Super Solar

[Kimboman]

Hi we have been fortunate this week to have the Sun in a good observable position from my neck of the  woods.

For the past 3 days I have been observing the Sun with my Coronado PST and what a treat it has been,I have stated before that it is a learning curve together to use it properly.

Suddenly it just clicked I had found the so called sweet spot and flares sunspots  and all manner of action was visible .

Today I have spent a few hours on and off the scope and it has been great

[Highburymark]

Excellent - lots to see at the moment - nice combination of proms and filaments.

[Kimboman]

Hi its taken some time  to get to grips with the PST  but its been very rewarding

[LDW1]

The PST is great solar observing scope for the cost, I had mine mounted on my Porta II using an L-type bracket made for applications such as that. I used mine mostly with an Svbony 10-30 zoom and sometimes with individual eps of various sizes up to about 9mm. At lower powers to reduce glare and increase contrast I use a variable polarizing filter and as a bit of a change a 56-58 green filter, they are a lot cheaper than a continuum filter and the end result is the same. Many seasoned solar visual observers do the same. I now went with the Lunt 40mm and then the Lunt 50mm scopes because I wanted to try out a pressure tuner system, not because I had to by any means.  Enjoy !

[LDW1]

Try and get some observing in between say 9:30 - 12 noon before the heat currents in the air or a breeze gets too strong. And don't be surprised that your views vary back and forth between excellent - poor as the day progresses due to that seeing affect / conditions that I just mentioned. There are sweet spots in seeing times as well and they can change quickly. 

 

[LDW1]

I just gave my Lunt LS50 its first test run using various types / sizes of eps under a fairly clear sun, with very little wind at about 9:30-10:30am. The views are great, the pressure tuner will take some getting used to but my initial impression is that the LS40 is a pretty nice scope for a lot less 100's of dollars than the 50. Not as capable as the 50 with a smaller image using eyepieces between 20mm and 9mm as I expected. If $'ers are a little tight jump on the 40mm or a PST.

Edited April 15, 2023 by LDW1