Secrets of the Sun with Harry Roberts

I was not to know that the peak of flaring for solar cycle 23 lay two and a half years in the future (late 2003) and flaring would be sustained well into 2007. And over that time hundreds of flares and ejection events were to be logged – an extraordinary adventure in daytime astronomy.

The flaring of SC23 was probably the strongest for over a century – and was followed, quite unexpectedly, by the deepest minimum for a century - causing NASA to denounce the sun for “behaving unexpectedly”!

Solar cycle 24 is now well advanced, and a GOES X Class flare recently erupted; so activity is rising strongly. This, together with the fact that H-alpha equipment has never been cheaper, means that right now is the ideal time to enter the bizarre realm of H-alpha astronomy. There is more to be seen than you’d dare to imagine.

The Talk will cover:

• Making a start: equipment and techniques
• H-alpha features and how to recognise them
• The coming maximum, what to expect
• Solar magnetism and up-coming reversal of polar fields
• On-line sites and freeware to support your efforts
• And much more.