observing aids

VERY LOW FREQUENCY (VLF) RADIO STATIONS
                                     
           Station            Station     Frequency        Radiated
             Site               ID          (kHz)            Power
                                                             (kW)
  U.S.

The Zurich Classification System of Sunspot Groups

Contributed by Tom Fleming (FLET)

"A" Type: One or more tiny spots that do not demonstrate bi-polarity or exhibit penumbra.

"B" Type: Two or more tiny spots that demonstrate bi-polarity but do not exhibit penumbra.

Addendum

ACCURACY AND CONSISTENCY IN THE PRODUCTION OF THE AMERICAN SUNSPOT NUMBER (Ra)

Contributed by Carl E.

Guidelines for New Solar Observers

• Do not look directly at the sun without the protection offered by a filter. For naked eye viewing, a piece of #14 welder's glass provides adequate protection. Do not use overexposed film, dark glasses, or other media that are not designed specifically for solar viewing.

A vast amount of useful and informative material relating to the appearance of the sun at different wavelengths, visual and instrumental observation, and analyses and records of sunspot data are available via the Internet. The list below is intended to provide the new observer with some initial points of contact with this resource. Some entries in the list present the full address required to get to a specific display or table.

Atmospheric Seeing Conditions

Contributed by Tom Fleming (FLET)

Reports and observations submitted to the AAVSO use the following ratings for atmospheric turbulence (Seeing): Poor, Fair, Good and Excellent.

Photographers sometimes include a color chart in their photographs. The chart helps them get proper color balance in the final prints.

Complete Manual - Podręcznik wizualnych obserwacji gwiazd zmiennych AAVSO (10.1MB)