It is a long time since I have posted on any solar observations and I’m somewhat ashamed and embarrassed at this fact! Anyhow I now have a little scribble, made a week or so back using my friend Es Reid of Cambridge’s excellent 4.5” F15 Spectrahelioscope.
My eye was caught by a large, extensive and complex prominence, I borrowed a sheet of A4 paper and a pencil from Es and quickly made a sketch. This was a flying visit as I had much to do on that day so I departed shortly after. Not long after leaving I realised I had left the sketch behind, so I called Es that evening and asked him to pop it in the post, sketches become very personal and important, I think other sketchers will appreciate that, there is something of your very essence in each one, no matter how simple and brief they be.
After a couple of days there was no sign of the sketch, so I called Es who assured me it was posted alright, another couple of days passed and I returned home after work to find the dreaded postal card, could not deliver! In this case postage was underpaid by 9p! I bet the card left and the time taken up by the postie well exceeded 9p in monetary terms, let alone the huge inconvenience factor to all!
I went online the next day to pay the 9p plus handling charge of £1 but after 15 mins failed to succeed in making the payment, so the following morning, today I drove the 13 miles to the sorting office and retrieved the envelope containing the sketch, this involved a 10min wait even at 07.30am as there were a number of others waiting in the same situation as me.
So that is the story behind this sketch :) Perhaps it might make it a little more special, but I suspect you might be thinking, why did he bother?
Wishing you sunny skies Dale
Complex solar prominence sketched on Saturday 29th September