Craig & Tammy Temple from Hendersonville, TN, USA.

After spending a very brief time as visual astronomers, we ventured into the wonderful world of astrophotography in 2007.  After a few years of imaging deep-sky objects, we set our sights on our nearest star, the Sun.  In early April 2011, we purchased our first ever dedicated solar telescope, a Lunt LS60THa.  After seeing the incredible views, we quickly decided we wanted to capture them so we purchased a DMK31 camera.  Now, not only do we take pictures of the night-sky’s splendors, but spend many clear, sunny days taking pictures of the ever-changing Sun.

Solar Mosaic – April 23, 2012:

On April 23, 2012 the Sun showed some interesting features and we were able to capture all of them in this 5-panel mosaic. While the proms along the solar limb were not large, there were many.  Filaments and sunspots were also plentiful in this image. Sunspot AR1460 is at the top of this shot. Coming around to the 2 o’clock position near the limb is Sunspot AR1462. Continuing down and to the left of AR1462 is Sunspot AR1459. Moving down and slightly left is Sunspot AR1465 with a newly emerging Sunspot region directly to its left.

SurfaceProms 3-10-12:

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 32.90ms (each)
Gain: 884
Length: 2:00 @ 30fps (each)
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus v4.5
Capture time: March 10, 2012, 10:12am – 10:14am
Capture conditions: 56.5°F; transparency: Transparent 5/5; seeing: Above avg 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

FilaProms 3-10-12:  The above images show a huge filament just below sunspot AR1432 on March 10, 2012.

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 32.90ms (each)       Gain: 855
Length: 2:00 @ 30fps (each)
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus v4.5
Capture time: March 10, 2012, 10:04am – 10:06am
Capture conditions: 55.8°F; transparency: Transparent 5/5; seeing: Above avg 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Solar Mosaic 3-10-12: This is a 5-panel mosaic captured on 3-10-12 and shows the very large Sunspot AR1429 to the lower left with sunspot AR1430 just below it. Going to the right across from AR1429 is sunspot AR1428. This shot also shows many proms, plages, and filaments, with a large filament to the upper left and sunspot AR1432 just above it.

AR1429 3-10-12:
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 32.90ms (each)
Gain: 764
Length: 2:00 @ 30fps (each)
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus v4.5
Capture time: March 10, 2012, 10:08am – 10:10am
Capture conditions: 56.1°F; transparency: Transparent 5/5; seeing: Above avg 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Sunspot AR1429 3-6-12: On the morning of March 6, 2012 we captured the very large sunspot 1429 (top) along with the much smaller 1430 (below). Sunspot AR1429 showed itself on March 2 and produced an M3-class solar flare.  M-class flares are medium-sized and can cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions. Then on March 5, this sunspot produced an X1-class solar flare. X-class flares are major events that can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms. This region is continuing to grow as it moves across the Sun and on March 7 it produced an X5-class solar flare that was expected to reach our planet on March 8 and could spark a strong-to-severe geomagnetic storm.

Solar Mosaic 3-6-12:
On March 6, 2012 we captured this 4-panel mosaic of our daytime star. This image shows the massive sunspot 1429 to the upper left, with sunspot 1430 just below, and sunspot 1428 over to the right. At the very bottom of this shot is a neat, horseshoe-shaped filament and along the solar limb are many great prominences. Several plages are visible in this image as well.

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 20.20ms (each)
Gain: 529 (each)
Length: 1:00 @ 30fps (each)
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5; ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: March 6, 2012, 10:09am – 10:13am CST
Capture conditions: ~60°F; transparency: Above avg 4/5; seeing: Above avg 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Solar Mosaic 2-25-12:
This 4-panel mosaic of the Sun captured on February 25, 2012 shows the solar activity taking place on the surface and along the solar limb. The sunspot at the bottom of the image is 1422. It had already made its trek across the Sun and by Feb. 27 had continued on to where it was no longer visible. Sunspot 1423, located near the top of this image, just came around a few days prior to this shot. A large filament is visible on the surface to the right of center and a small one is just to the left of sunspot 1422. At the time this data was captured there were many prominences along the solar limb with variations is size and intensity.

SunSurfaceComp:
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 14.00ms – 15.10ms
Gain: 534 – 572
Length: 90sec @ 30fps
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5; Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: February 20, 2012, 7:58am – 8:10am
Capture conditions: ~36-37°F; transparency: Above Average 4/5; seeing: Average 3/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

PromCompilation:
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 14.60ms – 16.50ms
Gain: 841 each
Length: 90sec @ 30fps
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5; Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: February 20, 2012, 8:14am – 8:25am
Capture conditions: ~37-38°F; transparency: Above Average 4/5; seeing: Average 3/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

This 17-panel mosaic of our closest star was captured on the morning    of January 15, 2012. There was much activity on the Sun as can be    seen by the many filaments, sunspots, and prominences. If you look    real close at the region around 11 o’clock, you will see the Sun    smiling at you. The two sunspots 1401 (left) and 1402 (right) make    the eyes and the large filament beneath them make the smile. Looking    to the left of the “smile” filament you will see sunspot 1399.    Active regions 1391, 1395, and 1396 were also present in this image.

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 32.10ms
Gain: 725 – 831
Length: 1:00 @ 30fps (each)
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5; ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: January 15, 2012, 9:09 – 9:37am
Capture conditions: 36.0°F – 37.2°F; transparency: Average 3/5;    seeing: Average 3/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Title: Solar Prominences – January 15, 2012

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 63ms
Gain: 893
Length: 1:00 @ 15fps
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5; Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: January 15, 2012, 9:39am
Capture conditions: ~37.6°F; transparency: Average 3/5; seeing:    Average 3/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Title: Solar Prominences – January 15, 2012

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 63ms
Gain: 1023
Length: 1:00 @ 15fps
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5; Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: January 15, 2012, 9:43am
Capture conditions: ~38.5°F; transparency: Average 3/5; seeing:    Average 3/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Solar Mosaic – January 6, 2012
This 4-panel mosaic of the Sun shows the activity that was taking place
on January 6, 2012. As the image shows, there were many prominences,
several filaments, and many sunspots or active regions. Sunspot 1391 is
visible in the active region to the left of center, while the active
region to the right of center shows sunspots 1389 (left) & 1388 (right).
Just above center, but below the filament in this image, is a small
sunspot, 1393, and diagonally up to the right of 1393 is sunspot 1392.
The sun’s ever changing features makes it a joy to image over and over
again.

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 11.10ms (each)
Gain: 505 – 534
Length: 1:00 @ 30fps (each)
Acquisition: Fire Capture
Processing: Registax 6
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: January 6, 2012, 10:16 – 10:21am
Capture conditions: ~55°F; transparency: Transparent 5/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Image title: Large prominence 11/30/2011
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/30
Gain: 760
Length: 1:00
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: AVIStack2
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: November 30, 2011, 12:09pm
Capture conditions: ~50°F; transparency: Above Avg. 4/5; seeing: Poor 2/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Details for the Images above taken Nov. 17, 2011 are below.
This mosaic of the southwest portion of the sun includes four active
regions with plages (solar flares) and filaments, as well as some
prominences along the limb. AR1350 is located at the bottom of this
image. Moving clockwise from AR1350 is AR1353, AR1354, and AR1352.

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/30 – 1/38sec.
Gain: 712 – 766
Length: 1:00 each x 2
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: AVIStack2
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5; ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: November 17, 2011, 10:48 – 11:08am
Capture conditions: ~54°F; transparency: Above Avg. 4/5; seeing: Poor 2/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Sunspot 1338 on Nov. 7, 2011 (sun0001_11-7-11_ip_final.jpg):
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/30sec.
Gain: 680
Length: 1:00min.
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: AVIStack2
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: November 7, 2011, 10:40am
Capture conditions: ~71°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Sunspot 1339 on Nov. 7, 2011 (sun0002_11-7-11_ip_final.jpg):
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/30sec.
Gain: 699
Length: 1:00min.
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: AVIStack2
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: November 7, 2011, 10:42am
Capture conditions: ~71°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Sunspot 1340 on Nov. 7, 2011 (sun0003_11-7-11_ip_final.jpg):
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/38sec.
Gain: 779
Length: 1:00min.
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: AVIStack2
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: November 7, 2011, 10:45am
Capture conditions: ~71°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Sunspots 1340 to 1343 on Nov. 7, 2011      (sun0006_11-7-11_ip_final.jpg):
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/19sec.
Gain: 557
Length: 1:00min.
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 15fps
Processing: AVIStack2
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: November 7, 2011, 10:52am
Capture conditions: ~71°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

5-panel Solar Mosaci – Nov. 17, 2011      (solarmosaic_11-17-11_final.jpg):
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon; TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/30 – 1/38sec.
Gain: 746 – 793
Length: 1:00 each x 5
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: AVIStack2
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5; ImagesPlus 4.5
Capture time: November 17, 2011, 10:48 – 11:08am
Capture conditions: ~54°F; transparency: Above Avg. 4/5; seeing:    Poor 2/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Airplane transits the Sun on 10-1-2011 (SunAirplaneFrame_10-1-2011.jpg)

This is a single frame taken from a video we captured on October 1, 2011. We discovered that an airplane was transiting the Sun and passed between active regions 1302 on the left and 1305 on the right.
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31 Exposure: 1/154sec Gain: 550 Length: 1:00
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: ImagesPlus 4.5
Post-processing: Single frame extracted from video
Capture time: October 10, 2011, 10:20am
Capture conditions: ~57°F; transparency: Average 3/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Above, this 4-panel mosaic of the Sun, taken on October 1, 2011, shows many  sunspots, plages, and filaments. The sunspots, some of the plages, and  some of the filaments are contained in areas of the Sun called active regions. The active regions that are visible in this image, from the lower-left edge to the upper-right, are AR1301, AR1302, AR1305, AR1306, and AR1307.

Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: LS50FHa Double-stack etalon
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/154sec.
Gain: 550
Length: 1:00 each
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: AVI Stack 2: align, stack
Post-processing: ImagesPlus 4.0; Adobe Photoshop CS5; Carboni’s Tools
Capture time: October 1, 2011, 10:17am – 10:23am CDST
Capture conditions: 57.2°F – 60.4°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing:
Avg. 3/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

The images below were captured on August 2, 2011 from our driveway in Hendersonville, TN, USA, using our Lunt LS60THa/B1200CPT.

Each of the image’s and the details of each shot are below.

Sunspot 1260:
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/120sec.
Gain: 575
Length: 2:00
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: Registax 6: align, stack, wavelets
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: August 2, 2011, 9:46am CDST
Capture conditions: 81.1°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Sunspot 1261:
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/154sec.
Gain: 668
Length: 2:00
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: Registax 6: align, stack, wavelets
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: August 2, 2011, 9:01am CDST
Capture conditions: 81.1°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Sunspot 1263:
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/154sec.
Gain: 672
Length: 2:00
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: Registax 6: align, stack, wavelets
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: August 2, 2011, 8:56am CDST
Capture conditions: 81.1°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

7-panel Sunspot Mosaic:
Telescope: Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa/B1200CPT
Accessories: TeleVue 2.5x Powermate
Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2
Camera: Imaging Source DMK31
Exposure: 1/154sec. – 1/120sec.
Gain: 560 – 672
Length: 2:00 each
Acquisition: IC Capture.AS (Uncompressed AVI) @ 30fps
Processing: Registax 6: align, stack, wavelets
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Capture time: August 2, 2011, 8:56am – 9:57am CDST
Capture conditions: 81.1°F – 85.2°F; transparency: Avg. 3/5; seeing: Good 4/5
Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Want your own Image Gallery on the Lunt website?  Email us your picture and bio, solar images and camera info to luntsolarimages@hotmail.com