Sunshine

On 23/11/2020 at 12:13, MalVeauX said:

Hey all,

Woke up to a non-cloudy day, rare for me lately with the storms. Anyhow, took a chance on the seeing and it was poor to average so worked with the 120mm aperture. AR2783 persists and is still an interesting region, but AR2785 and it's neighboring new big spot has taken the show! There's a nice hedge prominence near by and big filament under it, along with small surge prominences shooting up from the region. But most interesting is the faint looping prominence over the region!

B&W:

Colored:

Equipment:

120mm F10 Refractor
80mm F7.5 Refractor
Baader Red CCD-IR Block Filter (Primary internal 50mm DERF)
PST Etalon (HA)
Lunt B1200 CaK (CaK)
10mm HA BF (HA & WL)
ASI183MM Camera
ASI290MM Camera

Very best,

Your solar images are an inspiration my friend, I wish to reach your level of technical prowess imaging the sun, I have decided after much going back and forth that I would love to give a daystar quark a shot. If I may please pick your brain regarding my intended setup it would be great. I have a 115mm triplet (I’m aware triplet has no benefit for solar)  , I assume I’ll need an IR cut filter on my diagonal, is this correct? do you feel that my my 115-805mm FL won’t provide full disc views, for this I would need a very short FL scope which can be acquired for cheap in the future if I want. Regarding the two models, chromo and prom, I can’t afford both but do you feel the chromo offers decent prom detail for imaging/visual? I understand I can’t have best of both. Are there any other accessories you can suggest which will enhance my experience considering my intended scope/quark setup? a mono camera will follow closely but, I’ll ask questions about that when the time comes. 
 

thank you! I’m stoked about this.

On 03/12/2020 at 22:22, Kitsunegari said:

If i was you, i would not bother at all with either of the 50mm or 60mm lunt scopes.  Get a daystar quark and attach it on your 115mm triplet.

 

Daystar seems to have sorted out most of the problems with the quark, and it really is not much more expensive.  Just save you pennies for an extra month.      (im about to sell my 50mm etalon because it just is not fun anymore for me after switching up to 127mm.)

 

Just my two cents.     Nothing beats high magnfication visual h-alpha,  and with a full disk system you are just gonna be begging for more power almost immediately.  

 

Side note,  since you live in canada - the lunt filters freezing on you is gonna be an issue.  (thermal drift)

 

The daystar filter accounts for that cold stuff.

 

OOOOOH you've struck a nerve mentioning the Quark, I have been so curious about them for years but, I have read about QC  issues and nightmares about trying 3 before getting a good one. A couple of years ago I foolishly sold my Lunt 60 for a large dob  was enamored with, only to sell the dob because it was just too big. Now I find myself  yearning for H-alpha again and I wont make the same mistake again, selling it no way.  Do you think my 115 will provide some smashing views with a Quark? I guess full disc views will be out of the question with 805mm correct? I will need an ERF filter for the diagonal but aside from that not much more correct? the prospect of a quark and a 115 together is exciting I must admit. One thing I see as a drawback is the size of the 115, it is not a grab and go which is what I enjoyed with my old Lunt, quick peeks at the setting sun after a days work then back inside. It seems a Quark will provide second to none closeups of proms but requires a bit more work, maybe one look and i'd be hooked. As for freezing weather, that's only an issue from mid Dec to march and even then its not daily.  Pricewise. the quark is roughly half the price of the pressure tuned 60 with B1200 filter and feather touch focuser i was looking at, I could easily order a Quark tomorrow, this is so tempting, maybe I should just say heck with it and jump in.

Regarding deep space AP, does a triplet make a difference? i am aware of the whole purpose of a triplet in aligning red green blue to reduce/eliminate CA. In the case of deep space objects where CA is not evident is a triplet needed? if so, please explain.

Great result!

Oh wow, they're both wonderful but, the second one is just amazing! The glow of what appears to be a double limb makes it look 3D, awesome images!.

WOW, you say at full moon! are you using a filter designed to block out moonlight? if such an animal exists (from a guy who knows very little about AP).

Thanks, sad part is I had a 60mm Lunt but, sold it for another scope I became enamored with which I ended up SELLING anyway cause it was just too big! now I find myself missing solar and am looking for another Lunt.

A mistake I won’t make again.

Wow, I’m actually surprised at how much detail is revealed in white light, I’ve been curious about getting a badder wedge for my 115 frac.  I should seriously consider it seeing your image.

DEW!

On 29/11/2020 at 10:29, MrFreeze said:

Like many on here, I don't have any pictures of me with a telescope, and not even many pictures of me without a telescope. I guess because in nearly all my pictures, I was behind the lens. I did manage to find this picture of my first telescope without me. It's a Tasco reflector (I think 100mm) bought in (I think) 1975 as a birthday present, although the picture was taken in 2006. It had two 0.965" eyepieces, a barlow, and sun and moon filters. It gave very clear images as I recall, but the finder was pretty useless and the mount was oh so wobbly.

Both the scope and the TV are totally RETRO, love it!

I have had both Meade and Celestron SCT's and other designs, in every case getting reliable/useful tech support from Meade has been like pulling teeth.

Celestron is what I would go with based on that alone.

A double stacked 50mm or, a single stacked 60

All other accessories aside, I am aware of which blocking filters favor either visual or imaging, which one would you buy?  assuming you want it for both visual and imaging.

Amazing! congrats on 15 years of membership! i enjoyed having a look at your first post, makes me feel like i cant wait for the day i'll be able to say the same about my 10th year.

BTW, was comes after neutron star, Thor's Hammer?

The gods frown on us amateurs constantly trying to figure out their universe.

Love it, I too love the drama those clouds add.

An EPIC full moon! cant say i've seen a better full lunar shot.

That’s a great image! the effort paid off and it looks great!

Wonderful image!

Oh thats a fine image, i too love the colours and, very nicely resolved, has a metallic look to it.

Great image of the whirlpool, lots of detail in those spiral arms.

Great image! it would appear there's a huge dust storm enveloping the entire planet, a good dust mask would be needed on Mars right now.

Amazing! i could burn a whole day just wandering around, so many beautiful instruments.

10 hours ago, Lyndsay Smith said:

Hi everyone. I’m Astons mum and I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for your support. We are genuinely blown away by the outpouring from everyone in the astronomy community. Thank you xx

What a remarkable young boy, a treasure, can I order the book in Canada? 

I would be well stoked if it were my image, I am looking at taking my first steps into DSO photography, if my first image could be half as good I will be floored. Particularly pleasing is your wider FOV than what I usually see M42 framed in, I like to see DSO’s in their environment (for lack of better term) rather than an extreme closeup as is so common with DSO images.

22 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

What a bunch of cool cats! Did you start a band by any chance Mark?

I had no idea the Fab Four were into astronomy! have to admit, i love the image, reminds me of pioneering bunch of cats who went on to revolutionize physics or something.