Here are today’s solar images taken from Al Sadeem Observatory, January 21, 2021.
The sky was generally clear with intermittent light to moderate breeze which provided good transparency but average seeing at the time these images were taken.Â
The trailer section of AR2797 (Modified Zurich/Mcintosh sunspot configuration: Hax/alpha) has separated from its larger stable leader section and it was designated as AR2798 and exhibiting its relatively weak bipolar configuration (Cro/beta). Several minor B-class and C-class solar flaring activity from AR2798 were recorded by space weather agencies over the past 24 hours. On the other hand, AR2797 has remained generally quiet. The latest sunspot number (based on visual count and Wolf number calculation) is 29.Â
Other solar features observed were several minor plasma ejections through the presence of a few small faint quiescent prominences at the limbs, few short stable filaments at the far southern hemisphere, and the weak solar plage enhancements of AR2798 as distinctively captured in H-alpha imagery.
Space weather agencies* forecast solar activity gradual increase in solar activity but still within low levels with chances of solar flares of up to B-class (possibly isolated C-class) intensity, mainly from AR2798. 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 (4:30 PM – 5:00 PM, January 21, 2021, from NCM Al Wathba Station):
Average Temperature: 23.67°C
Average Humidity: 57.33%
Average Wind Speed and Direction: 25.2 kph from NW
Average Cloud Cover: 0%
Average Air Pressure: 1008.0 hPa
Average Solar Radiation: 152.67 W/m^2
