Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

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chris1986
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Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by chris1986 »

Hello,

I just recently bougth a second hand solarscout 60ds. I actually checked it out good before i bought it. However after trying it out today i had a closer look at the etalon filter and noticed that the surface is very „spotty“. The outer surface is clean so i wonder if the filter element is defect like cracked or maybe there is mold. I attached a picture and would be glad if somebody could tell me if this is normal!

Thanks,
chris
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marktownley
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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by marktownley »

Definitely not on the outer surface? It wont clean off?


Image
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chris1986
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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by chris1986 »

Nope,

its on the other side of the surface. You can actually see it in the picture as the light reflection is smooth. Its not dust on the outside.


chris1986
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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by chris1986 »

This here was actually a first try with it yesterday without heating. The sun here is featureless (one sunspot visible) with no structure visible. However i think the other spots in the picture are pretty much the stuff on the filter
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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by marktownley »

There's nothing you can do about it then i'm afraid. It will manifest itself as the dots you see on the image. Have you tried the scope heated? Does it work?


Image
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
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chris1986
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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by chris1986 »

Thanks for the response. I bought it from an older gentleman who gave up the hobby and stored it for more than a year in his basement. I could see the spots only now when i shone a light down the filter and i feared there is no way to get it out of there. I just wondered, how it even got in there?
Also one more important question: once heated, would you expect the structure of the chromosphere to actually show? Does the temperature of the filter make such an impact (shift of +-0.5A), that the structure would suddenly just appear? I mean right now you can see no Ha at all and it acts more like a normal white light filter.

Am already regretting the purchase but i got it for 50% off of the normal price for a new one


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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by marktownley »

It's difficult to surmise what exactly the 'dots' are, it could be air bubbles in the immersion oil that separates the different elements of the etalon assembly. Any attempt at disassembly of the etalon assembly will kill it.

Once heated you should see chromosphere detail, changing the temperature will certainly change the view.


Image
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Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by chris1986 »

I guess one way to deal with the spots in post-processing would be to ise flats. But how do you do flats with an Ha telescope? Is that even a thing in solar astronomy?


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Re: Daystar SolarScout Etalon „spots“

Post by marktownley »

Yes flats are possible, lots of info here on SC about them.


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