Merlin66

Recently Christian Buil has been turning his attention to the SHG and developed a 3D printed "Sol Ex" SHG. This makes use of very small pixel cameras (ASI 290 and ASI 178) Valerie has written some excellent software (INTI) which compliments the SolEx and is capable of achieving a reconstituted solar image IN SECONDS!!!!! http://www.astrosurf.com/solex/sol-ex-presentation-en.html The software has been translated into English and further improved in terms of speed and functionality by Douglas, Matt and others. I'm currently trialling a "Mini SHG" 120mm collimator/imager (Ex Surplus Shed), 19 micron slit, 2400 l/mm, and ASI 178. Using FireCapture at 350 fps. Built from "bits in the box" and a 3mm MDF housing. The weather has hampered progress, but initial results are very promising. Ken

I've been using Astroart for the past 15 years and never had any issue with downloads. I'm sure if there was ever a problem Fabio would jump on it immediately. You're safe to download.

Thanks. Fortunately I don’t do Facebook.

Dahle, Do you know the serial number, or how many other mounts have been delivered?

Upgrade your Astroart to the latest V7. The guiding routine is very good, I use it to guide the slit spectrograph. Also the plate solving and preprocessing (darks, flats, stacking etc) works very well. It also does a great job for final image processing. well worth revisiting.

Hmmm. this seems to be a reflector with a 75 (?)mm mirror and f9 (focal length around 675mm) With the H8 eyepiece this would give the lowest magnification. A good place to start. When you look into the front of the tube (with the cover totally removed) you should see the mirror at the bottom of the tube and a small black circle close to the open end. The small circle is actually a small mirror which sits at 45 deg and diverts the light from the main mirror into your eyepiece. You should see your reflection in the main mirror. When you look into the side of the tube (where you put the eyepieces) you should see the small secondary mirror and the reflection of the main mirror at the bottom of the tube. Point the tube at a wall/ house/ tree some distance away and insert the 8mm eyepiece. Using the focuser move the eyepiece in and out slowly to find a focus. If you can get to this point you're very close to being able to use it to view the heavens.

Do you have any details on the telescope? Model? Size? Eyepieces? More info would help resolving to problem.

I'm pleased to hear that it is being well received.

Very good! But which camera did you use??

Alan, over the years I’ve used many scopes, 6” to 29”. In my opinion the 10” Dobby is close to the sweet spot. Ease of use v’s capability. The 12” is very good but definitely a handful to use. Your call, but do consider the best telescope you have, is the one you use!!

Luke, Last time I visited Birr, the scope was still there. Ken

An “open” and “closed” image might help explain the problem.

Chris, That and some other programs can handle NR when they are seen in a whole surface image. They don’t work with full disk images.

The NR we see in solar observing, are only really noticeable in Ha. A double stack configuration with very narrow bandwidths (<0.5A) and the use of barlows/ powermates etc aggravate the situation. The NR interference is an artefact caused by the spacing between the coverplate and the underlying silicon chip in the camera. The thickness of the coverplate (usually around 0.8 to 1.0mm) can also play a part. These variables mean that some cameras are more prone to developing NR than others. By changing the effective thickness of the coverplate and the gap below, it is possible to suppress the NR, hence the success of the T2 tilters. Weak wedge prisms mounted directly on the chip coverplate have also been used, but not recommended to the solar imaging amateur. If all else fails, then flats can be used to suppress the NR. Easier to apply to surface images than full disk images.

Yes, I did the majority of the translation. A labour of love. After seeing the original French book, it was obvious that the content needed a wider English audience. I’m glad to say that it seems to have been well received by the amateur community.

I’ve been running my HEQ5 and NEQ6 mounts at 15v for the past 15 years or so. A car convertor 120w, 12v to 15v does the job. No issues, no drama.

Another alternative is Autostakkert, V3. It does a good job with my solar images.

You can order it on the link given...69 Euro post paid worldwide.

The “baby” is finally been published and available. http://solar-astronomy-book.com/ I can assure you that this is the most up to date reference on all aspects of solar observing available to the amateur. If you only buy one book on the Sun, this is the one to buy. Highly recommended.

A soak in CLR , a minute or so, followed by a rinse in cold water and a wipe to dry off. This should give you some extended life.

You can use the SA calculator https://www.rspec-astro.com/calculator/ to check your setup. The TransSpec spreadsheet also does the analysis. TransSpecV3.5a.xls

A great first light, well done. Look forward to seeing your future successes.

Steve, The coma corrector is not necessary with the grating. Just concentrate on getting a well focused spectral image

If you are going to photograph doubles why not use some "lucky imaging" to actually measure the double pair?? Florent Losse's REDUC program is available to help analyse your double star images. Drop him an email for a copy: florent_losse@yahoo.fr http://astrosurf.com/hfosaf/ http://astrosurf.com/hfosaf/reduc/tutorial.htm

We now have AR's 2835/6/7 visible. In WL, AR 2835 looks like a bridge is forming, and AR2837 has a faculae backing. In CaK there seems to be some flaring to the east of AR2835. Certainly something for everyone at the moment. Enjoy.