Highburymark

Good question. For the next few weeks, I’m going to unbox it and admire it. Then, maybe a bit of lunar and white light. And who knows, maybe CaK one day?

It would make an interesting comparison Gavin, no doubt. The two most obvious improvements I found going from an LS60DS (with one internal etalon) to SF70DS were greater contrast of surface detail, and the ability to ramp up the power while retaining sharpness. I’ve recently picked up a pair of 11mm Delites for high power solar and lunar binoviewing. With the Zeiss ‘Apo’ binoviewer and 2.6x gpc, I can go up to 140x with the Solarscope filters, which seems crazy, but it works. However, I need very steady seeing, so is only usable maybe once every 5-6 sessions. I wouldn’t be surprised if your Lunt delivers equally great views though. Hopefully before too long I’ll be able to start imaging with my scope as I’ve just ordered a ZWO asi1600 - just need to sort out a laptop and learn from scratch the capturing, stacking and processing system now. Simples.

Should have mentioned, among my favourite astronomy memories was a holiday in Loutro, south Crete. Only reachable by boat, it’s about as secluded as destinations go in Europe. At the time I only took a pair of 15x70 binoculars!! Even so, views were incredible with ink black skies and a perfect southern vista over the Mediterranean. What I’d give to go back with a 4” refractor.

It’s an FT2025. The silver ring is actually part of the scope. The focuser is attached with the standard FT adapter which is partly hidden on the pic. You’re right about Feathertouch pricing - they went up substantially about 12-18 months ago. But they are superb. Not necessary for normal use, I’d say, but a great upgrade if you’re using heavy cameras or binoviewers.

Like Stu, I’ve taken my FC-100DC abroad on flights a few times after removing its focuser, Tak ‘spacer’ section, and dew shield. I leave the spacer off the scope permanently now as I do so much binoviewing. Using purely T2 adapters, diagonals and clicklocks, you can pretty much reach focus with any set up. Only caveat is that these scopes aren’t massively robust, so packing them into cabin baggage requires care. But the rewards are worth it. Pic shows scope without spacer.

Thanks Dave - I noticed you’d talked about your external capturing and processing set up on previous threads. It all sounds great. Is it easy for a newbie to construct and operate such a system? That would be my only concern. Otherwise I was going to go for a reconditioned laptop with internal 1tb SSD and 16GB.

Thanks Luke - have been well advised that the 1600 is the best for my set up, for both full disks and close ups. Thanks Ken - your posts here and on Solarchat helped me make my decision.

Just ordered my first astro camera - an asi1600 which will be 95% used for solar Ha. Have spent six years as a visual-only guy, but am literally starting at the beginning as an imager, so this feels like a first leap into the deep end of the swimming pool as a kid. Still have to work out which laptop to buy and software to download (scope is 600mm refractor with 70mm double stack filters), so will be some time before I get going - but looking forward to participating more in this forum. Hopefully your guidance can provide me with some buoyancy as I splash around desperately trying to stay afloat.

Nice addition to the arsenal Nigella. Will be a great tool when we get a few more active regions. Reading previous post, didn’t realise calcium filters were also of variable quality - not just Ha. In which, it does look as if you’ve got a good one

Totally agree John. On the eyepiece, clearly it’s aimed at the Leica ASPH, a wonderful eyepiece that has ruled the zoom roost for the past 6-7 years. When I bought my Leica (sadly now sold) it was about £480. It’s now £650+, and the Starlight adapter to turn it into an astronomical eyepiece is (an equally astronomical) £200. So if the APM is in the same ballpark optically, it will be a winner

Thanks Dave. One of those days when Gong fails to do justice to the view through the eyepiece

Personally, I’d look at Solar Spectrum first instead of Daystar - distributed in Europe by Baader. Have a look at the Astrograph website here in the UK - they sell Solar Spectrum. Also have a look at Solarchat (‘commercial filters etc’ forum) - there are some recent reports on there that provide views on quality and reliability of this type of filter.

Yes - Peter’s right. A pair of Solarscope 100s would be significantly above a £10k budget. Even two Lunt external 100m filters would be around £14k I believe in the UK. The new Coronado SMIII 90mm DS scope would be the most affordable option with two large external etalons - but as discussed Meade/Coronado’s customer support has been poor, particularly since the financial problems. Not easy, picking the best option. ALSO - if buying two external etalons, you should ask for a matched pair, not just two random filters. Solarscope provides this and does its own testing before the goods are dispatched for more peace of mind.

It’s good that different experiences are aired on this forum. Unfortunately we don’t get the opportunity to test out various manufacturers’ hardware before we buy, and if you’re shelling out thousands, it’s important to be as informed as possible. It does seem as if Brian has had very bad luck with Lunt. But equally Nigella has shown just what can be achieved with the right secondhand LS60.

I’d missed out on the camera bit of the question. I’m only just starting to learn about solar imaging myself. But for my system (600mm refractor, F/7), the best contender (for both full discs and close ups at F/14 with a 2x Barlow) is an asi1600mm. Others with far more knowledge than me can chime in on best cameras for a Lunt 80 or 100.

The advantage to modding an existing frac is you can use two larger external etalons, which normally offer more uniform contrast across the fov, compared to smaller internal etalons, which most solar scopes are built around (producing a ‘sweet spot’ rather than more even disc detail). Catch number 1 is they are more expensive. Quite a lot of Lunt scopes combine a small internal etalon with a larger external one - these can be excellent. Then obviously, more aperture reveals more detail, and allows you to retain sharpness at higher powers. For the money you’re investing, you should be looking at 70mm-100mm double stack, or LS130 single stack. The new Lunt range is modular, so you also get an ED night scope as part of the package. Catch number 2 is that all etalons are unique and variable, so there will always be exceptions to any rule - both nice exceptions and not so nice ones. I’ve seen 60mm single stack scopes that knock your block off with fine detail, and double stacked scopes of 90/100mm that have left their owners disappointed. But 99% of the time double stacking transforms surface detail and comes highly recommended. The third option is a rear mounted etalon (Daystar, Solar Spectrum), which can be used with any parent refractor, but these come with high power barlows to work at around F/30, so are mostly used for close up views, and require v good seeing to strut their stuff. They also require heating for 10 minutes before they’re on band, so can’t really be described as ‘grab and go’. I say this all the time but it bears repeating, all manufacturers of commercial solar etalons produce poor examples. Some more than others. So do your research - Solarchat and Cloudy Nights are particularly useful forums. If you are not able to test the product out first, make sure you buy from a reputable dealer who will take back substandard filters. Hopefully then you’ll end up with a scope that will provide you with decades of enjoyment. There’s nothing in the night sky that in my view compares with the sun in hydrogen alpha - watching our own star changing every day never loses its appeal.

Well - lots of choice of scope/etalons for that investment. Lunt 80 or 100 double stacked. Solarscope SF70 double stacked filters mounted on a refractor of your choice - see pic. Solar Spectrum 0.3A etalon for close up detail. Probably best to avoid Coronado as support lacking due to Meade financial problems.

Latest price rise to catch my eye is the Lunt 2” wedge which used to be far cheaper than the Baader Coolwedge (and rightly so - the Lunt doesn’t come with a continuum filter), yet it is now almost at parity (though the old price is still available if you shop around). They are fast turning white light wedges into expensive items

Either the FT or Moonlite is a huge improvement on the awful helical. The helical on my old LS50 locked tight and the scope had to be sent off to Germany to be sorted.

That’s a cracking image! It sounds as if your SS60 etalon is a good one, though it may be better on proms than surface detail - I have a Quark which produces stunning prom views, but I haven’t yet got the same results on filaments and active regions on the disc itself. I need to play around with it more, and maybe reduce the aperture (I use it with a 100mm refractor) to slow down the focal ratio. I agree with you on the TV32 - they should provide an extender as part of the package. Buying it separately makes it a very pricey plossl, but you are rewarded with improved results.

Good stuff Stu! Hadley Rille has always been a favourite Moon feature after watching Apollo 15 on TV all those years ago. Need good seeing to get a clear view with my 4” - really need a bigger scope for any detail. There’s a wonderful video on You Tube called ‘Flying down to Hadley Rille’ which shows the final 3-4 minutes of Apollo 15’s descent, with the Rille very clear near the landing site. And of course many spectacular images later of astronauts exploring the Rille itself.

TV Plossls give brighter and slightly sharper solar views than other Plossls - though they obviously won’t turn an average etalon into a top performing one. Unfortunately the 32mm has very long eye relief, which I think is the problem you’re having - not vignetting, which is when you can’t see the full fov/field stop of the eyepiece . For this reason TeleVue makes eyeguard extenders which can be added to the EP, and means you can use it close-in - like your 26mm plossl - and block out the surrounding light.

I agree about the Skytee - very solid piece of kit for £250-ish. Nice slo-mo controls, and the clamps are also pretty good now - I know they were poor with early models. Happily takes two scopes - 7kg on the side and 4kg on top, as long as the tripod’s robust enough.

Same excellent seeing here in London too John. Binoviewing the Moon at around 170x was very steady. 11mm Delites with 2.6x GPC. Old pic I’m afraid - didn’t take one outside this evening.

Sorry about that! Good time to be looking now though with activity increasing.