Sunshine

Here in southern Ontario it has been very cloudy for the last month or so, maybe one clear night a week and even then the smoke from Alberta wildfires has been an issue. You are definitely not alone, hang in there, better times on the horizon.

Hello and welcome! Fabio, my wife and  I (she is Italian) visited Rome, Florence and Venice several years ago, it was the best time of life! Once again welcome to SGL!

Boy, is hand held phone imaging tough, i have my share of great lunar images by phone but the sun is a different story. Exposing for the sun while hand holding is an exercise in teeth pulling, though there were no reddish halos around the disc, i could not avoid it through the camera, 😤I will invest in a phone adapter while deciding on a proper mono solar camera. This is the best I could do, for now.

What are some ideas for a sun block when solar observing? I don’t like to use a towel around my head feeling like Im suffocating. Something like a sun block I can clamp to the clambshell or mount itself which is small, maybe a foot squared would be nice to block my head from the rays. Feel free to post your sun visor device.

Seems like these 128’s are coming out of the ground like weeds, across the pond, Someone send me some seeds!.

Newest frac and because it is modular it really is a frac i guess, but a wee one.

2 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

FS128 last night after checking out Venus and Mars.

That FS128 looks enormous! yet you have it mounted on a Vixen GP? is it a GP or a GPDX with higher capacity? it looks a lot like my GP, I never thought that mount could handle a 128.

Whoa! amazing picture and a creepy face you've captured.

3 hours ago, LDW1 said:

I wonder if they set their exorbitant prices by the lb, the weight not two or three times better performance ?? I have often wondered that !

You may receive a stern talking from Jeremy 😂

have you priced TEC or AP lately?

16 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Don’t lament the engineering of your TSA 102. In fact, I say rejoice in the heights of Takahashi engineering!

I was counting the minutes before you would point out the posistives. It’s robustness does feel reassuring when holding it, it does remind me of its engineering when navigating my staircase.

These ate beautiful sketches, i must dabble in sketching, says the one who barely draws stick figures.

Every single post regarding the FC100 series Tak's makes some note about their light weight and portability. This is not the case with my 102, it is HEAVY! I am aware it is a triplet but I think it is also larger than need be for a 102. Tak may have over engineered the thing, I wish it was smaller and lighter, it doesn't need to stop bullets.

That's it, I'm booking a flight across the pond! 🤣

Those are fantastic!

Welcome to the lounge!

Beautiful image!

Though I cannot speak for the Coronado scopes mentioned in your post, I can say I have owned a PST and am on my second Lunt 60 in 5 years and If I were to speak from a customer care and satisfaction POV I would say Lunt is on another level in this regard. When I had my PST I tried contacting Meade a million times with questions about maintenance and replacement parts but my attempts at speaking with someone who cared in the least bit were futile. Lunt on the other hand were the very definition of customer service, how much is that worth? I can't imagine chasing a company down for assistance with a scope which costs what they cost ( a lot) I would be furious. This alone would deter me from any meade product again, solar or night. Don't get me started on night observing Meade products, I have had a few and it was the same story every time, on one occasion it took me to speak to no less than six different people before my simple question was answered, unreal.

Welcome to SGL! 👍

19 minutes ago, IB20 said:

It’s a fantastic bit of kit, really simple and a joy to use. Shows plenty for its very modest aperture.
l picked a great time to dip my toe in Ha! 

You and me both! it is a great time to get into Ha, the sun is having daily temper tantrums 🤣

3 hours ago, IB20 said:

A prominence buffet currently on display. More surface detail visible too, as there is less high hazy cloud about, although not completely clear. 
Some lovely dark filaments are observable, snaking from AR3297.

A quick iPhone snap attached.

Amazing activity these days, it’s great to see youre having a blast with that PST.

Congratulations and welcome to Ha! amazing little scope, the PST was my first scope of its kind several years ago and it sparked my fascination with Ha, it really is another level from WL. Many times I have said the PST is the little solar scope that could, it is so portable and easy to use, i can bet you went to sleep thinking about those proms.

I saw many proms today and one looked like an eagle with a dolphin in its beak, that would be a huge eagle! I think @JeremyS may be onto something with the wildlife proms comment, maybe this could be the solar wildlife thread!

When I got home from work the sky was clear and blue, I dove headfirst into the shower anticipating taking my scope out as it’s been cloudy for two weeks straight but as soon as I set the scope up I looked up and saw this! though the clouds are very dramatic, Arrrghhh!. After a half hour the sky cleared up enough for me to see thirteen proms! what is happening to the sun? every peek I’ve had has revealed many large proms at once, amazing!.

Amazing what a simple phone can do, those are great, I too have the 11 Pro but I need to get a phone holder. Once in a while I enjoy a glass or two of wine while observing and depending on the size of the glass it can get difficult to hold the phone steady 🤣

Welcome!