Comments on: For your viewing pleasure: Active Region 1302

By: El violento grupo de llamaradas solares AR1302 emite una llamarada | www.Faltariamas.com - www.Faltariamas.es

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 23:58:02 +0000

[...] pero hasta ahora ninguna llamarada de AR 1302 apuntó directamente a la Tierra.El grupo de manchas AR 1302 continuará evolucionando, pero seguramente seguirá siendo visible la semana próxima.Visto en [...]

By: Singe

Singe — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:03:45 +0000

Fortunately I CAN look ‘directly’ at the sun without damage. I’ve got a nifty pair of dark glasses designed specifically for solar viewing. Which I wear.

By: Pepijn

Pepijn — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:19:07 +0000

NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN. Not with your eyes, not through a telescope, not through binoculars

I don’t think think you should lump those together like that. It makes it seem as though they’re equally dangerous, but while people look at the sun with their eyes all the time with no ill effects, even a single glance at it through binoculars or a telescope will likely fry your eyes instantly.

Putting all of them in the same category implicitly downplays the danger of the two vastly more dangerous options, and therefore might actually put people at risk. They might think: “I look at the sun all the time with my eyes and nothing ever happens, so looking at it through binoculars probably isn’t actually that dangerous either”…

By: Ilya

Ilya — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:53:06 +0000

There is a safe way to observe the sun directly through binoculars, but it’s rarely available. You can watch it at sunset, when it’s really filtered through the atmosphere, and if there are no clouds on the horizon. When you can look at the sun anyway, and everyone does, you can also watch it through binoculars. I’ve been able to see a lot of sunspots this way through 7X50 binoculars around 2003.

By: Have You REALLY Seen the Sun? : Discovery News « Ye Olde Soapbox

Have You REALLY Seen the Sun? : Discovery News « Ye Olde Soapbox — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:33:37 +0000

[...] about 4000 Kelvin compared to the 5780 Kelvin of the sun’s photosphere. Also, they are bigger than Earth. Not so peaceful anymore, [...]

By: More on the Solar Storm « David's Commonplace Book

More on the Solar Storm « David's Commonplace Book — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:09:40 +0000

[...] are some pictures of the active region at discovermagazine.com as well as some information here and [...]

By: Have You REALLY Seen the Sun? | wpgrabber

Have You REALLY Seen the Sun? | wpgrabber — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:30:43 +0000

[...] about 4000 Kelvin compared to the 5780 Kelvin of the sun’s photosphere. Also, they are bigger than Earth. Not so peaceful anymore, [...]

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:08:38 +0000

Pinhole! Think pinhole camera! Safer for the eyes! MOST binoculars and telescopes have COATED OPTICS. The sun can burn them right off!! That said, if you HAVE a full aperture filter, fine.

By: James porter

James porter — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:31:14 +0000

How do astronauts drink water in space i need to knw

By: El violento grupo de manchas solares AR 1302 emite una llamarada | Imagen astronomía diaria - Observatorio

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:55:07 +0000

[...] grupo de manchas AR 1302 continuará evolucionando, pero seguramente seguirá siendo visible la semana próxima. [...]

By: Retour de vacances | La création

Retour de vacances | La création — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:26:52 +0000

[...] de classe X ait été émise samedi, aucune n’était dirigée directement vers notre planète. Le groupe de taches AR 1302 continuera à évoluer et à rester probablement visible à la surface du Soleil jusqu’à la [...]

By: Alan Friedman

Alan Friedman — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:21:11 +0000

To Chris P… thanks for sharing that link to the Trouvelot prints via the NY Public Library. We have a set in the downtown Buffalo Library as well. It is a fantastic series of prints though sometimes, as is the case with the sunspot observations, a little fantastical too.

By: The Sunspots That Kicked Off This Week’s Solar Storm May be Just Warming Up « A blog for everybody

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:15:26 +0000

[...] [IBT, Bad Astronomy] [...]

By: Solar Storm Coming « David's Commonplace Book

Solar Storm Coming « David's Commonplace Book — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:43:06 +0000

[...] For your viewing pleasure: Active Region 1302 (blogs.discovermagazine.com) [...]

By: Manuel

Manuel — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:27:23 +0000

If the “lens cover” went on the eyepiece end of the scope, it was extremely dangerous. Older “department store” scopes came with this type of solar filter (luckily the practice seems to have been discontinued). The problem with this sort of filter is that it goes at the end of the scope where the rays are most concentrated, so it gets very hot. This can cause the glass that forms the filter to crack due to thermal expansion, and as soon as it cracks sunlight immediately bursts through and leaves you permanently blind.

The only safe solar filter for a telescope is a full aperture filter specifically designed for solar observing. These go on the objective (front) end of the scope and cover it completely, and look like opaque silver. They can be made out of glass or film, but you should always acquire them from a reputable dealer of astronomical equipment. Aluminized mylar, even though it looks like solar film, is _not_ sufficient. Also, the filter should be checked regularly for pinholes. A few small pinholes are expected and not a problem, but anything more than that requires replacing the filter. Also, unless you have a full aperture filter for your finder scope, you should keep the lens covers on it.

By: The Sunspots That Kicked Off This Week’s Solar Storm May be Just Warming Up | clockhard.com

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:15:07 +0000

[...] Solar Storm May be Just Warming Up Posted on September 27, 2011 by adminAR1302 Alan Friedman via Bad AstronomyThat gigantic solar flare that lashed out toward Earth on Saturday is "the geomagnetic storm that [...]

By: Caleb

Caleb — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:20:00 +0000

I can remember being at a boy scout camp when Shoemaker-Levy collided with it. Serendipitously, I was getting my astronomy merit badge and they had a very high-powered telescope. We could just make out the impacts from the comet.

Also, the instructor had a lens cover (looked like the glass on a welding mask) which allowed us to point the telescope at the sun to see it close-up.

Seeing the earth superimposed like that makes me think of how much fighting and troubles we have over access to resources on this planet and how even modest colonization and/or accessing the raw resources in our solar system can alleviate the resource struggle and promote peace.

By: Trikester

Trikester — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:43:53 +0000

I accidentally discovered a safe way to observe the sun with little equipment many, many years ago.

All you need is a good quality mirror. Stand back and use the mirror to reflect the sun’s light on the shaded side of a building or other object. If the mirror is flat enough and the building or object makes a good enough screen, then, voila! An image of the sun. Bigger mirror, bigger image.

I discovered it when I asked myself why a rectangular signal mirror invariably produced a round patch of reflected sunlight at distances longer that a few feet, ie, signalling distances. I’m sure someone here can come up with some math to figure the optimum distance for a mirror of any particular size.

I like to use it to watch solar eclipses, yet I never see anyone discuss it when talking about safe ways to watch eclipses.
You can even see those dark little spotties in the image. Perhaps not in any detail, but still…

By: CameronSS

CameronSS — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:37:48 +0000

The observatory at my hometown college has a prepared answer for vistors who ask about pointing their telescope at the sun. It involves an explanation for how long it would take the focused sunlight to burn through to the back of your head. It was less than a second, IIRC.

By: Chris A.

Chris A. — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:09:01 +0000

“Do not look at the sun through unfiltered telescope with remaining eye.”

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:22:55 +0000

Astronomy: Reminding you how small you are since 7 January 1610.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:37:10 +0000

I once projected the sun onto card with my 20X80 binoculars but I made the mistake of leaving one of the plastic eyepiece covers on and the heat bored a hole right through it in about 3 seconds! Moral – cover the object glass end.

By: Kenn

Kenn — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:44:30 +0000

of course there are always the crackpots who do stare at the sun… http://sungazing.vpinf.com/

By: Caleb

Caleb — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:11:27 +0000

Wow. Insane. I can’t actually wrap my mind around how big the sun actually is. Awesome post.

Just found this as well – “A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74mhQyuyELQ&feature=youtu.be

I frikken LOVE being alive in this age!

By: Jason Dick

Jason Dick — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:01:55 +0000

But…but…focusing the intense heat of the Sun from a big telescope directly into my eyes sounds like fun! I mean, my eyeballs might catch on fire, but before that it would be a barrel of laughs (all 0.1 seconds of it…).