Looking for sunspots

[StuartT]

I can't seem to see any of the sunspots supposed to be there at the moment. 😕

These were taken at prime focus of my 20cm SCT with a Baader white light filter on the front and a Baader continuum filter at the back. Why are they so featureless?

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by StuartT

[David Smith]

They look a little out of focus. What camera did you use?

 

[StuartT]

1 minute ago, David Smith said:

They look a little out of focus. What camera did you use?

 

yes, it's really hard to focus. I am using an EOS 750D. I magnified the live view mode to try and get the edge as sharp as I could, but it still looks off to me

[johninderby]

Yes do look a bit out of focus and perhaps a variable polarising filter would help to darken the image a bit.

Not that there is much to see today anyway. Here’s an image grabbed from Solar Monitor this morning that shows one tiny sunspot.I use the app to check first before observing so I can get an idea of what there is to see.

Edited March 27, 2021 by johninderby

[StuartT]

aha! I think I got it!

 

[David Smith]

Having used an 1100D to image the Sun, focusing is very tricky. The most reliable method I found was to connect the DSLR to my laptop so I could focus using the live image on the laptop screen. If there was a decent sized spot / group (spots that are visible at the moment are relatively tiny compared to the size of the disk as John mentioned above) then I was able to use live view on the LCD. John mentions an ND filter as the image you posted is possibly a bit over-exposed, so get the exposure right down, my raw files looked very, very dark straight off-camera. You don't mention exposure time but it was rare for me to use anything slower than 1/2000 second with my 120mm frac.

[Stuart1971]

50 minutes ago, StuartT said:

I can't seem to see any of the sunspots supposed to be there at the moment. 😕

These were taken at prime focus of my 20cm SCT with a Baader continuum filter. Why are they so featureless?

 

Just that one filter.....or a white light filter too, I do hope you are not just using the Baader filter....😮😮😮😮

[StuartT]

1 hour ago, David Smith said:

Having used an 1100D to image the Sun, focusing is very tricky. The most reliable method I found was to connect the DSLR to my laptop so I could focus using the live image on the laptop screen. If there was a decent sized spot / group (spots that are visible at the moment are relatively tiny compared to the size of the disk as John mentioned above) then I was able to use live view on the LCD. John mentions an ND filter as the image you posted is possibly a bit over-exposed, so get the exposure right down, my raw files looked very, very dark straight off-camera. You don't mention exposure time but it was rare for me to use anything slower than 1/2000 second with my 120mm frac.

Only problem is I have a 750D and it can't be connected wirelessly to a laptop with EOS Utility for some reason. And I really don't want to have to buy the world's longest USB cable! (If you know a solution, please shout!). Also, I don't have an electric focuser on the scope, so I don't think I could do that.

That image was 1/60s at ISO 200

Edited March 27, 2021 by StuartT

[Nigella Bryant]

Yep you definitely have it. I just tweaked your image a bit. Hope you don't mind.

[StuartT]

2 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Yep you definitely have it. I just tweaked your image a bit. Hope you don't mind.

Ooh! thank you! What did you do?

[Stuart1971]

1 hour ago, Stuart1971 said:

Just that one filter.....or a white light filter too, I do hope you are not just using the Baader filter....😮😮😮😮

And why was it so funny, you mentioned just the one filter, which is extremely dangerous...?

[StuartT]

16 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

And why was it so funny, you mentioned just the one filter, which is extremely dangerous...?

apologies. I thought you were joking. yes indeed I had solar film on the front of the scope. I'd be surprised if you could get any kind of image without it (it would completely destroy the sensor)

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, StuartT said:

Ooh! thank you! What did you do?

I lowered the contrast, adjusted the clarity and saturation. 

[StuartT]

1 minute ago, Nigella Bryant said:

I lowered the contrast, adjusted the clarity and saturation. 

Smashing. Thanks. I still need to figure out the right exposure I reckon. 

But focusing is def still my biggest issue.

[Stuart1971]

34 minutes ago, StuartT said:

apologies. I thought you were joking. yes indeed I had solar film on the front of the scope. I'd be surprised if you could get any kind of image without it (it would completely destroy the sensor)

Well you would be surprised, and the fact you mentioned all your kit and a Baader filter, but failed to mention the white light filter....made me wonder....👍🏼

[Nigella Bryant]

31 minutes ago, StuartT said:

Smashing. Thanks. I still need to figure out the right exposure I reckon. 

But focusing is def still my biggest issue.

I think a little less exposure, the original is over saturated. Focusing can be difficult but if you get the exposure right focus on the limb until it is sharp.