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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Solar Imaging

25 February 2013

Clear days mean solar work.

I thought I would put the Celestron 5" Sct to work with the full aperture Baader Solar filter and using just 1.25" eyepieces and filters....with decent results...

Sunspot groups that were captured yesterday, are developing nicely and new ones are popping up - still uncategorized by Spacewweather.com...

The Sun slid past the telephone pole and I was done with the C5....

The little scope performed very well.

After processing the morning's pics...the day was still bright and sunny...so I loaded on the 102mm Refractor and did some more - keeping with the 1.25" eyepiece format for this session...

I used the Binoviewers this time and solar surface detail popped out nicely, displaying sharp granulation and faculae. I also used filters during this second half of the session, but only installing them on one eyepiece and creating a dual wavelength viewing - forcing the brain to combining the slightly different images and keeping the lighter and darker attributes in the FOV...

A much better contrast view with this technique.

The Solar disks of yesterday and today look very different...

Some sunspots disappeared and others pop up in less than 24 hours.

[Paulie pchris00]

I also did a little solar work today. I don't have any images of the Sun, but I have some images that I will try to post later, along with a narrative.

[Paulie pchris00]

It's only taken me a week, but Joe's solar observing this winter has me missing it, but not so much that I want to go out on a freezing day. Last Monday was fairly warm and clear, and I had to go out near Conway anyway, so I stopped by the observatory for a solar session. I started with the 6" refractor in the Hunter Lab, with a full aperture white light filter. It delivered good views, and took magnification well. Of course, with access to a Coronado solar scope, I couldn't resist using it as well. It rides piggy back on a large refractor also outfitted with a full aperture white light filter, but with the Hunter telescope already set up for solar, I didn't bother with taking off the dust cap. The Coronado has a sweet spot that can be hard to find, but once you find it and see prominences or filaments, it's worth the trouble.








The Hunter telescope set up with solar filter.




The Coronado solar scope. I didn't use the refractor it's riding on.





And going to the library just before sunset, I turned around and noticed a faint sundog. Nobody would have noticed it but me. It wasn't much to look at, but it wouldn't fade, and eventually became a halo, also very faint. Again, not much to look at, but I always enjoy seeing sundogs and halos.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Paulie...

No pics of the solar face?

But glad you got out and stared at the Sun again.

[Paulie pchris00]

All I had was my new cell phone, and so far I haven't had any luck doing lunar, planetary, or solar pics.