X Rated Sun

© Greg Gibbs. You may not use, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my permission. All Rights Reserved.

WARNING: NEVER OBSERVE THE SUN WITH THE NAKED EYE OR THROUGH A TELESCOPE, CAMERA OR OTHER OPTICAL DEVICE UNLESS YOU HAVE A PROPER SOLAR FILTER AND KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

I have had some problems with the software that I use to process my solar images lately. As a result this image has been over a month in the making. After reinstalling different components I am finally able to process these images again.

This is an image of active region 1429 (on the right of frame) which on the 7th of March, 2012 produced the strongest kind of solar eruption- an X-Class solar flare. You can see a YouTube vid of the event here [link] I took this set of images a couple of days later. This solar flare produced very strong aurora displays at high to mid latitudes. It even produced an aurora alert for my -35 degree location which is very rare. They sadly did not materialise for me or if they did, I did not witness them due to the almost full moon at the time.

10/03/2011
Canon 60D
Baader Mark III Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom EP @ 16mm
Coronado PST (Personal Solar Telescope)
NEQ6 Pro Goto Telescope Mount
100 images for the surface detail
Stacked and processed in Registax6
Final processing and false colour added in PS Elements 8.0