February 16 2021 Observations

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DeepSolar64
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February 16 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Session time is Noon to 12:45pm EST local time ( US ). The skies are partly cloudy with below average seeing. The temperature is 37F.


Coronado SolarMax II 60DS. 16x and 22x ( Ha )
I see two easy filaments in the SW quadrant of the disc. With a bit more difficulty I can see four other filaments in the SE quadrant. I can see three prominences on the limb. Two in the NE and a faint one in the SE.

The mottles are visible across the disc but are a bit soft on contrast today.


Orion 70mm Solar Telescope. 25x ( WL )
Blank disc. No detail.


Last night I got a Windows 8.1 machine up and running and loaded SharpCap and Registax 6 on it as well as the ZWO drivers and software for my ZWO ASI178MM monochrome camera. Now to make a shroud for the computer and prepare to start imaging to supplement my visual work. Hopefully now it will be soon. I just need time and warmer sunny weather to start playing with it. It does have a USB3 port so runs the camera smoothly.

Carpe Diem!

James

GONGCerroTololoHa_2-16-21.jpg
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SDOHMIc_2-16-21.jpg
SDOHMIc_2-16-21.jpg (49.26 KiB) Viewed 255 times


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by marktownley »

Thanks for the report James! Glad you got some sun, it is quiet apart from the prominences at the moment. Good to hear you starting to fire up the camera, for years I just used a cardboard box as a light shroud for my laptop :lol:


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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

marktownley wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:12 pm Thanks for the report James! Glad you got some sun, it is quiet apart from the prominences at the moment. Good to hear you starting to fire up the camera, for years I just used a cardboard box as a light shroud for my laptop :lol:
I was thinking of a cardboard box or plastic tote.


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by EGRAY_OBSERVATORY »

Thanks for the report James.

Win 8.1 is well-good for the imaging and looking forward to see your results.

Cheers
Terry


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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by Stardust5858 »

Great James, look forward to seeing your images.


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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by MapleRidge »

Thanks for the update James :bow

Hope the imaging comes together without too many hiccups ;)

Brian


Brian Colville

Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada

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10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
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Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Thanks for the imaging encouragement everyone. The whole bit seems a bit complex and bewildering to me but I am gonna give it a whirl. I don't intend to stop my visual sessions here but would like to be able to re-enforce my work more with my own images and not relying on GONG and SDO imagery so much, though I will always find those useful. I admire the beautiful work of the fine imagers we have here and I wonder how I will ever fit in with such a skilled crowd.

I did hook the ZWO camera up to the laptop for a short time today at the end of my session and inserted it into the blocking diagonal. It came to focus the best I could tell but the sun had found the trees and high clouds had found the sun so my view wasn't a good one. Next to capture an image. Do a video. Stack images. Whew I have a lot to learn. It is nice to know that I am in good company of a bunch of skilled individuals.


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by rsfoto »

Hi James,

Well done. Have not been able to open the roof of my Observatory as all day long we have winds up to 60 km/h ...


regards Rainer

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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

rsfoto wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 4:06 pm Hi James,

Well done. Have not been able to open the roof of my Observatory as all day long we have winds up to 60 km/h ...
My weather here has been poor over the last couple of weeks too. It's really slowed down my observations. You have high winds and I have ice forecast for tonight.


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by Montana »

Well done James :hamster:

I would recommend loading up FireCapture (for acquisition), Autostakkert 3 for stacking and ImPPG for sharpening. You need to give all the software a try and pick which one you like best :)

Alexandra


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DeepSolar64
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Re: February 16 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Montana wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 6:50 pm Well done James :hamster:

I would recommend loading up FireCapture (for acquisition), Autostakkert 3 for stacking and ImPPG for sharpening. You need to give all the software a try and pick which one you like best :)

Alexandra

I have Autostakkert3 already loaded but I still need to load/install Firecapture and ImPPG. I also need to install GIMP on my laptop. I still have work to do.

Thanks for the suggestions Alexandra.

James


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

Image Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
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