Ags

CF tripod, AZT6 head, 50mm RACI finder, Zenithstar 66 and a 20 mm plossl - perfect under a dark sky!

I got them 10 years ago, this is the branding. It is very convenient, they just sit on the end of the scope held in place by gravity. Just a few seconds to change apertures.

Had a longer go at lunch today. I am thinking f31 (30 mm) gives the sharpest, most textured view, although 37 mm and 43 mm can work too. These latter apertures might be better for photography, or higher magnifications because of exit pupil. Tuning to -3 seems to be the sweet spot: surface detail is well defined and proms and filaments are still visible. The sun was best in the NPL 30 today. It's amazing to see proms change in real time. No time for photography today, but tomorrow looks sunny and no work commitments! Tomorrow I really must wear a hat.

As a result of buying this scope I have put half my eyepiece collection up for sale. Getting the SLV 25, 20 and maybe 15. 😀

I promised I would upload my image, and here it is. No detail on the disk - probably because the stacking algo is chasing wisps of cloud as they blow past. At least it shows the scale of the Sun on my ASI 485 MC. I have never tried running a color camera through AS3!, I have a lot to learn. Happy with the color though 🤣

I have a Skywatcher Super 25 I use a lot in my finderscope, and I have been meaning to upgrade it. The trouble with buying a telescope is it causes chaos in the eyepiece case. Now I am thinking of getting SLV 25, 20 and 15 to go with the 12, 9 and 6 I already have! I am looking forward to a clear day with better contrast and a brighter image.

I was surprised prominences were so obvious and mobile, and also that filaments stood out so well, and that tuning the etalon made such a difference. The ten minute wait to reach a new tuning setting is not onerous, as you can view during the adjustment. It also gives an incentive for an impatient observer like me to stop and look. The image was certainly not bright, even at full 60 mm aperture, but that probably had more to do with the veil of cloud I was trying to see through. I think I will give the SLV 25 mm a try. I wonder if a 15 mm SLV might be a good addition too?

Thin cloud today, but I had to try. My talentCell can power the AZ-GTI and the Quark. Solar finder works adequately. Focus is easy. Very red! At middle setting, bit of surface detail, filaments and prominences. Turned all the way clockwise - no proms or filaments, more surface speckles. Turned anticlockwise, not much effect, maybe more contrast in filaments. Definitely preferred the f25 view over the f15.5 view. View was sharper in 30 mm plossl, but more comfortable in 20 mm plossl. The cloud was thickening but I tried a quick photo. With gso 0.5 reducer, the sun fits nicely on the ASI485MC chip. I'll post the picture later, but I doubt the capture will work out - the cloud was very thick by that time.

Yes, I can step down to 26 mm (f35) if I really want to, or step up to 43, 48 or 52 mm. But it is a balance between contrast and resolution (and exit pupil).

I guess my Vixen NPL 30 mm is an ideal solar eyepiece. Trying unsuccessfully to persuade myself I don't NEED the SLV 25 mm I have been hankering after. Or an SLV 20 for high power...

Neither am I!

Today I took delivery of my new Solar Scout SS60-ds, hereinafter referred to as the Scout. It only took 5 minutes and some orphaned dslr step-down rings to change it from f15.5 to f25 (aperture 37 mm). Contrast should be a lot better at a slower f ratio. That's the talk on the street anyway. Initial feelings about the scope is it seems fairly well made but it lacks finesse. There's a few small details that should have been done better, like the threaded end of a tiny screw randomly sticking out the tube by a millimeter. FLO checked the scope before sending it, so I hope it is a good unit. The tuning knob is off center, I am assuming that's the correct setting after FLO's checks. Tomorrow is sunny!

But that has never will have happened.

But but but this is why I expect Quarks to have a shifted CWL. If you know the beam is not collimated, it makes no sense to design for a collimated beam. Better to pick an average focal ratio and design for that. From the article linked above:

Introducing... the Solarizer!

A whole book on the subject? I think you should be able to fit the essential points on a sheet of A4. Sounds like a guide to overthinking... But Newts - I never could collimate mine.

I had planned to photograph the Leo triplet tonight (hopefully framing it to make it a quadruplet) but thin cloud and a high moon scuttled the plan. But thin cloud suggests good seeing so I took out the ZS66 with my highest power eyepiece (4.9 mm Speers WALER) and took a long hard look at the Moon. Very sharp and detailed and richly shaded. Picked out the straight wall and Clavius, but that's as far as my naming skills go. Just wondering at the complex formations. Oddly, no floaters, looks like a 0.84mm exit pupil works for me.

I understand not everyone on this thread is familiar with the finer points of time travel, but having worked for 7 years in Starfleet's Temporal Directorate (many more years than that counting excursions), I would like to say if you are travelling into the past or the future, it is standard protocol to return 5 minutes before you left. That way, if you don't survive the trip, you know in advance and therefore simply never set out on your journey.

Maybe I wasn't clear, that is what I was suggesting.

Intuitively one thinks slower is better, but Daystar recommend a focal ratio of f4-f8. Why the maximum?

Similar to Baader high speed narrowband filters, are Quarks band shifted? Assuming the filter was tuned for light at the edge of a light cone, that would maximise the amount of on band light, and would also imply that Quarks have a maximum f ratio (f8 according to their specs), beyond which slower focal ratios would actually shift the light slightly off band?

A very interesting read!

I'm from one femtosecond in the past.

I get to try one next week, so we will see. I suspect that one of the issues with the SS60-DS is you need a big chip for a full disk, and what you do capture is likely to be oversampled.

Thinking of getting a Solar Scout SS60-ds. I would be ecstatic to get a result like this!