Omega CaK filter stack - First light

[Merlin66]

First results with the Omega CaK stack.
The weather hasn't allowed me to test the Omega stack....
It's the <390nm UV block as a "mini erf", then the 80nm CaK followed by the 2A CaK.
Mounted on the TS102, Baader Herschel wedge (with 1.6ND filter).
Using the ASI 174MM.
(I've had to remove the tilter to gain focus...)
Well, today has thin high cloud, little wind, today's the day.....
Stacked in AS3!, some Registax 6 wavelets......

Imaging in the light of CaK (3934A) actually shows the solar chromosphere at a different height from H alpha.

The H alpha (6563A) is visible from the photospheric surface (the "white light surface") up to around 1500Km - this shows the sunspots, plage, filaments, spicules and surrounding surface of hydrogen mottles.

At the Cak level >1500Km the image is dominated by the hydrogen flocculi - larger network of "supergranulation cells" with brighter flocculi areas around active regions. In CaK the sunspots are still visible as well as some filament type structure.....

I'm quite pleased with the outcome from the Omega filter stack - little or no vignetting, no major signs of ghosting and a bandwidth which looks similar to that achieved with the commercial Lunt CaK module.
Better seeing would help!!!

[Ibbo!]

Looks very promising

[Merlin66]

Yeah!

For an "investment" of A$375, not too bad......

[Ibbo!]

Very very promising then

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very promising indeed. I steered away from the cheap options in the past as they seemed to be very variable in quality, but this looks really good. I personally would use ImPPG deconvolution and sharpening with unsharp masking, rather than RS wavelets (which does do a better job on planets, I find).

[Merlin66]

Michael,

Thanks for the comments....

I'll follow up on your suggestion.

 

[Pete Presland]

A very nice start, I was reading about the different levels the other day in my "observing the Sun book" fascinating stuff.