Sun Shots

WARNING!

Do not attempt to observe or photograph the sun without the proper equipment and a thorough understanding of the risks involved. The photos on this page were taken with specialized filters designed to allow safe observation and photography of the sun.

The sun's photosphere.

The sun’s photosphere photographed at 1400 EDT, 1 January 2013 from Hamilton, Ontario. Photographed with an 80 mm f/15 achromatic refractor and Nikon D5100 at prime focus with mylar solar filter. Processed in Adobe Photoshop Elements to keep the red channel, with some adjustment to contrast, brighness and sharpness. Camera settings: ISO 100, shutter 1/1000.

Set-up for balcony solar photographs.

Set-up for solar photographs from an apartment balcony. An 80 mm f/15 achromatic refractor telescope, bought used for $100, mounted on a GE4 equitorial mount (also picked up used), with a mylar solar filter over the objective. At the eyepiece end is a Nikon D5100 dSLR body at prime focus. The photo above, of the sun’s photosphere on 1 Jan 2013, was taken with this set-up.

a) The sun's photosphere photographed 30 December 2012 from the Sydenham Road lookout, Dundas, ON. Photographed with a Sigma 150-500mm telephoto lens, 1.4x Sigma teleconverter, Nikon D5100 dSLR, and mylar solar filter, mounted for convenience on a small equatorial mount. ISO100, 1/1250 sec, f/16. Processed in PhotoShop Elements to show just the red channel. Converted to monochrome; brightness and contrast adjusted to taste. Very happy with this image: compares well to today's photo of the photosphere taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. b) NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory image of the photosphere taken 30 December 2012, Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. http://www.sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov

a) The sun’s photosphere photographed 30 December 2012 from the Sydenham Road lookout, Dundas, ON. Photographed with a Sigma 150-500mm telephoto lens, 1.4x Sigma teleconverter, Nikon D5100 dSLR, and mylar solar filter, mounted for convenience on a small equatorial mount. ISO100, 1/1250 sec, f/16. Processed in PhotoShop Elements to show just the red channel. Converted to monochrome; brightness and contrast adjusted to taste. Very happy with this image: compares well to today’s photo of the photosphere taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
b) NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory image of the photosphere taken 30 December 2012, Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. http://www.sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov

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A shot of the sun, 2:30 PM 22 December 2012, from Dundas, Ontario. A windy and cloudy day with just a few breaks in the clouds. A few sunspots are in evidence. Photographed with a Sigma 150-500 mm lens, Sigma 1×4 telecoverter, and Nikon D5100 body on an Orion astrophotography mount. Mylar solar filter, ISO 100, 1/800 sec., f/11, 700 mm focal length.

© 2012, David Allan Galbraith