During August I was able to observe the solar photosphere on twelve mornings at 10am. This was over two distinct groups as after Aug 12 weather and a trip away meant I could not observe again until August 24, and I was home on 3 more sunny mornings at the end of the month. Figures 1a and 1b show the sunspot activity. Figure 1a shows that sunspot activity started strongly at the beginning of August then dropped constantly, until by Aug 10 there were no sunspots at all. Figure

Report by Toner Stevenson A small group of Skywatchers travelled to Spain for the 2026 total solar eclipse: myself, Ron Stevenson and Melissa Hulbert from SASI. Our accommodation for the eclipse was at Hotel Rural 3 Cabos, in El Vallin in Asturias, a mountainous region on the north west coast of Spain. As per its name we could view 3 capes and gorgeous scenery from the hotel, and hear and see cows, chickens and horsesfrom the neighbouring farms. The eclipse was due on Wednesd

During July I was able to observe the solar photosphere on sixteen mornings at 10am. Sunspots were observed using a 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope. Figure 1 shows that sunspot activity started strongly early in July, then fell away sharply mid-month before increasing again. Figure 1: Graphic representation of sunspot activity during July 2026 through a 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope and an 8x50 finder-scope, both fitted with full-aperture solar filters. The Relative

How to observe and record features of the solar disc in white light and hydrogen-alpha.

Lyn Smith FRAS explains how to safely observe the Sun, our closest star, and record its activity.

Sydney City Skywatchers member Garry Dalrymple has been observing sunspot activity lately with a small aperture telescope fitted with a...

This was the first of 5 total solar eclipses seen from Australia. The next is 2028.

by Monty Leventhal OAM June 2022 The first observation was made on the 3rd June due to bad weather and on that day four sunspot groups...

by Andrew Wood Following a period of unusually low solar activity (the appearance on the Sun’s disc of sunspots), followers of Monty Leventhal’s monthly presentations and articles will be aware that the Sun is starting to become more active. Monty’s equipment is sophisticated, allowing views of the Sun’s granular surface as well as solar flares and sunspots. Without this specialised equipment, however, ordinary telescopes fitted with solar filters can be used to observe -and

By Monty Leventhal OAM IN SUMMARY Summing up, sunspot activity for solar cycle 25 has remained very low with Prominences & Filaments...