Director: Richard Bailey
MARCH 2012
SPA SOLAR SECTION
MARCH 2012
Rotation Nos.2120, 2121, 2122
WHITE LIGHT
Who has the key ? The Sun seems to need winding up. With a few exceptions, in recent times what AR’s have been seen were of a small scale.
In March the NH was more active by about a half than the SH to about the 16th., then the SH had more up to the end of the month. NH AR’s were generally a bit larger than the SH ones. The most individual sunspots counted occurred between the 9th. and the 13th. A large AR, four times the Earth’s size, NH AR1429 had rotated from the E rim by the 4th. and was to stay in view, changing and gradually fading, until the 15th. when it rotated out of view in the W. In the Section Report for December 2011 a printing error reduced the number of observations made by Alan Heath over the years to 1064 from the real number of 11064. What a difference a 1 makes.
Alan Heath, viewing on 28 days, noted limb faculae regularly. Brian Gordon-States viewed on 27 days, compiling a meticulous, detailed record.
A warm welcome back to Ian Phelps, observing again after various happenings, Michael Fullerton is now recording well his observations regularly.
Week 1. NH AR1429 dominated the disk through the week and beyond, with NH AR1430 preceding it. SH AR1426, a small gathering of spots appeared near the CM on the 4th. Lee Macdonald saw 1429 with his ( protected) naked eyes on the 8th.
Week 2. NH AR’s 1429 and 30 continued to show well, if lessening, as the week went by, 1429 extending and breaking, Alan Clitherow’s sharp picture showing this well on the 7th. On the 10th. N H AR’s1432 and 33 came into sight in the E, clusters of small spots. 1433 had a good leader, 6 AR’s were counted on the disk on the 11th and 12th., including small SH AR1426 in the W and 1434 in from the E.
Week 3. By the 18th, NH AR1433, the leader only, was to be seen, lonely in the hemisphere, 1432 being only a small spot by the W limb. SH AR1435 was a line of small spots, 1434 just above it’s E end with 3 ditto spots.
Week 4 to the end of the month. Only 3 small SH AR’s,1438,1440 and 1441 were noted on the 22nd., the 29th. having 7 AR’s, again small, In the NH 1442 and 1443 were in the NW quadrant, and 1448, 1445, 1449 and 1438 in line in the SH from the CM westwards. !438 was a good sized spot at the western end of the line. Previously dominant NH AR1429 was to return onto the disk in the E at the end of the month, but had faded.
Peter Paice’s regular excellent disk montages show well much of the month’s main activity
MDF 3.64 R 53.00
H-ALPHA
Prominences and filaments showed more in the NH until the last week when increased SH AR activity added them there. Some splendid large, complex and changing-by-days prominences showed on several days through the weeks, although a decline in numbers generally was noticed between the 10th. and 15th. Large NH AR1429 produced a strong flare on the 7th., the end phase of which was the subject of a brilliant, almost 3D all-disk picture by Alan Clitherow. On the 15th. The Director followed the fast eruption of a sizeable W prominence between 0930 and 0955UT. close by NH AR1429 at the W rim.
A strong, lengthy and curving eastern filament just above NH AR’s1432 and 33 stayed visible for some days, declining.
Once more much of the best prominence and filament activity was drawn and described in clear detail by Ian Lee. He seems to see more detail of these through his PST than most observers. Brian Woosnam, another good photographer , has recently added a Cromixsun filter to his equipment, and is experimenting to get the best results. Ken Whayman made some good prominence pictures via his PST.
MDF 3.61
Check the Solar Section link from the SPA homepage to see many of the excellent pictures and drawings made by Section members as well as Monthly Reports going back many months.
Observers :
Michael Fullerton Ian Lee Peter Paice Alan Heath Ian Phelps
Brian Gordon-States Lee Macdonald Alan Clitherow Brian Woosnam
Ken Whayman and the Director.
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