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Giancarlo Erra Astrophotography - Norwich, Norfolk, UK

Sun in hydrogen alpha: heart shaped sunspot AR2529

Sun in hydrogen alpha: heart shaped sunspot AR2529

Active region AR 2529 in hydrogen alpha, the red line of hydrogen at 656.28 nm, the same frame twice: positive on the left, negative on the right. Inverting a solar image is a standard way of pulling faint structure out of a bright field. The sunspot sits beneath a curving filament. The DayStar Quark passes half an angstrom or less of that line, narrow enough to show the chromosphere, the layer above the visible surface, instead of the surface itself. Photographed with a Skywatcher Esprit 100 at 550mm on an ASI120MM.

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Solar
Equipment
Negative colours, used in solar imaging to enhance the depth of features on the chromosphere. · Skywatcher HEQ5 – Skywatcher Esprit 100 F/5.5 Triplet Super APO (550mm) – Daystar Quark Chromosphere HA – ASI120MM