20051123 - Clear Sky for Sun

Took a quick look out my daughter's bedroom window to see Sun rising in a clear blue sky. Looking through the filter built for the Tak102, I held it up to see that Sunspot 822 has rotated close to the limb. It was apparent without magnification but not as easy as days before.

Using Fujinon 7x50 bins, I held them up to the filter and could see 822 near the upper right limb, and 824 low and central to the disk. In this quick look, I didn't think it was past a central meridian. No detail, like penumbra, was seen at this low magnification.

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Last night when browsing the web and blogs, I discovered a new site, Vern's Astronomy Weblog. Some fantastic work there and within his website. After enjoying the amazing photos and information, meander through the "Map Projections" to see some fantastic programming work that benefits the astronomer. The Solar maps section shows what visible on the Sun - earthside & farside. A very cool site in my opinion!