Rusted

That's an excellent image with lots of detail. Keep going! Anybody who can pull off such an image, against all the odds, deserves praise and even greater success. I had a bit of a play to give you some colour, like you wanted: I am afraid I lost some of your original detail.

A superb set of images and animation! Thanks for the ImPPG screenshot too. 😊

Thanks. I see you've been doing this for some time. My image of you down on your knees on the lawn. Squinting upwards into the viewfinder. Was completely unfounded. Your technique also explains why you are so successful. 😊

Thanks. It would be interesting to see a direct comparison in image quality between your DSLRs and the Altair 174. Just balancing such heavy cameras on a telescope must be difficult. Sag at the focuser is not the least of your problems. I presume you use a wireless shutter release? Can you monitor what is on the sensor via a larger screen? This is where you can choose your moments of good seeing with close-ups. We'll all look forwards to your eventual foray into H-alpha.

What is your technique for multiple image capture? Burst mode? Not tempted by a mono "astro" camera?

A great set of images! Amazing detail and superb processing.

Thanks. I am not picking on your images. Just preaching to a larger audience. Just paying it forward. The best test of reality is to examine other's images using similar equipment and image scales. Check out Dave Smith's image in a post nearby. His white light, whole disk image is really excellent. If any solar image shows a uniform "artificial" texture then they are seriously over-sharpened. IMO. Whole disks, in WL, at modest image scales, have the exquisite subtlety of an eggshell. The limb should not be reinforced with a hard ring. Dave's image simply stops at the edge. Perfect! Granulation is not going to show up at these image scales. Always aim for reality. Not imaginary, digital detail.

Dare I suggest you try ImPPG instead of Registax? It is very easy to overcook the sharpening in Registax. That wasn't very subtle of me, was it? A highly decorated solar imager offered me the same advice. Which transformed my images to fuzzy blurs instead of sparkly snowflakes. So I am "paying it forward." Don't shoot the messenger. 🙊

Two words: Therapeutic accumulation. Astronomy is a low risk, non-contact, socially non-cohesive, relatively non-competitive sport. It usually keeps the participant within earshot. In case of spider freeing emergencies or a desperate need for spare tea consumption. Compare this to white water canoeing, motor racing, surfing, climbing, diving and/or parachuting. As in: "Would you rather I ....?" Q.E.D.

Follow Peter's advice first. But, if you cannot remove the top piece, then try using a suitably large screwdriver to hold the nut still. Push the screwdriver gently past the edge of the nut to hold it by one of its flats. While you turn the housing in the direction to tighten the nut. Probably clockwise if it's a normal nut. It might be possible to get it tight enough so that friction with the nut and the surface below it will tighten it fully. My fuzzy logic suggests that something comes off to allow access to that nut. Anything which is assembled must have been in pieces when it mattered. How else would they have tightened that nut? 😉 Your fiddling with the slow motion was probably in the incorrect direction. Anticlockwise? So you overcame the friction between the nut and what lies below it.

Stunning detail and an incredible sense of perspective. Your seeing conditions must have been truly extraordinary at the time you captured data for these images. This is not to take away anything but breathless admiration for your skills. Will solar imagers now descend on Hastings? Like they do for an eclipse? 😊 Buy Daystar! Quark sales will be going through the roof!

Indeed. Not all obstacles to light pollution are fixed nor even solid. Raise or lower a dark cloth blind on posts with pulleys only as needed. Louvers block light from certain angles. Pass it freely from others. Light blocking vegetation can be conifers in big pots on castors. Just be careful about the force of the wind on your contraptions.

No, no, no! You want an f:15 refractor to use as "proper" baseball bat. A 75-80mm should do it. No need for an APO.

Not seen the book I am afraid. If you have one set of fixed wheels on one side... you can have the wheels [on the other side of the roof] sliding along their axles. It won't need much lateral movement. Just enough freedom to avoid binding. V-pulleys running on rails are popular. The rails can be angle iron for a firm fixing.

Congratulations! The R&P focuser is fine on these. Made by Feather Touch/Skylight Instruments? The whole telescope oozes quality. Clever, modular design provides multiple options. Though the overall weight is quite a shock. Lunt must be making quite a few. Judging by the serial numbers.

Charles The solar imaging section on a general astronomy forum may not have members with the necessary expertise. So you may have better luck with such technical questions on a dedicated solar forum. Search for Solarchat! The world's largest, solar specific forum with 3400 members. Many of whom are solar specialists. It is free to join and there are experts in all subjects within the solar study discipline. The very nature of your questions suggests you may well bring further expertise to SolarChat!

A key on a quantum key ring might simultaneously open every door in the universe. Provided nobody was watching. 😏

Some general thoughts: A dome provide protection from cold breezes. It can be rotated away from the wind if there is a suitable object in that direction. Claustrophobia is not likely in a soaring dome. Not even a small one. Domes are limited to refractors and SCTs on a raised pier. The high walls would block the view for a Dob or low mounted Newtonian. Unless you rotate the walls as well and have the door open. A serious option for DIY. This form would need serious restraint at ground mounted, roller level. To stop it blowing away. A dome can protect you and the equipment in a second if a shower comes along. A roll-off roof is draughty and cold. It provides no shelter unless partially closed. invest in a down jacket if you don't have one. Get one if you have a dome too. A metal building will feel much colder than wood or plastic. You will radiate body heat to the cold metal surface. A dome is obvious as to its purpose. It may attract unwanted attention. It's colour becomes a major choice or a major problem. A shed with a moving roof probably goes unnoticed. A metal building will cool quickly after a sunny day. Both GRP and metal are prone to internal condensation. A small square is HUGE compared to small round or octagonal. For €5k you could build almost anything given a few manual skills. A DIY, plywood ROR could be put together for about 1/5th of that price. Leaving you funds for a better mounting. I am heavily biased towards domes and build everything myself. The dome, the supporting building, the mounting and the instruments. The major disadvantage of this is the sheer time involved. Designing, building and updating with gained experience. The hobby becomes equipment building rather than astronomy alone. If you live in an apartment where is this observatory to be placed? Do you have some private ground outside? Is it secure?

The ASI174MM is well respected and features in many successful solar imager's equipment list. Emphasis on the USB3 and large capacity internal SSDs for fast frame rates with the '174. Otherwise you will be constantly erasing old data to find room for the next batch. Samsung external T5s are not as fast as internal NVMe. [IME] Banding is not always the case with the '174. I bought a T2 tilter but don't need it. It all depends on the individual set-up.

I so wanted it to be for collection only, from Antarctica. 😏

I presume they have lost their conservation skills. Or the staff who once could. Do you awaken tomorrow's scientists with screens and big buttons? The children already have that at home and in their pockets. Education or entertainment? Choose one!

Thanks for sharing the Whipple Museum. The London Science Museum once felt like it hadn't changed since Victorian times. Countless exhibits in glass cases. It was truly amazing and absolutely wonderful!! Last time I went [30 years ago?] it was aimed at small children. Who like to watch "reality" on TV and push buttons. Never again!

Putting yourself "out there" can be valuable self-discipline to do more. Not least to avoid disappointing followers. The pressure to keep providing more content increases as views and viewers begins to build. Astronomy is a "narrow interest" subject unless one's "shining" personality becomes the entertainment in itself. Astrobiscuit? 😊 Providing videos on astronomical subjects is no guarantee of success. Nor even more than a modest following. Many of my own videos have a mere few hundred views after many years. Poor titling? Poor content? Who knows? I have deliberately avoided appearing in my own videos except for personal amusement. A nod to: "This week I has mostly.." There seems to be a trend for alarmist titles as click bait: "Don't buy this until you've clicked and subscribed!"

Did Dr Who ever go to the Moon?

Isn't the term TellyTubbies pre-Woke? 😊