☀️ Daytime / Solar Mode
For daytime public sessions — where the Sun is now, safe viewing, and what to look for. Andromeda Observatory, Woodlands Galaxy CC.
⚠️ NEVER point any telescope, finder or binoculars at the Sun without a certified full-aperture solar filter fitted over the front — even a moment's unfiltered view causes permanent, painless blindness. Cap or remove the finder scope.
The Sun right now
Solar activity today
☀️ Live white-light Sun (NASA SDO / HMI) — the dark specks are today's sunspot groups. Refreshes through the day.
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Safe-viewing checklist
- Full-aperture solar filter (white-light or H-alpha) fitted & secured on the front of the tube.
- Finder scope capped or removed.
- Inspect the filter for pinholes or scratches before every use — discard if damaged.
- Never leave the scope unattended while pointed near the Sun.
- For projection instead of filters: only with a suitable scope, and never let anyone look through the eyepiece.
What to look for
- White-light (filtered): dark sunspots and spot groups drifting across the disc over days; bright faculae near the edge; the mottled granulation (the Sun's boiling surface) in steady seeing.
- Hydrogen-alpha (H-α scope): flame-like prominences arcing off the edge, dark thread-like filaments, bright plages and the textured chromosphere.
- Sunspot numbers rise and fall over an ~11-year cycle — some days the disc is busy, others blank. Check spaceweather.com for today's activity.
Woodlands Galaxy solar setup
Use a certified white-light solar filter on the rooftop Takahashi Sky 90 for sunspots, or a dedicated H-α scope for prominences. If the mount has a drive, set its Solar tracking rate. Keep the queue moving — the view drifts, so re-centre often.
Sun position computed on your device for the Andromeda Observatory. Live solar activity — sunspot regions, 10.7 cm radio flux and X-ray flares — from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC); live white-light Sun image courtesy NASA / SDO (HMI). This page is guidance only — solar observing is done entirely at your own risk with proper equipment.