Did I Capture Sunspots in My Summer Sunset Timelapse?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the observation of potential sunspots captured in a sunset timelapse photograph. Participants explore the identification and tracking of sunspots, their visibility under certain conditions, and the implications of latitude and time of day on the appearance of these features.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes noticing spots on the sun during a sunset timelapse, initially believing it to be a lens speck.
  • Another participant confirms that the observed spots are likely sunspots and suggests checking the SOHO Observatory archive for confirmation.
  • A participant corrects the date of the images and finds a match with archived sunspot images, noting a discrepancy in position that may relate to time of day or latitude.
  • One suggestion is made to take additional images in the following days to verify if the spots move, indicating they are on the sun.
  • Discussion includes a note on the current solar cycle, mentioning that Cycle 25 is relatively quiet.
  • Clarification is provided regarding the distance of the SOHO observatory from Earth, which is 1.5 million kilometers.
  • Another participant discusses the geometric factors affecting the appearance of sunspots, including the angle of sunset and the tilt of the Earth.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of certainty regarding the identification of sunspots and the factors influencing their visibility. There is no consensus on the exact nature of the observed spots or the implications of the discrepancies noted.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the influence of latitude and time of day on the appearance of sunspots, as well as the need for further observation to confirm the nature of the spots. The discussion does not resolve these factors.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in solar observation, astrophotography, or the dynamics of solar cycles may find this discussion relevant.

Glenstr
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TL;DR
I took a time lapse of the sun and noticed sunspots in post editing
I was editing a timelapse I did of a sunset this summer with my Pentax K70, using 18-270mm lens at full zoom, using raw photos. At first I thought I had a speck on the lens when I saw a spot on the left side about the middle, then I noticed it stayed on the sun as it went down. Then I noticed two smaller spots that also travelled with it closer to the middle, and were only visible when the sun went behind a thin haze of smoke that was on the horizon that evening.

Are sun spots tracked at all and do they have a duration long enough that solar observers can look for them?

The images were taken on July 6, 2023 around 10pm.

sunspot-SharpenAI-Softness.JPG
 
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Yes, those are sun spots. You can probably find some pics of them in the SOHO Observatory archive for that date (yes they are catalogued and tracked): https://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/
 
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Thanks for the reply, I was mistaken the images I took were on the 8th July, and the visible spots in my image match up more or less with this archived image from the site you linked:
sunspots_1024_20230708.jpg


Although the larger spot on the left is lower than in my images, which I am assuming is due to the time of day it was taken and/or the latitudes they were taken from (I am at the 54th parallel)
 
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A really good test is to take a picture in a few days, and see of the spots have moved. Then you know they are on the sun and not your optics.

We are building towards the maximum of Cycle 25, which is good, although 25 seems to be a fairly quiet cycle.
 
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Glenstr said:
the latitudes they were taken from
SOHO is 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth.

BoB
 
rbelli1 said:
SOHO is 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth.

BoB
he was referring to his latitude of 54 deg :wink: :wink:
 
It's the angle of perpendicular at sunset at that latitude plus (or potentially minus) the relevant vector of the tilt of the Earth. There would be the inclination of the earth's orbit to the rotational axis of The Sun to take into account as I believe the SOHO pictures are published so that vertical is aligned with The Sun's axis of rotation.
 

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