April 17 2021 Observations

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DeepSolar64
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April 17 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

All,
Today before observing I took a little time to tweak my SolarMax II 60. For some reason I have always had a bit of issues with the scope, mainly with the internal etalon not coming on band. It's been this way ever since I have owned the scope. No matter how I move the tuning lever it makes no difference. Due to this I rarely use it in singlestack and tune the scope in doublestack using the tilt-wheel and richview tuning ring on the DS filter. I have tried unsuccessfully to image with it though it does ok for visual use. Anyway to put a long story short I removed the peg again this time spinning the tuning ring in which the peg fits into 1.5 turns. Before this it was really loose and the peg would not stay put. I turned it until it had resistance then re-inserted the peg into the middle hole in the slot. Then I inserted an eyepiece. And it tuned on band!! I could see much detail and the filaments had depth! I got the scope up to 66.5x and could still without problem see 4 prominences and three active regions. I have never been able to exceed 50x before and even 50x very rarely. 33x is usually the max and 16x, 21.5x is usually typical. I think I could have possibly gone a bit higher today! Tomorrow I will hopefully image with it for the first time. Obviously the scope's internal etalon's tuning range was off from the factory and with my limited knowledge it took me almost two years to figure this out. :? :oops:

Session time is 2:00pm until 2:50pm EDT local time ( US ). Skies are mostly clear with good seeing. The temperature is 60F.


Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS. 16x, 21.5x, 33x, 50x and 66.5x ( Ha )
I can see three plages on the solar disc. All three now have designated numbers. AR12814 in the SW shows an embedded filament in it's bright plage. AR12815 lies just to it's east and is easy to see. AR12816 lies in the SE and shows three small filaments to the SE and SW of it. I can also see three small filaments in the south-central area of the disc.

The northeast shows a large very easy filament with another just west of it. These actually show considerable depth in the scope!

I can see 4 prominences on the limb. Bright ones in the SE and NW and two fainter ones in the SW.

The mottles show nice contrast today.


Orion 70mm Solar Telescope. 25x, 50x and 62.5x ( WL )
I can see the faculae to all three AR systems. Easy in AR12814, difficult in AR12815 and easy in AR12816. I can see three pores in AR12814 and two in AR12815. They are small and hard to see. I see three much larger spots in AR12816 running diagonally SE-NW. The solar granulation is easily seen today.

Carpe Diem!

James

GONG_SDO_4-17-21.gif
GONG_SDO_4-17-21.gif (1009.77 KiB) Viewed 360 times


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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by dhkaiser »

Nice report and good news with your scope.


Dan
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DeepSolar64
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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

I had turned the etalon before and placed the peg in a different position with little difference. This time I turned it further and replaced the peg, with a noticeable improvement. I see no reason why it would not work with imaging. I can see the solar features easily. Hopefully tomorrow I will meet success.


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
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Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by solarnoob »

Thanks for the report; glad you were able to resolve the issue with your DS60.
Frank


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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

It looked good visually today. If the weather allows I hope for success tomorrow imaging.


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
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Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
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Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by DJD »

Good news with the scope, hope you get some seeing to have a play today.
Best wishes,
David


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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by MAURITS »

Thanks for the update James, it's always the first post that I read ... 😀


Regards,
Maurits

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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by AndiesHandyHandies »

Hi

Glad you found an improvement with the tuning.

Cheers. Andrew.


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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by EGRAY_OBSERVATORY »

Well done on getting a result at last James.
I await you first captures with it..

Cheers
Terry


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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by MapleRidge »

Great to read your report James!

Also good to hear you got your tuning fixed up too.

Brian


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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by eroel »

James, thanks for the report.
Took some shots too.
Regards,
Eric.


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Re: April 17 2021 Observations

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Thanks everyone for your kind comments and input. I will post today's images using the SMII60 and Orion70 solar telescopes shortly.


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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