Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

this is the main message area for anything solar :)
Post Reply
User avatar
MalVeauX
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 1858
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 7:58 pm
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1360 times

Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MalVeauX »

Heya,

Woke up to a fairly clear sky with some scattered clouds and some mediocre seeing. The large filament persists and the plage area is bright still. No large prominences and no sunspots currently. First light with a new setup that I've been building. This one centers around a C8 Edge HD SCT telescope with a full aperture Aires tri-band D-ERF for high resolution feature imaging and a masked ST80 for full disc imaging with my Quark Chromosphere and ASI174MM camera with various combinations of focal reducers. Still trying to sort everything out, it's definitely different imaging with it, but managed to get a "first light" with the system to at least show it's functioning.

B&W:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Color:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Earth Scale:
EarthScale_01.jpg
EarthScale_01.jpg (118.32 KiB) Viewed 2294 times
Equipment:

C8 Edge HD SCT equipped with Aires 8" Tri-band D-ERF
Daystar Quark Chromosphere
ST80 (masked to 60mm)
ASI174MM + 0.5x Focal Reducer
SolarSetup_02212019.jpg
SolarSetup_02212019.jpg (45.73 KiB) Viewed 2301 times
C8Edge_DERF_ST80_02212019.jpg
C8Edge_DERF_ST80_02212019.jpg (33.24 KiB) Viewed 2301 times
X10S1125-copy.jpg
X10S1125-copy.jpg (58.74 KiB) Viewed 2301 times
X10S1124-copy.jpg
X10S1124-copy.jpg (51.2 KiB) Viewed 2301 times
focuser_C8Edge.jpg
focuser_C8Edge.jpg (32.99 KiB) Viewed 2301 times
Very best,


Astrophil
Almost There...
Almost There...
Posts: 903
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2018 2:00 am
Been thanked: 581 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by Astrophil »

Hey Marty,

Wow! Nice setup. I've been waiting to see it come together. That's a great D-ERF and mounting cell. First light look pretty good and I can't wait to see more from that scope.
Congrats

Phil


User avatar
MAURITS
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 8507
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:37 pm
Location: Belgium
Has thanked: 2412 times
Been thanked: 4786 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MAURITS »

Very nice new equipment Marty, wish you a lot of happy moments and beautiful images ...


Regards,
Maurits

Vista del Cielo Observatory

www.vistadelcielo.be
User avatar
Carbon60
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 14205
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:33 pm
Location: Lancashire, UK
Has thanked: 8415 times
Been thanked: 8161 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by Carbon60 »

Very nice, Marty.

It’s always so satisfying to get a good first light to prove out the setup.

Stu.


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
User avatar
marktownley
Librarian
Librarian
Posts: 42270
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Brierley Hills, UK
Has thanked: 20426 times
Been thanked: 10243 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by marktownley »

Looks good Marty!


Image
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
User avatar
MalVeauX
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 1858
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 7:58 pm
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1360 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MalVeauX »

Thanks all,

I still have to figure out this imaging train, it's sub-optimal right now. Transmission is good. I easily do 5ms with zero gain with just the D-ERF and Quark with a 70% histogram still, which is good, with a 0.5x focal reducer. Without the focal reducer, imaging at F42~44 is too large of an imaging scale for my IMX174 pixel size. So F21~F22 with the focal reducer should be near optimal for the IMX174 pixel size. The problem is getting that F21 without big vignetting. In my previous setup, I could do this without much vignetting. But in this setup, placement of the focal reducer results in vignetting that is severe. I have to play around with distance of the focal reducer to the sensor to get it right. I don't mind a little vignetting, but heavy vignetting hurts the FOV when its this narrow, big time.

I will eventually add the 0.7x focal reducer for the Edge series, for night time use. But I may toy around with it for solar too, to widen the FOV on really large subjects (like this filament is so big I cannot frame it up without heavily reducing the EFL without doing a mosaic).

Right now the issue is that the focal reducer is too close to the sensor, I get no vignetting, but the image scale is too large still (it's not 0.5x). But when it's farther from the sensor, the vignetting is quite strong. But, I likely have it too far from the sensor (I think my spacer is 1.5" so 75mm or so?). I'm thinking of getting a 25mm spacer to test out.

Very best,


bart1805
Almost There...
Almost There...
Posts: 636
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:04 pm
Location: The Netherlands
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by bart1805 »

Nice! Looking forward to your first try in CaK!


User avatar
MalVeauX
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 1858
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 7:58 pm
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1360 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MalVeauX »

Working on that next, will likely try it around F20 for the Cak, and then last I will try to get a 430nm filter for white light, but that's low on my list right now since this aperture isn't truly going to show off the iron bits in Gband convection cells (I think 10" is minimum to really start seeing them clearly if I recall?). So for now, I'd be happy with HA and Cak and just standard white light (maybe continuum UV-A) for spots & cells.

But one piece at a time. Everything is just so dang expensive.

Very best,


bart1805
Almost There...
Almost There...
Posts: 636
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:04 pm
Location: The Netherlands
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by bart1805 »

F/20 with the pixel size of the 174MM seems a bit on the low side if you want high resolution.


User avatar
MalVeauX
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 1858
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 7:58 pm
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1360 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MalVeauX »

bart1805 wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:37 pm F/20 with the pixel size of the 174MM seems a bit on the low side if you want high resolution.
Agreed, for the pixel size, just depends on seeing. When seeing is questionable, I lower image scale so I walk away with at least something. If seeing allows, sure, would love to image at F28~30!

Very best,


User avatar
eroel
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 9408
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:45 pm
Location: México D.F.
Been thanked: 4904 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by eroel »

Marty:
Very nice setup and super first light.
Best wishes,
Eric.


User avatar
Montana
Librarian
Librarian
Posts: 34560
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:25 pm
Location: Cheshire, UK
Has thanked: 17667 times
Been thanked: 8788 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by Montana »

Very nice images indeed :bow congrats on the kit :hamster:

Alexandra


User avatar
MapleRidge
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 10199
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:58 pm
Location: Cambray, ON Canada
Has thanked: 64 times
Been thanked: 4340 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MapleRidge »

These first light images form the C8 are very good, and the FD shots from the ST80 are coming out very well :bow

Brian


Brian Colville

Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums

10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM

2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
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
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
User avatar
ffellah
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 11171
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:46 pm
Location: Westport, CT USA
Has thanked: 9144 times
Been thanked: 6025 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by ffellah »

Great images for a first try, Marty

Franco


User avatar
mattwastell
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 5005
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:35 am
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 72 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by mattwastell »

Great first out session - looks like you were dodging clouds a fair bit! Happy second light.


Matt Wastell



Look up, look good!



http://www.pbase.com/mattwastell
User avatar
marktownley
Librarian
Librarian
Posts: 42270
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Brierley Hills, UK
Has thanked: 20426 times
Been thanked: 10243 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by marktownley »

Hi Marty,

I bought the dedicated 0.7x Edge HD reducer for my 8" HaT just before the close of last years solar season and was very pleased with the results. My Quark seems to really like f7 as a starting point. I am then able to use my Baader 0.7x solar telecompressor after the quark which gets me around f22 without adverse vignetting on my 174 size sensor.

Agreed this is somewhat undersampling with these large pixels, but when the seeing is not what you'd like it gives more usable imaging sessions.

Mark


Image
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
User avatar
MapleRidge
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 10199
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:58 pm
Location: Cambray, ON Canada
Has thanked: 64 times
Been thanked: 4340 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MapleRidge »

Hi Mark...

Good to hear the reducer/Quark combo works well for you.

I was wondering how you have the Quark mounted behind the reducer? They have an ideal spacing behind the reducer and I wonder if the camera/Quark is sitting in the 146mm spacing behind the reducer (146mm is the spacing for my C9.25HD)? Since the FOV is relatively small compared to a deep sky setup the effects of not matching the ideal spacing my not be as critical since the camera is only looking in the centre of the field.

Bedsides the spacing I cannot get my Edge to reach focus with the DSII mod at F7 since the filter mount puts the etalon too far back to allow the mirror to focus. I was hoping the F7 would work better than the F10 which produced a very small sweet spot (the DSII is designed for a F7 light cone like the LS80T it was designed for).

Are you using a crayford style focuser or just the built in mirror shift focuser?

Thanks,
Brian


Brian Colville

Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums

10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM

2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
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
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
User avatar
MalVeauX
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 1858
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 7:58 pm
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1360 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MalVeauX »

marktownley wrote: Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:32 am Hi Marty,

I bought the dedicated 0.7x Edge HD reducer for my 8" HaT just before the close of last years solar season and was very pleased with the results. My Quark seems to really like f7 as a starting point. I am then able to use my Baader 0.7x solar telecompressor after the quark which gets me around f22 without adverse vignetting on my 174 size sensor.

Agreed this is somewhat undersampling with these large pixels, but when the seeing is not what you'd like it gives more usable imaging sessions.

Mark
My 0.7x Edge reducer is on the way. I'm going to want it for DSO as well as other applications. So I should be able to test it sometime within a week or so as another option. My Quark was quite happy at F10 and transmission was good. I just had issues with the placement of the focal reducer and vignetting. Too close to the sensor, no vignetting, but appropriately focal reduced and way oversampled. Too far, and it vignetted hard, and seemed more than the appropriate amount of focal reducing producing a tiny scale. I have some spacers coming so I can try different distances to find a happy spot. Or maybe a combination of the Edge reducer and another focal reducer, like you did.

Mind linking to that Baader 0.7x Telecompressor for reference?

Very best,


User avatar
marktownley
Librarian
Librarian
Posts: 42270
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Brierley Hills, UK
Has thanked: 20426 times
Been thanked: 10243 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by marktownley »



Image
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
User avatar
MalVeauX
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Way More Fun to Share It!!
Posts: 1858
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 7:58 pm
Location: Florida
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1360 times

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by MalVeauX »

Thanks,

Looks like this is the one over here?

https://www.highpointscientific.com/baa ... sor-cmprsr

I'll have to watch for that. I like the idea of it. Don't like the idea of the cost of two reducers (the edge & the baader, sheesh!) :D

Very best,


User avatar
marktownley
Librarian
Librarian
Posts: 42270
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:27 pm
Location: Brierley Hills, UK
Has thanked: 20426 times
Been thanked: 10243 times
Contact:

Re: Today's Filament & Plage, Full Disc | HA | Feb 21 2019

Post by marktownley »

Yup, that's the one Marty. I didn't like the idea of 2 reducers either, but it works ;)


Image
http://brierleyhillsolar.blogspot.co.uk/
Solar images, a collection of all the most up to date live solar data on the web, imaging & processing tutorials - please take a look!
Post Reply