Tag Archives: Solar Drawing

Drawing Active Region 2790

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Drawing Active Region 2790 It was mid-morning by the time I was free to observe active region 2790. That AR was the larger of the two visible on the solar disc. After I set up my chair, drawing equipment and solar telescope, it took some time to settle into the drawing. It is my habit to observe the subject before deciding on how I will deal with it. This was a very dramatic, active area. Swirling fibrils were well defined around the sunspot. Solar drawing is difficult because for me anyway, I have to break the view down into shapes. Then I can draw that shape on my page. However, many references back to the shape and the page must take place for the drawing to be accurate. Sometimes the view is stable for say ten minutes. Then it may deteriorate for a time before becoming crystal clear again. This process can be very time consuming and takes lots of … Continue reading →

Solar Art Exhibition in Hawaii

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                Exhibition in Hawaii Some time ago a painting of mine won a prize in the My Sun My Star Contest. This was a solar art competition involving photographs, drawings and paintings inspired by the sun. The contest was run by The National Solar Observatory in Boulder Colorado. One of the aspects of the prize is that my painting X-Ray Sun (above) will go on exhibition . On Friday September 20th if you are in Hawaii (how exotic) one of my paintings and in addition one of my solar drawings will be on show. Since the prize came my way I was asked if another work of mine could be included in their exhibitions. NSO requested one of my solar drawings. That sketch it is called East Limb Proms. The venue is The University of Hawaii – Institute for Astronomy, it is on the island of Maui. The event is an open day … Continue reading →

Sun Pillar – Sun Drawing Ireland

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We had a winter of record winds, freezing temperatures and darkness. However this week, it seems the summer has finally arrived in Ireland. On May 21st I noticed a developing sun pillar on the horizon. As it progressed I took several images, each equally beautiful.  The pillar of light  interacted with the sky and the sea, altering colour and bringing drama as it peaked and faded after sun set.  Beautiful to watch, it seemed to pierce the clouds just above the suns departure point.   Sun pillars are shafts of sunlight  glinting off ice crystals in our atmosphere. This phenomenon is explained well here on this wonderful site Atmospheric Optics    On May 23rd the sun offered an active region for drawing. OK now the atmosphere was not the steadiest I have ever seen, but it was hot and the sky was blue. The active region was small and complex, the challenge to draw the sun in h-alpha with my  … Continue reading →