Highburymark

The superb magnetic patterns around ARs in Ha have really caught my eye in recent days too Nigella. They are glorious. I’ve been really pleasantly surprised by using two Baader 1.25” polarising filters (one on each eyepiece) in the binoviewer at low magnifications (with 32mm Plossls - around 54x). They definitely help bring out the contrast in the background chromosphere on my scope. They do dim the view slightly, so only using them for low power.

Good choice - I had the smaller 1.25” Lacerta wedge for a while with an Equinox 80, and they were great together. The 2” Lunt wedge, in comparison, has shot up in price recently and is now an expensive item. Am sure the Lacerta is just as good. 95% of the time, your main issue will be seeing anyway. Nice thing about an 80ED is that it copes with average seeing well.

Very nice captures and report.

You need a really great hydrogen alpha filter, ideally double stacked, to achieve high contrast on surface filaments and detail around active regions. But white light always delivers high contrast views, even at powerful magnifications. The seeing today for me in London was incredible - type of steadiness I maybe get once a year - and though I had a great time in Ha, I’m kicking myself I didn’t get the WL wedge out. Could have gone up to 200x today as conditions were so good.

Nope - no safety issues at all if you’re adding it to double stack the Lunt. Sounds like a very nice set up, and you’ve got two filters that complement each other.

Very nice and sharp. What reducer are you using Ags?

Baader said one of the problems was the cement used in many barlows is sensitive to heat and breaks down if used before the solar filter. Always worth posting these warnings so newcomers to solar are aware. Interestingly, the AP Barcon we use Stu doesn’t have any cement keeping the lenses in place. So I presume the Barcon (and probably AP Baradv) are safer. Anyway, looks like it’s not a problem for the OP. Don’t want to divert from the main issue of reaching focus.

I’d missed that you were using a 76mm scope tbh. Most of my WL observing has been with 100mm and 120mm fracs, and I wouldn’t risk an expensive Powermate or barlow with those ahead of the wedge. But interesting to hear you haven’t had any problems with a smaller frac. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there about using barlows for solar. Including among manufacturers. Altair, for example, advise no barlows or extenders before the wedge on any scope. Agena too. I’ve just been corresponding with Baader about using an extender to slow down the system with a Solar Spectrum Ha filter - and they said I shouldn’t use the extender ahead of the etalon - even after a full D-ERF over the objective….. because even a D-ERF passes a significant amount of heat. They are probably being ultra cautious. But I’m cautious as a result.

You can’t put any barlow or extender before the wedge itself - it would likely shatter very quickly. Essential that any additional filters or lenses are only added after the wedge. A barlow or GPC should help you reach focus more easily. I use a binoviewer with Baader GPCs. It’s also possible to save a few mms (if you’re binoviewing) by removing the 2” clicklock and attaching the binoviewer directly to the wedge - you’ll need a couple of extra Baader T2 adapters for this. SGL member Stu has shown this in another thread recently.

Images are looking better and better Ags. Alas uniformity is the most difficult thing to achieve with many solar filters, but looks like you’re getting really nice results, and far more contrast by stopping down the aperture.

Lovely images by the way!

That must be it Roy - time of surge prom, emerging from area of extreme brightness on the limb, was 14:45 in UK. Your shot looks like it was still growing, but it quickly fragmented and dispersed. First X-class flare I’ve seen.

Congratulations Pete - fantastic detail

Yes - that was it Roy.

Bad luck - I’ve missed countless flares in the past so know how you feel. But there will be lots more to come.

Hoping some of you may have caught the incredible flare that emerged from the solar limb 20 minutes ago. Unfortunately it has diminished now, but the whole area is crackling with activity

The main fireworks are over - it grew from nothing to full height in about 5 minutes, then split and is now falling back - just looks like a nice prom now - all happened so fast.

Hoping someone caught this - never seen such dramatic activity, watching it change in real time……..

Amazing flare right now!!!

Nice report! Glad you’re enjoying the new eyepiece. I meant it in two ways Stu. First, the physical experience (compared to a classical planetary eyepiece like an orthoscopic) is obviously so much more comfortable. As long as you don’t wear glasses, they are perfectly designed for long sessions on the Moon, planets or double stars. And for some reason I don’t seem to get the same problems with floaters that I’ve had with other EPs. But I also have images of Jupiter from last year with the TOEs (225x, 272x and 360x) clear in my memory. Going from Delite 7, Ortho 6, XW5, to the TOEs, I saw something I’d never seen before - features actually looked more resolved in the cloud belts of the planet as I pumped up the magnification. The intricate detail was presented smoothly and sharply right up to silly powers. I’ve observed Jupiter and Saturn many hundreds of times over the years and never seen features stand out in such definition. And no strain at the eyepiece - hence a smoother experience

TV85, by far, as it’s my main solar (and travel) scope.

It’s also extended to binoviewer/binoviewers. The same rules apply I think. Noun is “a pair of binoviewers” and adjective “a binoviewer case”. Just guard against an apostrophe for a straight plural, as in: “I’ve just bought two pairs of binoviewer’s.”

Thanks to your heads up Roy I managed a 3-minute session in the garden before rushing out for work yesterday - very interesting prom

Very nice image Pete! Ags - Thing I remember from trying WL for the first time with an SCT was how difficult the Sun was to find without a well aligned finder. Worth getting some solar film for your finder if you don’t have a proper solar finder for your C6

Excellent shots!