The Sun in 2017 as seen by the CESAR Helios Observatory located at ESAC, Madrid. The posters compile in a calendar form a sample of the images acquired during each day in 2017. The solar activity in this period was low. (Click on posters for higher resolution)
There are holes in the daily coverage because of bad weather, maintenance activities or non availability of the operators. This is quite remarkable as the daily consistent operations of the telescopes (except weekends) was only started around April. The number of observations (days) was:
Visible:
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
2017
3
2
4
11
14
25
20
9
16
18
15
13
150
H-alpha:
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
2017
2
2
4
11
14
25
20
9
15
18
16
13
149
Please note that the Sun is currently in its Cycle 24 (end of) with a discreet average number of sunspots of 22. It is the 24th solar cycle since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began. It began in December 2008 with a smoothed minimum of 2.2 (SIDC formula). There was only minimal activity until early 2010. It reached its maximum in April 2014 with a smoothed sunspot number of only 116.4, the lowest in over a century.
During the year, several powerful plasma eruptions - prominences were captured by the Helios observatory. Some examples are presented below.
Please also note that a special activity was carried out during the Total Solar Eclipse on the 21 August 2017, in Casper, USA. A team from CESAR travelled and observed the event in a live transmission. You can find out more in its preparation web page and the results in the results web page.
Other transiting objects were captured as well, as illustrated in the next images.
Plane crossing, 26 April 2017
ISS crossing, 14 May 2017. Comparison with a Moon crossing on 14th Jan 2017
The Sun's apparent diameter was also measured during 2017, with the following result
Happy 2020!
The first image of the 2020 Sun surprises us with a small sunspot See more
02 January 2020
CESAR at the ESA Space Science Workshop SSW#12, Aranjuez
CESAR will present the Solar Eclipse results in the ESA Space Science Workshop SSW#12, held 12-14 Nov 2019 in Aranjuez. CESAR has prepared a series of 4 posters. The posters describe the activities carried out during the Total Solar Eclipse 2019. See more
12 November 2019
A timelapse of the Total Solar Eclipse 2019
Total Eclipse video from the CESAR team. Images acquired every 15sec with a Baader white light filter and a 1m telescope. Camera Canon 550D. Location: ESO La Silla observatory See more
15 September 2019
Eratosthenes Experiment 2018
The CESAR team organized a special experimental activity about the classical Earth’s diameter calculation, with the Caude School of Majadahonda, Madrid and IES Manuel de Falla, Maracena, Granada. The 1-2 ESO students (12-14 years old) learnt how in 200 BC, the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth using simple geometry and a few measurements. See more
Global Robot Expo 2017
CESAR Team visit the International Exhibition of Robotics to see the last technologies for education See more
04 February 2017
CESAR in the Space Education International workshop
The CESAR initiative was invited to participate in the Space Education International Workshop in Leiden,The Netherlands, giving a session for teachers from different countries of the European Union. See more
