It is quite a challenge to get any imaging done this time of year as I have to catch the Sun as it passes between rooftops. This is the problem doing astronomy in central London. On the positive side, the cool autumn air appears to have much less turbulence. During the summer, I could only image for a short period very early in the morning before things heated up too much. I did three sets of scans (consuming 300GB of disc space) between 07:59 UTC and 09:59. The last set was the best, as it turned out.
The 1st image below (the full disc) is best looked at by opening the image in a new tab. The 2nd one (inverted) is best seen by clicking on the image.
Using Ken Harrison's SimSpec SHG spreadsheet, the resolving power is 56,300, the spectral resolution is 0.12 angstrom, and the best spatial resolution is 1.4 arcsec. I think due to the cool weather conditions, the spatial resolution was amongst the best I have so far achieved with the SHG technique.
Instrument update: I finally received the ZWO electronic focuser (ordered directly from the company) and found it to be very useful to get the telescope focus just right. I allows making very small back and forth focus adjustments without causing telescope vibration. I used ASCOM via FireCapture and the software allows for backlash compensation, which also helps considerably. I had also intended to use the electronic focuser to do remote focusing while indoors, but the shortness of this imaging session meant I had no time to even go indoors.
H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
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H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
Last edited by thesmiths on Fri Oct 07, 2022 9:31 am, edited 2 times in total.
- DeepSolar64
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Re: H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
300GB of disk space. WoW...
These look like standard Ha images through an etalon. VERY nice!!
James
These look like standard Ha images through an etalon. VERY nice!!
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
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
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
Visual Observer
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Re: H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
I've gone through 7 TB of archival hard disk storage in 2022 (this was really the first year I've done SHG work seriously). The sum total of all astronomy in 2021 that was around 2TB. At some point, I guess I will go delete some of the old SER files.
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Re: H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
It’s data intensive that’s for sure. You need BIG hard drives!!
Are they any way to configure an SHG for visual use? I bet not.
James
Are they any way to configure an SHG for visual use? I bet not.
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
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
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
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
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Re: H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
I don't think there is. If you work with a fairly short focal length (like with a 72mm f6), the scan will finish in about 5 or 6 seconds and will take a comparable amount of time to generate an image.
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Re: H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
Yes. The scanning process makes it unstable for visual use. Does anyone make an SHG, professional or amateur that will do visual or do they all use the same scanning process? I am ignorant on such matters.
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
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
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
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
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Re: H-alpha SHG, Oct 6 -- good seeing
Your SHG images are the gold star reference Douglas!
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!
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