Solar Session with the Starfield 102

[Mr Spock]

This lunchtime I got the Starfield 102mm ED f7 out for some solar, along with the Lunt diagonal and continuum filter.

Woah! There was a huge string of sunspots right across the surface. Amazing!

What was more pleasing still was the scope. At times, when the seeing settled for a moment, I had some of the best views ever. Even better than a (brief) look through a Tak I had a while ago.
The spots were etched in fine relief with more detail than I could grasp; nice and black too with good contrast on the lighter areas. There were light patches everywhere, and granulation. What a sight!

Good news also is the recently purchased SLVs lived up to their reputation. Altogether a very satisfying session. It's a shame my lunchbreak is so short 

[Stu]

Excellent stuff Michael! You really can’t beat a good 4” apo and Herschel Wedge for white light solar, the detail can be staggering.

In defence of my Tak, the conditions when you viewed were pretty poor with little detail visible. Mark and I had much better views the following day when the seeing improved and the sun was better placed. That says it all really, seeing conditions make a huge difference and your scope will show you some amazing sights I’m sure.

[Mr Spock]

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

In defence of my Tak, the conditions when you viewed were pretty poor with little detail visible. Mark and I had much better views the following day when the seeing improved and the sun was better placed. That says it all really, seeing conditions make a huge difference and your scope will show you some amazing sights I’m sure.

Agreed. My scope has been very similar or worse - until today. Seeing conditions here have been shocking but today I had fleeting glimpses of what the scope is capable of. 
I can't wait until the sun has some elevation. It's only just above the garden fence at the moment.

[Franklin]

The morning Sun was spoilt by poor seeing but became very steady after 10.00am. Amazing amount of detail like you say and it will get better when the Sun is higher. The problem with the Winter Sun is that you want to try and observe early, before the Sun heats up the surroundings, but then it's too low in the sky.

[Gonariu]

Post canceled.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Gonariu
Off topic intervention

[johninderby]

Was intending to do some white light solar this lunchtime but the clouds moved in. Oh heck or something like that.🤬

The optics in these new scopes are rather good I think and have the edge in sharpness and contrast over the SW doublets. My Tecnosky 125 gave me my best ever white light views recently. 👍🏻

[John]

32 minutes ago, johninderby said:

....The optics in these new scopes are rather good I think and have the edge in sharpness and contrast over the SW doublets. My Tecnosky 125 gave me my best ever white light views recently. 👍🏻

It would be really interesting if somebody could do an in depth back to back comparison of one of these newer ED doublets and the Skywatcher Pro equivalent

Skywatcher do appear to have rested on their laurels over the past few years. I think the Starfield 102 ED is currently exactly the same price as the Skywatcher Evostar ED100 Pro. The Starfield certainly does look a more attractive package.

 

 

[johninderby]

Yes I would like to see a side by side comparison. Also find that with my 125 it will take higher magnification than the SW120. Notice the 120ED is now a few quid more than the Tecnosky 125 so hard to see a reason to buy a 120ED new nowadays. Wonder if there will be a Starfield 125 before much longer. 🤔

Edited December 15, 2021 by johninderby

[FLO]

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

My Tecnosky 125 gave me my best ever white light views recently. 👍🏻

 

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

Also find that with my 125 it will take higher magnification than the SW120. Notice the 120ED is now a few quid more than the Tecnosky 125 so hard to see a reason to buy a 120ED new nowadays. Wonder if there will be a Starfield 125 before much longer. 🤔

John, I know you are keen to discuss your telescope but this is Mr Spock's Starfield 102 discussion. I don't think we should hijack it 🙂 

Steve 

[Mr Spock]

Just had some great views of the moon with it too 

[Sunshine]

Sounds like an awesome solar session, Hmmm, is a solar wedge next on my list? I'll have to entice my wife to buy herself something pricey first.

[Highburymark]

Good to hear these scopes perform well on the Sun. There’s a strong argument for preferring a 4” refractor over a 5” for white light solar under UK skies - copes with average seeing more effectively, so decent views can be enjoyed more often throughout the day rather than just in the morning or early evening as with the larger scope. 

[Mr Spock]

I’m not sure an extra 20mm is going to make much difference anyway. 

It’s clear to me for solar the Starfield  102 gets the job done.  

[StuartT]

On 15/12/2021 at 17:21, Mr Spock said:

This lunchtime I got the Starfield 102mm ED f7 out for some solar, along with the Lunt diagonal and continuum filter.

Woah! There was a huge string of sunspots right across the surface. Amazing!

What was more pleasing still was the scope. At times, when the seeing settled for a moment, I had some of the best views ever. Even better than a (brief) look through a Tak I had a while ago.
The spots were etched in fine relief with more detail than I could grasp; nice and black too with good contrast on the lighter areas. There were light patches everywhere, and granulation. What a sight!

Good news also is the recently purchased SLVs lived up to their reputation. Altogether a very satisfying session. It's a shame my lunchbreak is so short 

This is great to hear. My Starfield 102 is being delivered tomorrow! 😃 I've bought it for solar use with a Quark chromosphere.

But I've also bought the dedicated reducer for wider field DSO views than I can get with my Esprit 150 or my SCT