First Solar Image

[Graeme1858]

Ok, so it's a crap photo but it marks a significant milestone in that it is my first ever solar image!

I looked all over for sun spots and prominences to no avail!

9.25 f10 SCT, Altair gpcam2 290C, 0.5 focal reducer, Seymour Solar Thin Film Solar Sheet.

1000 frame ser file with Sharpcap, 50% quality sort in PIPP, 50% stacked in Registax.

Regards

Graeme

[Lowjiber]

Congratulations on your first solar image and welcome to the world of solar-heads, Graeme.

There are quite a few solar-heads here on TSS. Our Administrator (Gordon) is a quite-accomplished solar imager. The sun is smack dab in the downswing of an eleven-year solar cycle right now, so images of sunspots are few and far between. There has not been a sunspot of any kind for the past twenty days. Here's a site that will give you the daily report on sunspots... http://www.spaceweather.com/

As far as prominences go, you won't be able to see them with a white-light filter like the one you used (Seymour Solar Thin Film Solar Sheet). Proms and surface details other than sunspots can only be observed using a Hydrogen-alpha filter such as a Quark. Here's the one I use most often... https://www.daystarfilters.com/Quark.shtml

Here's a little thing I assembled for new solar-heads that you might find helpful... viewtopic.php?f=73&t=1003

Here's the image that I shot the day of the above article... viewtopic.php?f=69&t=891

If I can help, send me a PM with your email address.

Clear Skies

[Graeme1858]

Cheers Lowjiber.

It was my birthday at the beginning of August and I was lucky to get the solar filter and I'm off work this week so I had to give it a go! I got a mono guide camera too so it might be a good idea to try that out with the solar filter. An Ha filter won't be coming any time soon so I'll keep my eye on spaceweather.com for sun spots.

I'll have a read of your tutorial, thanks. There's only one question on my mind at the moment. What's the best focusing method? Just by eye? The Bahtinov mask won't be much use or FWHM. I used Contrast (Edge) Detection in Sharpcap but the edge is not too well defined. And I used Brightness Range and Fourier Detail but with a blurry lucky image video there doesn't appear to be much precision.

Might have to take advantage of this hottest August Bank Holiday on record and go fire up the new mono camera!

Regards

Graeme

[Lowjiber]

...There's only one question on my mind at the moment. What's the best focusing method? Just by eye? The Bahtinov mask won't be much use or FWHM. I used Contrast (Edge) Detection in Sharpcap but the edge is not too well defined. And I used Brightness Range and Fourier Detail but with a blurry lucky image video there doesn't appear to be much precision.

I rely on my eye about 60% of the time for surfaces.

The Edge Detection in Sharpcap works well on surfaces, especially when one can find a surface feature (a spot is best) with a definable edge. The "trick" to using the ED is to wait a few seconds while the graph gathers enough samples to get the bars in the green. It takes a little practice like everything else in this game, but works quite well.

Once your attention gets to proms with a Ha filter, you'll likely find that your eyes are best. The proms and other stuff (spicules, etc.) just jump around too much for the ED to work well. Generally, proms are "feathery" at the edges anyway, and your eyes are best.

Here's some interesting reading...

The best solar imager in the world is a Brit named Alexandria Hart (solarnutcase). She's written extensively on all matters related to solar imaging. Here's one of her tutorials that you might find interesting: https://solarnutcase.livejournal.com/18572.html

She's also done a lot of work with the red/blue wavelength shifting with a Quark. You'll find that helpful once you dig deeper into Hydrogen-alpha imaging. You can find that information by going to her home page... https://solarnutcase.livejournal.com/

Clear Skies

[Graeme1858]

Cheers for that.

Don't think I'll be getting an Ha filter any time soon.

I'll read the solarnutcase stuff, thanks.

Here's another go with the Seymour filter using the mono camera. The resolution is much better and the focus but I think I need to get a filter wheel and wait for some sunspots!

Regards

Graeme