Jump to content

PST - quick first light plus questions

Stu

By Stu
in Observing - Solar

Recommended Posts

Stu

Stu

Posted
Posted

The sun peeked it's head from behind the clouds briefly this morning so I popped my lovely christmas present out for a quick first light try out.

Am using it on a fairly average photographic tripod which does the job but is not particularly stable and is difficult to track smoothly. As an aside, I am considering buying one of the small powered alt az mounts (Skywatcher Merlin?) which will track roughly I believe. Any thoughts?

Back to the PST, finding the sun in the first place was pretty straightforward. In my scope, placing the sun just above centre in the finder does the job. I initially tried the supplied 20 mm kellner and found focus. Not too much detail visible so carefully adjusted the tuning ring, and bob's your uncle! A lovely prominence to the south west, a couple of sun spots plus plenty of other features which I don't currently have the vocabulary to describe! Is the image reversed or inverted?

The only suitable ep I have currently is the 13mm ethos shown in the picture. Probably complete overkill but the view was very good indeed. Second question is then, which ep's work best in the PST? Are the Coronado special ep's worth trying, do they improve the view?

52997245-ff5f-6e64.jpg

In summary, I'm just as impressed as when I first looked through a PST at PSP! I find it completely amazing that you can see so much detail in a tiny scope, seeing the prominences is one of my favourite bits.

Looking forward to a clear sky, and maybe travelling somewhere to see the Venus transit now! Other good thing is that I finally have a way of observing that the misses will enjoy because it involves something that makes her very happy indeed - sunshine :-)

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 26
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Carbon Brush

Carbon Brush

Posted
Posted

Hi Stu.

From my (limited) PST experience, the best eps are those with least internal reflection. Quite a few 'quality' eps have internal reflections that you don't notice at night. But in a PST you end up with ghosts or blobs elsewhere on or around the disc.

As you aren't looking for wide fov, long eye relief (usually) or good colour correction, you might find a cheap ep works well.

I have seen a (almost £100) hyperion outperformed on reflection by a cheap unbranded plossl. But at night where other factors come in, the situation was very much reversed.

I don't have a dedicated mount for my PST. Often it is just on a half decent camera tripod for a quick look. I have sometimes used an equatorial mount the 'wrong way round'. That is with the mount facing south with latitude set to more or less the noon elevation. This crude arrngement allows tracking through the day mainly on the RA axis. But of course the PST is upright at noon and tilted left/right the remainder of the day. An alt az tracking mount would of course be ideal to leave running all day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Photosbykev

Photosbykev

Posted
Posted

The Merlin mount will certainly work but you will need to ensure the balance is very close to neutral in order for the tracking to behave. I fairly quickly updated my Merlin mount to a EQ3 Synscan Pro which is still nice and light but is generally much better than the Merlin.

Now I've upped my game to a H-a modified 4" f/11 refractor I've had to upgrade the mount again to a CG5-GT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
johninderby

johninderby

Posted
Posted

I've found a zoom eyepiece is ideal with the PST. The Pentax XF zoom is great and the TS Planetary HR Zoom (same as the Lunt Solar Zoom) is also excellent. They're both fairly compact and light eyepieces. The Baader zoom is also excellent but much bigger and heavier.

For fixed eyepieces the Baader orthos are very good. I found in comparison testing in a PST the Celestron X-Cel LXs were just as good as the orthos, but of course with a wider FOV.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stu

Stu

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks all for the really helpful input. Will do some looking into ep's.

As a cheaper mount option, could I get an L bracket to fit on my giro II mount? Would just give me something more stable to use without spending too much more

Thanks again

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stu

Stu

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Once again, thanks all for the excellent info. I think I will probably use an L bracket but confess typo being tempted by the Merlin. Seems very simple and would also be useful for my WO66 potentially. Looking at it, it seems to include an L bracket anyway which I could use on my giro mount too, is that correct?

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Photosbykev

Photosbykev

Posted
Posted

The clamp holding the L bracket on the Merlin is similar to a Skywatcher dovetail but I don't think they are the same profile.

The Merlin has a friction clutch on both axis which can be tightened up fairly easily if you disassemble the head. I used to use a Fitness wrist weight which velcroed around the scope tube and I could slide it up and down to balance the mount.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stu

Stu

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well I am now the proud owner of an L bracket from Teleskop-Service and an 11mm TV Plossl from Telescope House. Both ordered at the same time and arrived at exactly the same time. Very good service. Will probably look at re-buying some BGO's at some point, maybe a 9mm.

I thought I would go for the simpler and cheaper option of using my giro mount as it is very stable and easy to use. Might consider the Merlin at a later date.

Thanks all for your input, looking forward to seeing some sunshine, though not optimistic over the next few days.

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stu

Stu

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Just tried these out. The L bracket is great, the scope is rock solid on the giro mount and well balanced so it's very easy to use.

The TV Plossl is very sharp, gives a good magnification and is nice and compact. Eye relief is tight, but I don't observe with glasses so it's quite manageable.

Some lovely prominences visible today. On the right hand aside (as seen through the PST), there is a little dot, totally disconnected from the surface as far as I can see. Anyone else seen it?

Cheers

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Photosbykev

Photosbykev

Posted
Posted
Just tried these out. The L bracket is great, the scope is rock solid on the giro mount and well balanced so it's very easy to use.

The TV Plossl is very sharp, gives a good magnification and is nice and compact. Eye relief is tight, but I don't observe with glasses so it's quite manageable.

Some lovely prominences visible today. On the right hand aside (as seen through the PST), there is a little dot, totally disconnected from the surface as far as I can see. Anyone else seen it?

Cheers

Stu

Good to hear you're happy with the system :( This is the current sun activity in real time H Alpha Movies

I tried to get out to play with my new toys but by the time I was set up high hazy cloud followed black clouds stopped any imaging

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Peter Drew

Peter Drew

Posted
Posted

It's not uncommon to see detail 40,000 miles high develop in about 15 minutes, thats 160,000 mph!, the fact that you can't see this move in real time brings it home just how far away the Sun is and how large the scale. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • 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.