currently using a DMK21 monochrome industrial video camera, this has a 640×480 chip with an 8-bit grey-scale as you will see the results are great. You will probably detect when viewing my site that my main focus is on movie sequences rather than still photographs.
Here I present a selection of some of my latest higher resolution images that I have processed in Registax 6 since its release in April 2011. Registax 6 is free software that you can easily download from the internet to use to process your own images. If you wish to experiment or improve your photographic/animation techniques please check out my links section this will be updated as new material/techniques are found.
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7 Jan 2014 here a M7.2-class flare breaks across AR1944 at 10.30UT
6 July 2013 here is a still of AR1787 and AR1785 complex at 07:33UT
22 June 2013 here is a still of AR1772 at 09:11UT
10 April 2013 here I have attempted to capture the Sun at 3.2m focal length this is a mosaic comprising 225 separate panels and about 60 hours work to assemble them. I have had to shrink to photo to fit it onto this web page.
Here is another attempt at a full disc mosaic on the 1 April 2013 in grade 2 to 3 seeing from 13:40 to 14:12UT. There are over 50 separate photos in this one image.
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28 March 2013 here is a closeup of the rotational prominence on the south-east limb this was taken at 10:40UT in grade 1 seeing conditions.
Here the photo has been reworked to balance the contrast to make it look like just one photo
8 January 2012 here is my first attempt at a full disc mosaic [40 frames] at 1.6m focal length – still have a lot to learn with this aspect
22 September 2012 here I attempted WL photos using a Continuum filter from 09:36 to 10:36UT.
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17 September 2012 here is a close up of the sunspot showing plasma flowing from the penumbre into the umbra.
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17 September 2012 here is another white light attempt at AR1569 from 08:41 to 09:55UT in grade 2 to grade 3 seeing conditions.
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13 September 2012 here is AR1571 to the east of AR1569 between 09:36 and 09:51UT in grade 3 to grade 4 seeing conditions also at 4.0m focal length.
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13 September 2012 here is a first attempt at a WL movie using TOA130 at 4m focal length – generally poor seeing grade 3 to grade 4 but it does give a hint of my systems capabilities? Used Lunt Herschel wedge and a 7A ha-filter here.
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6 September 2012 here is one of the stills from my sequence on AR1564 this one at 10:16UT.
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28 August 2012 here is a look at AR1555 in white light between 11:01 and 11:21UT in grade 3 to grade 4 seeing conditions. I used TOA130 with Baader 3.8 grade film, a Baader 7nm Ha filter and a 2x Barlow with DMK21 mono camera.
Here is part of the same sequence cropped and the image scale increased by 100%.
25 August 2012 – today Neil Armstrong passed away. I have had the opportunity to meet with 6 of the Apollo astronauts but not the first man to walk on the moon. For the first time I turned my Refractor to the Moon and took images to prepare a mosaic. Here is the result after about 15 hours processing.
28 January 2012 I am now mainly taking photos to produce animated sequences of solar events here are some post flare loops taken through my PST between 09-48 and 10-30UT in grade 1 seeing conditions.
28 September 2011 here is a still of a C-class flare breaking across AR1302 at 13-29UT.
18 September 2011 at 10-40UT here is a still of AR1295 there is an animation of this on my very latest animations page.
04 September 2011 here are post flare loops associated with AR1280 at 16-35UT.
29 August 2011 at 13-22UT here is a limb flare and a large prominence.
30 July 2011 here is a mosaic showing four seperate active regions in the Sun’s northern hemisphere AR1263, AR1261, AR1260 and AR1265 photographed at 16-21UT.
15 July 2011 this was a large prominence from 12-44 to 13-24UT seeing conditions varied from grade 2 to a milky grade 4 skies.
9 July 2011 between 15-58 and 16-09UT this is an ejection from the limb. The seeing conditions were a fairly poor grade 3.
9 July 2011 this is AR1247 between 13-29 and 13-58UT the seeing conditions were a slightly better grade 2. Just 13 frames from the sequence have been processed and presented here to keep the file to the suitable size for this site.
9 July 2011 this is a large prominence but unfortunately I was clouded out after 10 minutes [we are well used to this here in the UK] seeing was a reasonable grade 2 only 8-frames from 09-37 to 09-46UT.
3 July 2011 this is AR1244 and a long filament animated between 17-31 and 17-53UT 12 frames at 0.15 seconds per frame in seeing conditions were grade 3. I have rotated the camera by about 30 degrees anti-clock wise from the true solar-orientation to get the long filament into the frame.
3 July 2011 prominence structure captured between 18-12 and 18-34UT here is the monochrome and a coloured version here are 12 frames running at 0.15 seconds a frame.
29 June 2011 this is AR1242 between 18-18 and 18-42UT animated at one frame every 0.15 seconds in seeing conditions grade 3.
26 June 2011 prominence from 09-19 to 10-07UT showing chromosphere activity.
This is the black and white version of the same animated sequence. The seeing conditions were a grade 2.
19 June 2011. Seeing conditions this evening were a fairly boor grade 3. Here is AR1236 animated sequence between 18-32 and 18-48UT [10 frames] the sunspot is decaying but still showing some activity. This sunspot has a light bridge, this is a ribbon of plasma that runs across the umbra and penumbra. A small flare breaks to the right side of the light bridge.
19 June 2010 between 18-20 and 18-32UT this is a hedge row prominence photographed in seeing conditions that ranged from a grade 2 to grade 3. one minute of real time every 0.15 seconds 10 frames animated in Photoshop CS5.
Here is another active prominence structure also on the 19th June 2010 here animated between 17-52 and 18-14UT, I present a coloured and black and white version. I have set the exposure levels so the Chromosphere stands out above the much brighter photosphere.
Here is a small limb flare that broke on 11 June 2011 between 17-35 and 17-45UT.
This was a huge prominence structure on 2011-06-11 between 18-01UT and 18-37UT unfortunately the seeing had deteriorated to a poor grade 3 conditions.
Here is a huge prominence on 5 June 2011 between 12-08UT and 12-35UT. The original black and white animation is below. Here you see one minutes movement every 0.15 seconds.
Here is a large prominence that I photographed on the 3 June 2011 between 16-25 and 16-40UT animated [14 frames] it runs at one frame every 0.1 seconds. I still have another 30 frames to add later.
This was a large prominence at 16-26UT on the 3 June 2011. Used double-stacked 90mm Solarmax. 1500 frames through DMK21.
This is a 14 frame animation of this feature I still have more frames to process. The lower GIF file comprises the original monochrome stills running at one minute every 0.1 seconds. I have set the brightness/contrast settings in Photoshop to show the distinction between the thinner chromosphere [grey outer layer] and the more dense photosphere [brighter inner layer]. This animation shows just how active the chromosphere is.
This is AR1128 at 16-51UT on the 2 June 2011. Captured 1500 frames in IC capture with DMK21 through triple-stacked Solarmax seeing conditions 2.
This is AR1127 [left] and AR1126 photographed on 2 June at 17-37UT.
This is a photo of a large prominence structure photographed on the 24 May 2011 and comprises of a mosaic of 4 separate images.
Here is a photo of a C3-Class solar flare on 22 April 2011 at 12-36UT across AR1195 this image was taken through a triple-stacked 90mm Solarmax.
This as a short monochrome animation to demonstrate the resolution that I can presently achieve even in the poor UK skies. This is a 10 frame animation with one minute of real time running every 0.15 seconds. Here you will see a C3-class solar flare breaking across AR1195.
Here is a sunspot on the 21 April 2011 between 16-55 and 17-17 UT with 12 frames animated in Photoshop CS5 running at one frame every 0.15 seconds.
Here is the surface detail from 10 April 2011 one shows the limb with a large filament being present. This shows how effective triple-stacking is proving to be.
10 April 2011 between 11-10UT and 11-19UT here is a large filament animated 10 frames at 0.15 seconds a frame
Here is a Calcium-K mosaic taken on the 2 April 2011 showing lots of sunspot activity.
This is a photograph of a limb flare on the 8 March 2011 at 11-50UT this flare was generated from AR1166 and showed lots of reconnecting coronal magnetic loops.
This is a two-frame mosaic af sunspon numbers AR1169, AR1166 and AR1164 photographed on the 8 March 2011 using 90mm CaK Solarmax telescope.
This is a photograph of AR1166 on the 7 March 2011 at 11-50UT.
