Sunspotting Episode IV

Take a look at the first three instalments here, here and here (after taking all necessary precautions, of course...).

With a bit of sunshine sneaking between clouds today, I've been able to put some finishing touches on my custom-made sun-viewer. I've sealed off the viewing end with a piece of white card and created a viewing hole with judicious placement of some bits of toilet roll inner-tubes and masking tape.

Here are some photos of my effort. Apologies for the quality, but I only had my phone with me. I took the best ones balancing the tube against one of my granddad's garden ornaments, and the real image is actually a bit better than they look in these. It remains to be seen whether I will be able to see anything as small as Venus transiting the face of the Sun- I couldn't make out any detail such as sunspots, but there were a few moments when passing cloud made for some interesting detail.

For anyone who's interested in making their own, I think it's worth mentioning that I blacked off the underside of the projection card as it was letting some light through. Doing so improved the contrast. I might still see if I can find a small tube that I can use to act as an 'eyepiece' to cut out even more of the ambient light.

I'm trying to ignore all weather forecasts for Wednesday morning because, at the moment, they're all telling me things I don't want to hear!

Is anyone else planning on getting up to view Wednesday morning's transit of Venus? If so, let me know in the comments!