Merlin66

Patrick has said he will update Cartes du Ciel very soon to include many of the faint planetary satellites.

I’m using the latest beta release - no issues no drama.

+1 for the Vixen 90/ 1000

I use it with my DIY CaK filter for solar imaging.

works well for me.

Very nice!

I have a Green version of the 63mm Zeiss Asiola, s/n 38265 (seems to be around 1958-1960?) A beautiful instrument.

+1 for Astroart, it punches well above its weight.

Ideal for image acquisition, guiding, plate solving (if needed) and preprocessing with stacking darks, lights etc.

Full range of image processing tools, basically all yo could ask for.

Highly recommended.

It's saved as an alignment point.

The emission line of He1 (known as D3) lies at 14.32A towards the blue from the D1 Sodium line (The doublet D1 and D2)
The intensity of the D3 line is only about 3% above the local continuum.
To make a visible image of the Sun in Helium the continuum image must be subtracted from an image acquired at D3.

According to SimSpec_SHG for the MiniSHG optics, the D3 line should be at 207.43 pixel below the D1 line. When the slit is positioned at the extreme edge of the disk it's possible to see the D3 Helium line in the spectrum close by the D1 Sodium.
The D3 is the bright line and the D1 is the dark absorption line below.

The INTI software allows this offset to be entered (as well as a suitable offset to obtain a continuum image)
Initial trials today (30th Oct) were washed out due to cloud and the limited SER videos obtained were overexposed. Bumma!
They did however verify the methodology and the "best" D3 seemed to be around 207 pixel offset. A couple of Helium "plumes" were easily visible.
(about 1 O'clock and six O'clock)


 

(31st Oct) Another day, another trial.
An unusually bright day. This allowed further trials with the imaging of the Sun in Helium (D3) light.
Less exposure times than previous, used the -207 pixel offset for the D3 and a -180 pixel offset for the background continuum.
Processed using both Doug and Matt's versions Valerie's INTI software.
I think I may be getting close.
Enjoy!

Does this finally put this topic to bed????

27/10 First day without cloud/ wind etc.
Managed a set of CaK with the Vixen 90M.
The current activity is impressive, some six numbered AR's visible
The Raben map shows them all.

AR 2887 is very photogenic! A prominent sunspot with umbra/ penumbra and a "family" of smaller spots and faculae following behind.
The new AR 2891 in the north looks very promising.
All it all a great time for solar observers.

28/10 Modifying the MiniSHG to improve the optics. A 9sec scan in H alpha...

The performance definitely seems to reflect the quality of the optics used.
The jump from a $2 Surplus Shed achromat to a $75 Shelyak "custom designed" achromat, although costly, showed immediately an improved outcome.
Re-building the collimator and testing the focus/ infinity focus on the slit plate, is a bit fiddly, but I'm sure will be worth the effort.

I use three SW ED80’s with 10:1 stock focusers and the SW/Orion focus motor belt driven to the 10:1 knob for more precise focus for my solar imaging (CaK, WL and H alpha)

They work very well for me.

Maybe you should consider the Buil Sol'Ex 3D printed digital Spectroheliograph as a cost effective (and more versatile) solution.

http://www.astrosurf.com/solex/sol-ex-presentation-en.html

I went for a DIY "MiniSHG" alternative which is performing very (very!) well.

Valerie's INTI processing software will complete the images in a matter of seconds!!!!

Mini_SHG.pdf

I've tested the Canon filters and published the data.

The front filter and the UV-IR suppression can be clearly seen in the attached over exposed solar spectrum images. This represents much (MUCH) more light than you'll ever see in AP images.

The CaK and NIR Telluric band wavelengths are well suppressed.

What more can I say?

Based on my experience with many PST’s.

I think you may have moved the tuning screw a bit too much. One or two holes is sufficient.

The tilt on the prism is not excessive, some tilt is needed to avoid reflections and ghosts.

If the PST is new I would not think failure of the ITF element is likely.

The final smaller (red) filter in the eyepiece tube is actually the very important blocking/ sort filter. This works in conjunction with the etalon to give the narrow band bandwidth required.

I would spend a bit more time at the eyepiece, get used to the PST. It’s not like your average telescope and takes time to come to terms with.

I’ve been using 12v to 15v 120w car converters on both my HEQ5 and NEQ6 for the past ten years. Works well for me, no issues, no dramas.

I have up to seven SW motors on my solar gear.

The handcontrollers sit on the office desk. I’ve thought of adding a similar power source but haven’t needed to change batteries in the last three years!!!!

Clear skies and reasonable seeing.
The MiniSHG scans of H alpha showed some filaments and AR2882 as well as the brighter proms.
The CaK showed very nicely the size and shape of AR2882 and the further west AR2885 grouping of small spots.
The seeing was good enough to use the Genesis at f8 for WL.
I include a SHG "continuum" image for comparison (some 1.3A from the Ha core) which is close to normal WL images.
Enjoy!

I have and use both the SW and the Orion versions.

They are identical, only the name varies.

Steve,

I'd work with the Besser. It's a reasonable compromise.

A spacing of around 40mm would work with your QHY5 (or ASI 290).

Whooooo, that's a blast from the past!!!

The SA grating doesn't like to go much below f5, on that basis the Besser would be better than the f4 First Scope.

Have a look at Astroart V8.

http://www.msb-astroart.com/

I think it would do everything you need, including plate solving (if needed), guiding, pre-processing and post processing etc.etc.

Pete,

I'm intrigued by your method.

If I understand correctly you position say the top section of the disk in an ROI and drift it (typical rate??) such that the disk moves in and up in the ROI.

You then use AS3! to stack/align etc to present a final full disk image.

Is this correct???

Ken

Dave,

I think so. The animation feature is very useful. It also seems much faster.

Restart your journey  with Astroart V5 and see how you go. Look at the V8 demo then decide.

What filter and technique are you using for the H alpha????

Dave,

I started, I think, with Astroart V3 and now use V8.

It does everything I need, acquisition (with all my cameras), preprocessing, stacking etc. etc. As well as a very good guiding routine especially for the spectrograph users like me.

Have a look the Astroart website for full details on the latest version.

http://www.msb-astroart.com/

Punches well above its weight. Highly recommended.