In spite of the winds and clouds, I had a really nice viewing of old sol and the new spot 0953. This one is very large, I estimate at least 4 earth diameters using the drift method. The umbra looks like a beagle, with its nose point northward, and a short tail to the south. "Snoopy" has a lump on his back, which looks like it is trying to separate. The very large penumbra is oval in shape. It is mostly intact with a well defined perimeter, but it is fracturing at the southeast corner. I could see a few tiny spots peppering the area around the penumbra. Grain is excellent, but the unsteady air prevented me from seeing much detail. Equipment: SV102ABV doublet apo, BV1 binoviewers with various powers 68-105x, Baader white light filter and Solar Continuum filter.
David E
David E
