Show us your Solar Observing Equipment

[Stub Mandrel]

This is probably an unwelcome question, but why do you need an ED doublet for a scope that works with monochromatic light?

You can't get CA with Ha.

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

This is probably an unwelcome question, but why do you need an ED doublet for a scope that works with monochromatic light?

You can't get CA with Ha.

It's not a matter of CA, it is to do with the figure of the optics, lack of SA etc which give the additional fine detail which is easily lost.

[Highburymark]

31 minutes ago, garryblueboy said:

Yes Stu I couldn't resist they don't often come up so it's now or proberly never 

Fabulous telescope Garry. And you may just have the best 80mm double stacked set up possible - with mixed reports for the 80mm etalon and the shadows it creates. Your 75mm filter should be spectacular with this scope. Very envious - but hearty congrats.

[Stub Mandrel]

33 minutes ago, Stu said:

It's not a matter of CA, it is to do with the figure of the optics, lack of SA etc which give the additional fine detail which is easily lost.

Yes I can see a doublet may help with that, but surely that doesn't require ED glass?

[garryblueboy]

27 minutes ago, Highburymark said:

Fabulous telescope Garry. And you may just have the best 80mm double stacked set up possible - with mixed reports for the 80mm etalon and the shadows it creates. Your 75mm filter should be spectacular with this scope. Very envious - but hearty congrats.

Thanks Mark yes I had read about the problems with the double 80m stack and over on solar chat there a guy with the same set up using the 75m with great success 

So I'm hoping for good things 

[Stu]

5 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Yes I can see a doublet may help with that, but surely that doesn't require ED glass?

I think you are correct, it just happens that I believe in many instances the ED scopes perform better in the other respects too, particularly at shorter focal lengths needed for a Quark.

The 102mm f11 scopes and TAL f10s are very good for instance for PST mods, but the focal length is too long for a quark really, you need to keep the power down because of the x4.2 barlow element built in so a faster ED helps with this.

I tried a 150mm f5 with a Quark but the SA made the high power views quite soft. The 152mm f5.9s are much better in this respect whilst still not EDs.

[Mark at Beaufort]

12 hours ago, garryblueboy said:

At last been after one of these for a while now and thanks to Iain I have one bring on the sun ☀️ And great thing is I can use my LS75 front filter to double stack 

Thanks Iain 

Garry that is really a great Ha scope - I can understand your excitement when you have its first light. I will never forget viewing the Venus Transit in 2012 with a Lunt 6" Ha scope using binoviewers and TeleVue EPs.

I really enjoy using my little PST +DS so in your 80mm Lunt it will be mindblowing.

[garryblueboy]

Hi Mark I hope so I'm sure it will get many hours enjoyment cant wait

[Sunshine]

Wow, i have a 60 and have always drooled for an 80, that looks like something you just want to look at more than look through lol, beautiful scope!!

[Sunshine]

On 2018-01-16 at 11:14, LukeSkywatcher said:

Im very excited about the imminent arrival of  my Quark

So im assuming you got your Quark? i was scrolling backwards looking at different setups and noticed you mentioned your Quark arriving soon, well whats your experience like?.

[Sunshine]

On 2018-01-08 at 03:21, Davenn said:

my current solar observing setup

LOL there's no counterweight on that EQ5/6 it probably thinks a pesky bug landed on its back haha!

[Davenn]

On ‎24‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 11:26, Sunshine said:

LOL there's no counterweight on that EQ5/6 it probably thinks a pesky bug landed on its back haha!

uh huh   .....  the Lunt isn't overly heavy and for the sort viewing and exposures it's very stable

if I had a bigger scope to put on it and doing nite viewing/photography, I would definitely throw one or both of the counter weights on it

 

Dave

[Macavity]

On 2/21/2018 at 21:07, garryblueboy said:

So that's the view of the sharp end of a Lunt80?! (I don't frequent these parts!)

Despite the reflection teasing me (lol), do I see letters "ED" by any chance? I too
have asked the question whether an ED doublet would be "better" than (even a
FAST f/5) Acromat. But no one ever answers! lol Like @Stu I'm pretty certain...
E.g. if I stop my ST120 down to f/7 it won't be "great" in the FAR Red spectrum.
I also believe in more general "better build quality" arguments re. ED APOs too!

I did TRY comparative measurements with WL + NB (HA, O3, CaK!) filters and it
seemed to confirm that idea. But then, as ever,  "clouds got in my way"... [JM] 
To echo the above, I suspect adapting a slower (f/10+) Achromat is reasonable.

I won't show the ST120 Frankenscope here, because it's on test and until it's both
proven optically *AND* mechanically, I won't be using it visually! Although I have
a 90mm ERF + my Lunt50 Etalon, I want to TRY the established  ED80 doublet.

It's always good to find out what the "opposition" (VIS/IMG) are doing anyway! 

[garryblueboy]

Hi Chris yes it is indeed a ED optical system I believe they use it to cut down on SA in the optical train as optics get larger this is more apparent hence the 80 and above use Higher  quality glass where as the the 60 and lower etc do not  problem with solar is so much filtering removing bands etc any slight gain is a bonus I also have a F5.9 152 Scope that's not ED and it is excellent not tried on Solar yet but it's pretty much what Lunt use on the big one I did notice a slight difference when I used my now Sold 120 Equinox for white light in comparison to a 102 f5.9 Bresser the detail stemmed enhanced 

[Macavity]

10 minutes ago, garryblueboy said:

Hi Chris yes it is indeed a ED optical system I believe they use it to cut down on SA in the optical train as optics get larger this is more apparent hence the 80 and above use Higher  quality glass where as the the 60 and lower etc do not  problem with solar is so much filtering removing bands etc any slight gain is a bonus I also have a F5.9 152 Scope that's not ED and it is excellent not tried on Solar yet but it's pretty much what Lunt use on the big one I did notice a slight difference when I used my now Sold 120 Equinox for white light in comparison to a 102 f5.9 Bresser the detail stemmed enhanced 

Thanks Garry, that's some really useful information / confirmation here!

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 2/24/2018 at 00:19, Sunshine said:

So im assuming you got your Quark? i was scrolling backwards looking at different setups and noticed you mentioned your Quark arriving soon, well whats your experience like?.

I'll let you know when I get to use it. 

[Highburymark]

I’ve been getting incredible views with my TV85 and SF70mm filters over the past few weeks - particularly at 85x (using Delites 18.2mm in binoviewer and 2.6x GPC), the huge disk almost filling the 62 degree field. And then have pushed it to over 100x with TV 15mm Plossls, where views are dimmer of course, and more at the mercy of seeing, but still remarkably sharp when the atmosphere’s calm. I started off with pairs of 40mm, 32mm and 25mm Plossls and orthos, thinking 50-65x would be maximum magnification achievable for a 70mm set up most days, but it’s capable of much more. 
Couple of other reflections: Although binoviewers give a very even view of detail across the solar disk, it’s still necessary to slew the image around to pick up finer detail around active regions. Having found what I think is the best tuning positions for both filters, I don’t touch the dials any more. And I still prefer to use a single eyepiece for large proms. Brighter, more detail. 

[AdeKing]

My setup today. First time I've tried this particular tripod. It's a little shaky when focusing or adjusting the pressure tuner but works well enough when just sat observing.

[AdeKing]

1 hour ago, Highburymark said:

I’ve been getting incredible views with my TV85 and SF70mm filters over the past few weeks - particularly at 85x (using Delites 18.2mm in binoviewer and 2.6x GPC), the huge disk almost filling the 62 degree field. And then have pushed it to over 100x with TV 15mm Plossls, where views are dimmer of course, and more at the mercy of seeing, but still remarkably sharp when the atmosphere’s calm. I started off with pairs of 40mm, 32mm and 25mm Plossls and orthos, thinking 50-65x would be maximum magnification achievable for a 70mm set up most days, but it’s capable of much more. 
Couple of other reflections: Although binoviewers give a very even view of detail across the solar disk, it’s still necessary to slew the image around to pick up finer detail around active regions. Having found what I think is the best tuning positions for both filters, I don’t touch the dials any more. And I still prefer to use a single eyepiece for large proms. Brighter, more detail. 

Lovely setup Mark, one day I'd love to have a look through one of the IOM solarscope setups, but in the meantime I'll just have to imagine and dream.

I'm really glad to hear that it's exceeding your expectations.

[Highburymark]

11 minutes ago, AdeKing said:

Lovely setup Mark, one day I'd love to have a look through one of the IOM solarscope setups, but in the meantime I'll just have to imagine and dream.

I'm really glad to hear that it's exceeding your expectations.

Thanks Ade - yours looks excellent too. Though today really was about as dead as it gets. 

When the world gets back to some sort of normality, it would be great to have an SGL solar day. So difficult otherwise to experience different scopes and filters, particularly for those just starting out. I’d really like to try a wider aperture set up - Lunt 80 or 100. Peter’s 6” PST mod sounds superb. And different white light scopes too. Otherwise, if you’re ever in north London on a sunny day, you’d be welcome to pop round and test drive the Solarscope.

[Rusted]

I looked back through this thread and it seems I was still H-a Negative back in 2018.
This is my home made, H-a Positive, iStar 6" f/10 H-alpha, PST mod, on my home-made GEM.
All housed in my home-made, 3m, trapezoid dome on top of my 2 storey, home-made, octagonal observatory.

Full aperture 160mm Baader D-ERF, PST etalon, 50mm KG3, 50mm Baader 35nM H-a, Maeir ITF, Lunt B1200 BF and ZWO ASI174 camera.
My L-shaped, imaging desk is isolated from, but wrapped around the 14' high, pyramidal, timber/ply pier.
The 27" monitor is hung from the pier on a fully articulated, universal bracket and shows a typical view as I process a nice prom in AS!3.
It is difficult to be far enough away to get it all in within the confines of a 3m 10' dome.

Being retired, I practically live in my observatory whenever the sun is shining.
Sometimes before 8am to after 7pm on the sun alone. Longer still, if I image the Moon. So the cost per hour, is dropping like a stone.
The telescope is superb in white light and on the moon too, without removing the pre-etalon filters. I just fit a different rear end.
You can blame all this on Sir Peter. He turned me to the Light Side so perhaps we ought to call him "St. Peter." 

 

[Stu]

Wonderful setup @Rusted, and I love the Observatory.

[Stu]

@Highburymark I’m really pleased, though not surprised that the Solarscope is living up to, or perhaps exceeding expectations. They are wonderful bits of kit.

Out of interest, do you observe through the window (closed or open?), or was the scope just inside to take a picture of it?

[Highburymark]

5 hours ago, Stu said:

@Highburymark I’m really pleased, though not surprised that the Solarscope is living up to, or perhaps exceeding expectations. They are wonderful bits of kit.

Out of interest, do you observe through the window (closed or open?), or was the scope just inside to take a picture of it?

Thanks Stu. My ‘observatory’ for much of the summer is my kitchen - with the window open.  It’s well positioned to catch the sun from lunchtime to 5pm. It’s cooler, and easy to block out any unnecessary rays. For Quark, there’s an easy power source. So it’s a really nice option. I have to be slightly less lazy if I want to do any morning observing though....

[Peter Drew]

10 hours ago, Rusted said:

I looked back through this thread and it seems I was still H-a Negative back in 2018.
This is my home made, H-a Positive, iStar 6" f/10 H-alpha, PST mod, on my home-made GEM.
All housed in my home-made, 3m, trapezoid dome on top of my 2 storey, home-made, octagonal observatory.

Full aperture 160mm Baader D-ERF, PST etalon, 50mm KG3, 50mm Baader 35nM H-a, Maeir ITF, Lunt B1200 BF and ZWO ASI174 camera.
My L-shaped, imaging desk is isolated from, but wrapped around the 14' high, pyramidal, timber/ply pier.
The 27" monitor is hung from the pier on a fully articulated, universal bracket and shows a typical view as I process a nice prom in AS!3.
It is difficult to be far enough away to get it all in within the confines of a 3m 10' dome.

Being retired, I practically live in my observatory whenever the sun is shining.
Sometimes before 8am to after 7pm on the sun alone. Longer still, if I image the Moon. So the cost per hour, is dropping like a stone.
The telescope is superb in white light and on the moon too, without removing the pre-etalon filters. I just fit a different rear end.
You can blame all this on Sir Peter. He turned me to the Light Side so perhaps we ought to call him "St. Peter." 

 

I wonder what your wife calls me!