Hydrogen Alpha Solar Image from Feb 14, 2026 - Concluding the set
Philip Whitebloom
This Hα (Hydrogen Alpha) image highlights a single magnetic structure as it transitions from a filament on the solar disk into a prominence rising beyond the Sun’s limb. What appears as a dark, elongated filament against the bright chromosphere curves upward as it approaches the edge of the Sun, then becomes luminous once it extends into space.
The change in appearance is purely a matter of perspective. On the disk, the cooler, denser plasma absorbs background light and appears dark. Off the limb, the same plasma glows brightly against the darkness of space, revealing the three-dimensional geometry of the magnetic field lines that support it.
The gentle curvature visible in this image traces the arc of the Sun’s magnetic structure, making the spatial relationship clear. Rather than an abrupt boundary at the limb, the filament smoothly lifts and rotates into view, emphasizing that filaments and prominences are not separate phenomena, but different views of the same magnetic feature.
This image offers a direct visual demonstration of how the Sun’s magnetic field shapes and suspends plasma above the surface, transforming what appears to be a flat, linear feature into a towering structure extending tens of thousands of miles into space.
Capture & Processing Details
Telescope: 60 mm Lunt Hydrogen Alpha solar telescope, double-stack configuration
Optics: 2× Barlow lens
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro
Capture Software: SharpCap 4.1
Date & Time: February 14, 2026, 18:33 UTC
Location: Laurel, Maryland, USA
Exposure: 122.6 ms
Gain: 256
Frames Used: Best 25% by quality
Format: TIFF, MONO8
Processing Notes
Frames were stacked using AutoStakkert with quality-based selection. Final tonal and structural adjustments were completed in Adobe Lightroom Classic and Adobe Photoshop, with care taken to preserve the natural brightness transition between disk and limb while maintaining fine chromospheric detail.
Kurt Bauch
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone posting topics not related to astronomy or the Howard Astronomical League will be moderated immediately and without notice. Obvious spammers will be banned.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Howard Astronomical League" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to howardastro...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/howardastro/1110440118.1057574.1771706806718%40mail.yahoo.com.
