sorry for lack of sun

[Pete Presland]

i only apologise for the lack of sun,as i have just bought a Astro Engineering Sol-Vu safe solar observing filter for my st80

having seen the super images on here it will give something to do during the lovely frosty clear winter days ahead

not planning on doing much visual work,but what tips would you give solar newcomer?

i am guessing if i want a orange looking image a orange filter will be needed as my Sol-Vu safe solar filter will give a white image,

as i am going to be using my trusty spc900 what are the typical settings isit going to be short avi's and stacking or single frames?

thanks pete

[jgs001]

Pete, I just colour the image afterwards... Best advice... read the instructions carefully, several times... Always check the filter. Make sure it can't come off the scope... then... focus, focus, focus... (which is actually, far harder than you'd think... you'll probably need something to cover your head and laptop so you can even see what's on it... For the SPC900.. avi's and stack.

[brianb]

Welcome to the daytime equivalent of the Lunie Bin

With a one-shot colour camera I wouldn't use a colour filter on the Sun. A UV/IR blocking filter will be useful especially when the sun is low (winter). If you want a "colour" image I'd colourize it in post processing (this even works with mono cameras like the ones I use).

Exposures should be reasonably short; keep the gain turned down, turn the gamma down a bit (or the contrast up) to make it easier to focus and to improve the chances of registering subtle details like faculae & granulation; shoot lots & lots of frames in your movies & stack only a small proportion of the better ones, this is to help deal with the wobbly seeing which always seems to go with solar observing. I usually stack 400 out of 2000 or, if the seeing is worse than average, 500 out of 3000 with the gain turned up a bit to get a very short exposure.

[Pete Presland]

thanks john for the advice "focus" seems to be the key to all imaging,along side the seeing conditions.

love the animations you have been doing,easy to forget the sun rotates as well

what are your typical webcam settings ? exposure ect..

pete

[jgs001]

I've tried once with the 5v (the rest were all SLR single frame images)... I used the fastest frame rate and minimal gain. I captured 1800 frames and used the best 25% (only because the capture software will only create avi's of 2Gb)... I probably ought to play with the FITS setting...

[SeedyF]

Bunny - i posted a couple picks in the last couple of weeks taken with the spc900. I will post the settings (using sharpcap) later if it helps. I am at wotk now about to get busted fir posting on web forums instead of working

focusing can be a pain especially when the seeing isnt too good. But good luck its very rewarding. And dont worry about ruining it for the rest of us.........

[SeedyF]

Pete, I just colour the image afterwards... ... you'll probably need something to cover your head and laptop so you can even see what's on it... For the SPC900.. avi's and stack.

Or you could knock up one of these little beauties as featured in sky at night magazine

[Pete Presland]

liking it a lot,i will put on the list with the observing chair

[SeedyF]

liking it a lot,i will put on the list with the observing chair

The instructions (I made it myself if it's not clear) were on a PDF on the coverdisc, I can post it if your inclined to make one.

As for my solar shots from the weekend this is them http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-solar/117895-my-favourite-sunspot-year.html

The settings for the first image were;

[Philips SPC 900NC PC Camera]

Brightness=64

Contrast=32

Saturation=0

Gamma=21

ColorEnable=255

BacklightCompensation=0

Gain=15

Exposure=8

Resolution=640x480

Frame Rate (fps)=10.00

Colour Space / Compression=I420

And the second - the spc 900 through a 2x Barlow

Brightness=64

Contrast=32

Saturation=0

Gamma=21

ColorEnable=255

BacklightCompensation=0

Gain=15

Exposure=5

Resolution=640x480

Frame Rate (fps)=10.00

Colour Space / Compression=I420

But basically I just fiddled with gain and exposure until I could clearly make out the detail. I used Registax to stack it.

[jgs001]

Agree... something like that would be ideal... just need to find the time, the parts, and the storage... I've got the coverdisk somewhere... but I just used a coat slung over the chair the laptop was on and over my head...

[Pete Presland]

thanks all for the advice !

received the filter ect... today looking forward to giving it a go

[SeedyF]

thanks all for the advice !

received the filter ect... today looking forward to giving it a go

Cue 20 days of rain

[Pete Presland]

Cue 20 days of rain

went back to work today wish i had taken 1 extra day to have a play with the new toy!