June 1, 2014: Lovely evening session in H-alpha + impromptu EP comparison

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I just came in from a long session with the LS35 on the Great Polaris mount usually reserved for the C8 (no such thing as overmounting a scope , and tracking makes observing more fun). I had been catching glimpses of the sun earlier, but the skies cleared after dinner, and I had to wait to do the dishes because the boys prefer hot water when having a shower (Insert "When I were a lad ....." complaint about kids these days in Yorkshire accent here, if desired ). I therefore took my time to observe the sun at leasure. The view was stunning as many people have already observed. The proms on the eastern limb were huge, especially one in the south east. This stood out as a massive arc of knotted strands. Earlier the arc seemed complete, not it only seemed to touch the limb on its northern end. To the north of it, a prom which earlier in the day looked like a fountain, now looked like a complex knot. Further north still, another shape-shifting prom was visible, which in the afternoon look at times lik a complete ellipse, now looked like a bar drifting a bit above the limb. Other fainter proms could be seen at low magnification along the northeastern limb. Southwest, a group of proms like a hedgerow was very bright.

As I had time, I swapped out various EPs in an impromptu comparison. The new Radian 14mm was the one I have been using most, and it is vey nice indeed. It hits quite a sweet spot in terms of sufficient magnification for fine detail, and bright enough image to see the faint structures. The 12mm Nagler image was clearly dimmer, but did not show much more detail. The XW10 was not much dimmer than the Nagler 12, and revealed a bit more. The XF 8.5 was dimmer again. A surprise came when I compared it to the Delos 8mm, which seemed a bit brighter and crisper, despite the slightly higher magnification. Another nice feature is that it is parfocal with the Radian 14. Switching between the two was very nice, because no refocus was needed, unlike with the XF8.5. I must say I am now pondering a Radian 10 for the solar set-up (and maybe a 12, if I can find it). Having parfocal EPs is very nice in this kind of observing run, when I like to switch EPs quite often.

In all a very enjoyable 40 minutes or so. The only downside is that the dishes have not done themselves, so I must do them.

[Pig]

Great report, It sounds like you had an excellent session today Michael, pretty amazing sights for most of us today

Another bonus for solar viewing is you do also get a tan into the bargain  My Mrs has just commented on how brown I am