I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

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Solar Seeker 52
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I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

INSANE!!!

Flares, filaments the contrast is just sick! I am looking forward to my 12mm ocular soon!!

Solar seeker 52. (Jason)


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Sick?

I hope you meant that in a positive way. Which SMIII is it? The 70 or 90?

James


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

DeepSolar64 wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:36 pm Sick?

I hope you meant that in a positive way. Which SMIII is it? The 70 or 90?

James
Sorry James. Sick in a good way! Lol. I got the 70mm. 90mm is way out of my price range. I will be getting the 12mm ocular this week. The view of the sun is very sharp and details are shown. My next thing is looking for a camera that will take pics or video. Any suggestions James?

Jason


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by DeepSolar64 »

I have all the Coronado Cemax oculars. My SolarMax II 60 came with the 25mm and my SMII 90 came with the whole set 25mm, 18mm and 12mm plus the Cemax barlow. I also have the 19mm and 8mm Lunt eyepieces. I also use my 20mm TeleVue plossl a lot and I also have an 18.2mm DeLite and 6mm Delos. The Orion 16mm does well on the 90.

I have a ZWO ASI178MM monochrome camera. One I am just really starting to use. Just make sure when you get a camera that it is monochrome.

I have used my Nikon D3500 and iPhone XR to some success with solar imaging but neither will come close to a dedicated USB video camera.

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

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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by marktownley »

Sounds like you're happy!


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

DeepSolar64 wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:15 am I have all the Coronado Cemax oculars. My SolarMax II 60 came with the 25mm and my SMII 90 came with the whole set 25mm, 18mm and 12mm plus the Cemax barlow. I also have the 19mm and 8mm Lunt eyepieces. I also use my 20mm TeleVue plossl a lot and I also have an 18.2mm DeLite and 6mm Delos. The Orion 16mm does well on the 90.

I have a ZWO ASI178MM monochrome camera. One I am just really starting to use. Just make sure when you get a camera that it is monochrome.

I have used my Nikon D3500 and iPhone XR to some success with solar imaging but neither will come close to a dedicated USB video camera.

James
Hi James,

Looks like you have some great scopes and know a lot about this fascinating hobby! I took note of your monochrome camera and looked at pricing. Not too expensive! How does it work? Connect to a laptop? How do the pics and video look? Why monochrome instead of color? Sorry for all the questions. I am very new at this.

Jason


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

marktownley wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 6:34 am Sounds like you're happy!
[/quote

I am! Fantastic hobby!👍🔭


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

StarHugger wrote: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:18 pm Sounds like a winner, best of luck with that 12mm!
Aaron.
Hi StarHugger

I just ordered the 12mm. I am looking forward to getting it! Thanks !

Solar seeker 52


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

Hey guys,

I am going to take another look at the sun today! It's so surreal look at active regions and filaments rolling on the sun. The solar max iii double stack 70mm is amazing scope and does a great job creating a sharp image of our sun. I'm sure the 12mm eyepiece will be even better!! I want to do pics or video next!

Sun seeker 52 (jason)


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Solar Seeker 52 wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:38 pm
DeepSolar64 wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:15 am I have all the Coronado Cemax oculars. My SolarMax II 60 came with the 25mm and my SMII 90 came with the whole set 25mm, 18mm and 12mm plus the Cemax barlow. I also have the 19mm and 8mm Lunt eyepieces. I also use my 20mm TeleVue plossl a lot and I also have an 18.2mm DeLite and 6mm Delos. The Orion 16mm does well on the 90.

I have a ZWO ASI178MM monochrome camera. One I am just really starting to use. Just make sure when you get a camera that it is monochrome.

I have used my Nikon D3500 and iPhone XR to some success with solar imaging but neither will come close to a dedicated USB video camera.

James
Hi James,

Looks like you have some great scopes and know a lot about this fascinating hobby! I took note of your monochrome camera and looked at pricing. Not too expensive! How does it work? Connect to a laptop? How do the pics and video look? Why monochrome instead of color? Sorry for all the questions. I am very new at this.

Jason
Jason,
While I have been observing in white light for many years I have only done Ha for a couple of years so I am fairly new there. The camera inserts into the blocking diagonal and connects to the computer so through the computer you see what the camera sees. Here you can adjust the brightness, gain, etc and take a capture in either a simple snapshot or in a movie ( AVI ) and stack it using stacking software like Autostakkert or Registax. I am very new at it and am learning it myself. Other more experienced imagers here will be of far more help than I.

You will find that the lower magnifications will often give the better view. Seeing often limits higher power viewing and double stack is dimmer so as magnification increases details often spread out and vanish. Single stack often holds up to magnification better, especially on bright proms and bright plages. On my SMII60 I use mostly the 25mm Cemax and 19mm Lunt eyepieces. Only occasionally the 12mm Cemax. The SMII90 holds magnification much better. I typically use the 25mm Cemax, 18mm Cemax and 12mm Cemax and it's not unusual for me to use the 8mm Lunt if seeing is good. I have used the 6mm TeleVue Delos during good seeing in single stack to get nice prominence views. Rarely do I have seeing that good! I also suspect that the etalon(s) in the 90 are of better quality than in the 60. One guy here commonly gets 60x on his 40mm PST and I rarely can reach 50x on my SMII60! WTF?? I can exceed 100x easily with no issues in my SMII90 with good seeing.

I'll attach an article on solar observing and a couple of recent pictures I have done.

Happy Observing!

James

https://www.amateurastrophotography.com ... ar-imaging



HaSMII90_SWProm_2-24-21_JP.jpg
HaSMII90_SWProm_2-24-21_JP.jpg (114.41 KiB) Viewed 620 times
HaSMII90_AR12804-5_Filaments_2-24-21_JP.jpg
HaSMII90_AR12804-5_Filaments_2-24-21_JP.jpg (724.95 KiB) Viewed 620 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
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by solarnoob »

Solar Seeker 52 wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:49 pm Hey guys,

I am going to take another look at the sun today! It's so surreal look at active regions and filaments rolling on the sun. The solar max iii double stack 70mm is amazing scope and does a great job creating a sharp image of our sun. I'm sure the 12mm eyepiece will be even better!! I want to do pics or video next!

Sun seeker 52 (jason)
If you're interested in visual, get a binoviewer, the sun looks spectacular.

Frank


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by DeepSolar64 »

I agree with that! I haven't got one yet.


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: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by MapleRidge »

Always nice to have the experience at the eyepiece support the decision to part with cash ;)

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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

I got my 12mm ocular yesterday. Amazing how sharp the view is. The sun is much closer! I love seeing the active regions come to life! I love looking at the sun since everyday is there always something different happening!

Jason


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by Solar Seeker 52 »

DeepSolar64 wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 4:46 pm
Solar Seeker 52 wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:38 pm
DeepSolar64 wrote: Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:15 am I have all the Coronado Cemax oculars. My SolarMax II 60 came with the 25mm and my SMII 90 came with the whole set 25mm, 18mm and 12mm plus the Cemax barlow. I also have the 19mm and 8mm Lunt eyepieces. I also use my 20mm TeleVue plossl a lot and I also have an 18.2mm DeLite and 6mm Delos. The Orion 16mm does well on the 90.

I have a ZWO ASI178MM monochrome camera. One I am just really starting to use. Just make sure when you get a camera that it is monochrome.

I have used my Nikon D3500 and iPhone XR to some success with solar imaging but neither will come close to a dedicated USB video camera.

James
Hi James,

Looks like you have some great scopes and know a lot about this fascinating hobby! I took note of your monochrome camera and looked at pricing. Not too expensive! How does it work? Connect to a laptop? How do the pics and video look? Why monochrome instead of color? Sorry for all the questions. I am very new at this.

Jason
Jason,
While I have been observing in white light for many years I have only done Ha for a couple of years so I am fairly new there. The camera inserts into the blocking diagonal and connects to the computer so through the computer you see what the camera sees. Here you can adjust the brightness, gain, etc and take a capture in either a simple snapshot or in a movie ( AVI ) and stack it using stacking software like Autostakkert or Registax. I am very new at it and am learning it myself. Other more experienced imagers here will be of far more help than I.

You will find that the lower magnifications will often give the better view. Seeing often limits higher power viewing and double stack is dimmer so as magnification increases details often spread out and vanish. Single stack often holds up to magnification better, especially on bright proms and bright plages. On my SMII60 I use mostly the 25mm Cemax and 19mm Lunt eyepieces. Only occasionally the 12mm Cemax. The SMII90 holds magnification much better. I typically use the 25mm Cemax, 18mm Cemax and 12mm Cemax and it's not unusual for me to use the 8mm Lunt if seeing is good. I have used the 6mm TeleVue Delos during good seeing in single stack to get nice prominence views. Rarely do I have seeing that good! I also suspect that the etalon(s) in the 90 are of better quality than in the 60. One guy here commonly gets 60x on his 40mm PST and I rarely can reach 50x on my SMII60! WTF?? I can exceed 100x easily with no issues in my SMII90 with good seeing.

I'll attach an article on solar observing and a couple of recent pictures I have done.

Happy Observing!

James

https://www.amateurastrophotography.com ... ar-imaging




HaSMII90_SWProm_2-24-21_JP.jpg


HaSMII90_AR12804-5_Filaments_2-24-21_JP.jpg
Beautiful pictures James!

Jason


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Re: I got 1 word for my new solarmax iii..

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Thank you Jason. I am just beginning on my imaging trek. I hope to get at least good enough to document the sun. Visual will always be my primary though.

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

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