spacex falcon 9 10/7/2018 launch

Why the 10/7/2018 falcon 9 launch was special:

1. it was launched from vandenberg airbase aiming south over the ocean
so it could be seen all the way from los angeles to san diego
2. the launch took place after dark, so the bright rocket could be seen well
3. it was done shortly after dark, so as the rocket rose above the shadow of the earth the exhaust was back-lit by sunlight, glowing brightly in the sky, presenting a cinematic view to los angeles and orange counties
4. the first stage rocketed back to vandenberg, landing at the airbase--the first ground landing of a falcon rocket on the west coast--"the falcon has landed" crowed spacex launch control

falcon-9 10/7/2018

In this image the cone (upper left) is the second stage of the rocket heading into orbit with its satellite payload.  
to the right of this, the exhaust (above the earth's shadow) is brightly lit by the sun.
The bright spot to the right of the palm tree is the first stage rocketing back to vandenberg, you can see a swirl of maneuvering thruster exhaust adjacent to it.  

another shot, later on:

I assembled a series of stills sandy captured with her compact hand held camera into a rudimentary animation:

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image details
Sony DSC-RX100M3
f/1.8, 1/10 sec, iso 3200 9 mm
corona del mar, CA
10/7/2018
the clouds broke just in time to give a clear view of the launch, then returned
photoshop, topaz denoise for the still shot

Solar minimum

the magnetic activity of the sun has an 11 year cycle:
at its peak, there are frequent sunspots, flares, etc.  while at minimum, not much is happening which is good for astronauts and satellites, not so good for aurora watchers and solar imagers.  interestingly the cycle was discovered in 1843 and then traced back to the earliest observations of sunspots by galileo.  we're now approaching solar minimum (2019).   

Here's an image of the sun from 8/25/18

Sun Ha 8/25/2018 with reverse polarity sunspot AR 2720

though difficult to detect in this hydrogen alpha image, there are pairs of small sunspots in the bright patches towards the bottom of the image.  AR 2720 to the left and AR 2719 to the right.  

the left hand pair (AR 2720) was noted to have reverse polarity and thought to be a harbinger of the next solar cycle.  However, subsequent analysis suggests that the pair were not part of the new cycle, based on their position on the solar surface.  

interestingly, the folks who study this closely are ham radio operators, as solar activity blanks out their radios.

Image details:
Ha full disk Lunt 60 PT/50 DS double stacked
zwo ASI 174MM
1.194 ms exposure
gain 223
15 frames captured
8/25/18 21:50 UT
adding an IR/UV blocking filter did not seem to have much effect (was wondering if there's some leakage)

this was also first light for a new camera which allows full disk imaging of the sun with my Ha scope.  unfortunately the frame rate was less than i'd hoped for, so still working on this...new USB cable and checking high speed seems to have helped 

sunspots in white light vs hydrogen alpha

Here's an image of a sunspot grouping comparing the standard "sunspot" visual filter image with a hydrogen alpha image:

Active solar region 1/11/2015 Ha vs white light

Here's a time lapse in Ha, nothing too dramatic, but there is some motion. 

Ha time lapse 1/11/2015 23:04-23:26 UTC

Imaging details/discussion:
found this one clearing out the hard drive
Ha close up Lunt 60 PT single stacked, on grab & go alt-azm mount, zwo asi 120mm-s
time lapse 19 frames over 22 minutes

the white light capture was done with an 8" SCT, baader photographic film with and without an IR/UV cut filter. the IR/UV cut filter improved contrast
20 second capture
FPS (avg.)=138
Shutter=2.869ms
Gain=73