Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

astro_al

Members
  • Posts

    790
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by astro_al

  1. Between the clouds and gusts of wind there were moments of steadier seeing where I could make out the pair with the larger separation through my 3" refractor. Pretty poor conditions though.
  2. It's the latest image from NASA. The sunspots shown in the top left appear to be fading already.
  3. Latest from NASA: https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/latest/latest_1024_HMII.jpg
  4. Me too. I thought that the Solar Continuum filter was enough but now I am not so sure. The Baader chart only shows up to 700nm, SolarChat shows up to 1100nm; but I guess up to 2500nm is unknown.
  5. Update. I realised that with the #27 adapter I can screw three 2" filters into the wedge without contact with the prism. Adding in an empty filter cell above the ND3.0 and Continuum filters provides enough clearance for the GPC without the 5mm extension. 5mm saving is not a lot, but it means I can now use the FC-76DC with the wedge and 2.6x GPC with a whole 0.5mm to spare.
  6. I have owned both a TSA-102 and a TSA-120. Both fantastic scopes. I have never owned an FS-102 but have owned an FS-60 and currently own an FS-152. Personally I would say that the TSA series scopes give a more clinical view that the FS series and would be my choice if I also wanted to dabble in imaging. However, as a visual observer with no observatory I prefer the fluorite doublets primarily because of reduced cool down time. This and weight is more important to me vs the possibility of a slightly improved image on nights of excellent seeing. The newer FC series has both of these characteristics so I personally would prefer an FC-100 over either the FS-102 or TSA-102; but that wasn't the question asked . I would be happy with any of the 4" Taks.
  7. I had been wondering this myself. There is a good thread on Solar Chat on the current and previous version of the Continuum filter - https://solarchatforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=16944 As someone who bought the Baader Herschel Wedge this year I would expect to have the newer version of the Continuum filter and so no need for a UV/IR cut filter. Not sure if there is a definitive way to check though.
  8. @Stu which GPC are you using in the setup with the binoviewer? Seriously thinking about an FC-100. Al
  9. Nice! I set up the 152 until the rain came. Could make out a lot more detail than with the 60, unsurprisingly - but you are right, the seeing is atrocious.
  10. A short session to have a peek. Conditions are poor but I can clearly see two sun spots with a line of three pores off to the side like Orion's Belt. ~65x in the FOA-60Q with the TV 20mm Plössls and binoviewer was the limit for the current seeing. I have also added the 0.6ND filter to the 3.0ND and SC filters to bring the brightness down. Back out later if the weather picks up but the wind speed is on the increase here at the moment.
  11. Now that would be nice! Forecast for here tomorrow morning is rain then partly sunny but I won't get my hopes up too much I saw the two white areas Friday lunchtime so I guess these developed into the spots. I am still not sure if these are plages or faculae or is that the same thing but the terminology is just different between Ha and white light? Al
  12. Thought my laptop screen was dirty at first... Been checking online every day since I got my Herschel wedge and it is the first time I have seen anything much other than a white disk.
  13. Still very windy here but not as bad as yesterday so I took the opportunity to get out for a bit with the 60mm and Herschel wedge. I had checked the latest image of the sun on the internet already so I knew I wasn't in for any particularly interesting - but it was good to be out regardless. After 10 minutes I decided to use the clear skies but poor seeing as an opportunity to test the wedge with my largest scope, the 152mm F8. I was confident that back focus wouldn't be an issue with the 2.6x glasspath corrector in place; and it wasn't. I kept mainly to the 25mm Plössl (~120x) but even that was too much magnification. No surprise really considering that the wind kept blowing the towel off my head. I must upgrade from a tea towel to a beach towel Initially I wasn't going to bother with the 1.7x GPC as I thought on days when I might use the big scope I would want more magnification anyway. I can use the 60mm for full disk, lower power views plus the 152mm doesn't have enough backfocus with the Clicklock in place. Anyway, in the end I removed the 2" nosepiece from the wedge and repurposed the 2" adapter that I removed when taking the Clicklock off the other end of the wedge and used that to connect to the scope in a more direct way - thanks to the magic of Baader adapters. I am glad I did. With the 1.7x GPC in place (more like 1.5x really) I had a view of the full solar disk at ~75x with the 25mm Plössls and immediately noticed more widespread surface detail than with the 60mm. Stepping up to ~90x with the 20mm Plössls kept the full solar disk (just) and for a very short while the seeing improved and I could see what looked like individual cells on the surface. Amazing! So despite the poor conditions I have had a taste as to what the 152mm might do on a good day. I wasn't sure I would be using this setup over the grab and go but I will certainly make the effort now as often as I can. Al
  14. Does anyone have any details about back focus with the Quark? With a 2.6x glass path corrector in my FC-76 I have about 35-40mm inward travel left with my binoviewers. I guess the 4.2x barlow in the quark will push the focal plane further out still, but I have no idea if that is enough to accommodate the physical dimension of the Quark. Thanks Al
  15. The diagonal connects to the focuser draw tube via a Clicklock. My main problem is that this, or more usually the diagonal’s T2 nosepiece, can unscrew if there is a shift in momentum. I don’t preload against this rotation as this makes it less comfortable with my alt-az mounts. I may end up applying some thread lock anyway but I am not sure I would get along with having the binoviewer after the Quark from an ergonomics perspective. Thanks both.
  16. Ah. I didn’t think of that. Thanks Peter.
  17. I am researching Ha options at the moment and I like the idea of using my existing scopes so a Quark is of interest. I use a binoviewer and would like to use my Tak FC-76 F7.5 scope. I saw that @Stu has used this combination in the past so it looks like back focus shouldn't be an issue, however I do worry about stacking a binoviewer on top of the Quark - more from a height/rotation issue than weight. My question is what are the implications of putting the Quark before the diagonal? Quark, Quark-T2 adapter, Baader prism diagonal, Baader quick change and then the binoviewer. Is it just increased magnification? Thanks for reading. Al
  18. It is. I am a bit paranoid since the binoviewer separated from its bayonet fitting and hit the floor. Luckily the scope was already on the floor waiting to go on the mount so it didn’t fall far. I reattached the bayonet with epoxy resin but you never know, so I added a state-of-the-art piece of string just in case 🤣
  19. After swapping the 10mm spacer for a 5mm one the GPC still appears to clear the ND3.0 filter. This, along with reverting to the original visual back, gives me 15mm more back focus to play with and is just enough (2-3mm spare) for me to use the 1.7x GPC which gives a more practical magnification range. Happy camper.
  20. It's a Zeiss microscope head converted by Denis Levatić. I have been using it for the last few years and it has been great. Only negative is the internal reflections when viewing the moon due to its brightness - I think this is a recent problem since I re-attached the bayonet fitting after it sheared off. I will be looking to get the Maxbright II when it comes out. Al
  21. Unfortunately not. The DCU wasn't around when I bought the DC and I wasn't dependent on binoviewers back then either. Based on using the FOA-60Q today I estimate that the wedge, binoviewer and 2.6x GPC require 134mm of back focus. I could get that down to 129mm by using a 5mm extension instead of a 10mm one. The extension is needed to stop the GPC from hitting the ND3.0 filter. This leaves me 5mm away from reaching focus with the FC-76, at least on paper and assuming my maths is correct. Probably 10-15mm to be safe. The Feathertouch replacement focuser should get me there, but it is an expensive upgrade. Al
  22. I also saw the patterns of granulation here and there. Thought my eyes were playing tricks at first. Interesting stuff. I would love to be able to use my FC-76 - I bet your FC-100 works well. Al
  23. First light today for my new Baader Herschel wedge. Grabbed an hour before the sun disappeared behind my neighbour's trees. Really enjoyed being out in the day. The seeing seemed pretty poor but I saw a bright area near the southern limb in moments of steadier air which was interesting. Faculae? Not 100% sure of the terminology yet. Mainly used a pair of 20mm TV plossls with the FOA-60Q and a 2.6x GPC which gives about 115x. Can't wait for my first sun spot As expected the FC-76DC doesn't have enough back focus for the wedge and binoviewer, but the FS-152 should. Nice to be able to look online at a current image of the sun to check what I am seeing.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.