Sun in White Light - AR3354 - 29/06/23

[PeterStudz]

I struggled with cloud so far from ideal conditions. And I had to wait well into the afternoon for decent brakes. But AR3354 was a beast and the only opportunity that I had here in Southampton. It was so large that we could easily spot it (my daughter joined in after school) naked eye with eclipse glasses. As usual I was doing visual and only played around with the camera towards the end of the session. At which point it was getting rather cloudy.

Skywatcher 200p Dob. BST StarGuider 15mm using iPhone 14 Pro on basic no-brand smartphone adapter. Images and video taken with the stock camera app. Edited on the phone in the stock camera app, WaveletCam and Lightroom. I experimented with taking RAW, Live and video. In some of the wobbly conditions the Live images could win over - Live takes a quick series or “burst” of images. It’s then possible to select the sharpest in a (hopefully) brief moment of better seeing. 

By the time I tried to get a close-up by trying to use the iPhone zoom for x3 the clouds started to increase and I couldn’t get a clear and steady shot. Still, not bad so included it here too. And in some ways I find that the simple short video, taken through clouds, gives a better impression of the size and scale of AR3354.

RAW Image…

 

Above RAW image cropped…

 

Live Image + iPhone x2 zoom…

 

Live image + iPhone x3 zoom…

 

Video. 4K @ 60fps…

 

 

 

[anatollorexford9]

22 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

I struggled with cloud so far from ideal conditions. And I had to wait well into the afternoon for decent brakes. But AR3354 was a beast and the only opportunity that I had here in Southampton. It was so large that we could easily spot it (my daughter joined in after school) naked eye with eclipse glasses. As usual I was doing visual and only played around with the camera towards the end of the session. At which point it was getting rather cloudy.

Skywatcher 200p Dob. BST StarGuider 15mm using iPhone 14 Pro on basic no-brand smartphone adapter. Images and video taken with the stock camera app. Edited on the phone in the stock camera app, WaveletCam and Lightroom. I experimented with taking RAW, Live and video. In some of the wobbly conditions the Live images could win over - Live takes a quick series or “burst” of images. It’s then possible to select the sharpest in a (hopefully) brief moment of better seeing. 

By the time I tried to get a close-up by trying to use the iPhone zoom for x3 the clouds started to increase and I couldn’t get a clear and steady shot. Still, not bad so included it here too. And in some ways I find that the simple short video, taken through clouds, gives a better impression of the size and scale of AR3354.

RAW Image…

 

Above RAW image cropped…

 

Live Image + iPhone x2 zoom…

 

Live image + iPhone x3 zoom… RAW image files are uncompressed image files that capture all the data from the camera's sensor without any in-camera processing. They offer greater flexibility for editing and allow more control over the final image. In this case, the author experimented with capturing RAW images of the AR3354 using the iPhone 14 Pro.
After capturing the RAW image, the author used various editing apps on the phone to enhance the image. He mentioned that he used the stored camera app, WaveletCam and Lightroom for editing. These apps likely provided tools for adjusting exposure, contrast, sharpness, and other parameters to bring out sunspot detail. Besides that I managed to do some writing about it with the help of https://phdessay.com/essay-type/persuasive/ more specifically a persuasive writing for college.
Although the author faced challenges with cloudy conditions, he managed to capture some decent photos and even a short video with the AR3354. The video, despite being shot through clouds, gave a better sense of the size and dimension of the sunspot. This highlights the author's ability to adapt and make the most of the available conditions.

 

Video. 4K @ 60fps…

 

 

 

This one really looks good, as a beginner I am amazed at how high performance telescopes are. Although you say you can't focus, I have to say that these pictures look perfect and here you have what to look for.

[bosun21]

On 05/07/2023 at 15:31, PeterStudz said:

I struggled with cloud so far from ideal conditions. And I had to wait well into the afternoon for decent brakes. But AR3354 was a beast and the only opportunity that I had here in Southampton. It was so large that we could easily spot it (my daughter joined in after school) naked eye with eclipse glasses. As usual I was doing visual and only played around with the camera towards the end of the session. At which point it was getting rather cloudy.

Skywatcher 200p Dob. BST StarGuider 15mm using iPhone 14 Pro on basic no-brand smartphone adapter. Images and video taken with the stock camera app. Edited on the phone in the stock camera app, WaveletCam and Lightroom. I experimented with taking RAW, Live and video. In some of the wobbly conditions the Live images could win over - Live takes a quick series or “burst” of images. It’s then possible to select the sharpest in a (hopefully) brief moment of better seeing. 

By the time I tried to get a close-up by trying to use the iPhone zoom for x3 the clouds started to increase and I couldn’t get a clear and steady shot. Still, not bad so included it here too. And in some ways I find that the simple short video, taken through clouds, gives a better impression of the size and scale of AR3354.

RAW Image…

 

Above RAW image cropped…

 

Live Image + iPhone x2 zoom…

 

Live image + iPhone x3 zoom…

 

Video. 4K @ 60fps…

 

 

 

Nice captures Peter. On my short adventure into the world of solar observing I found that the granulation became more visible when using high magnification. If I were to revisit solar I would probably combine the low power disc views with high magnification views of sunspots etc.

[PeterStudz]

On 07/07/2023 at 23:55, bosun21 said:

Nice captures Peter. On my short adventure into the world of solar observing I found that the granulation became more visible when using high magnification. If I were to revisit solar I would probably combine the low power disc views with high magnification views of sunspots etc.

Thanks! And yes, I’ve also noticed that the granulation does become more visible at higher magnification. Although you can often make it out, it doesn’t always come out in a single smartphone image. Interesting idea and coincidently I’ve also been playing around with creating composite images. Recently with Jupiter and its moons. As the weather is awful I might go and post some of the images.