SUNSPOT MONITORING – AUGUST 26, 2021

Here are today’s solar images taken from Al Sadeem Observatory, August 26, 2021.

The sky was generally clear with moderate breeze which provided good transparency but average seeing at the time these images were taken.

AR2859 (Cso/beta) re-developed a couple more small spots in its intermediate and trailer sections with slight growth of its leader spot. On the other hand, AR2860 (Dao/beta) grew further in spot size and expanded in coverage area due to the separation between its intermediate and trailer spots. Both sunspot groups produced a few minor B-class and C-class solar flares over the past 24 hours. Another small bipolar sunspot group is seen popping out near the NE limb (pre-AR2861). The latest sunspot number (based on visual count and Wolf number calculation) is 44. 

Small enhanced plages associated with the upper mentioned sunspot groups, several short eruptive filaments near AR2859 and AR2860, and few tiny quiescent prominences at the limbs were the other solar features distinctively captured in H-alpha imagery.

Space weather agencies* forecast low solar activity with chances of B-class to C-class solar flares from the upper mentioned sunspot groups in the next few days. Close monitoring is being conducted by numerous space weather agencies for any significant development.

Equipment used are Skywatcher 120mm refractor telescope with Baader filter and unmodified Canon EOS 1D Mark IV DSLR camera for visible imagery. For H-alpha imagery, the equipment used are Lunt 60mm H-alpha solar telescope, and QHYCCD 290III mono camera; all mounted on Skywatcher EQ6 pro mount Pre-processing of visible solar images was performed in PIPP, stacking in Autostakkert, slight wavelet adjustments in Registax 6, and post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CC.


*TECHNICAL REPORTS COURTESY OF SOLAR INFLUENCE DATA CENTER (SIDC), NOAA-SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER (NOAA-SWPC)

Weather Data (5:30 PM – 6:00 PM, August 26, 2021, from NCM Al Wathba Station):

Average Temperature: 38.83°C

Average Humidity: 43.33%

Average Wind Speed and Direction: 21.23 kph from NNW

Average Cloud Cover: 0%

Average Air Pressure: 997.0 hPa

Average Solar Radiation: 121.33 W/m^2

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