brianb11213
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 3315
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Hey, I managed to get a decent image of the spot group in white light again ... I think I know how to do this now! Trick is getting the focus right....
2009 Jun 04, 1315 UT, 80mm f/6 refractor, 4x imagemate, Baader solar film filter & Baader solar continuum filter, Imaging Source DMK41 camera, processed in Registax & Photoshop Elements. Transparency good, seeing variable, mostly poor but with fairly good intervals.
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marktownley
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/19/08
Posts: 2883
Loc: West Midlands, UK
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That is a cracking shot Brian! Nice work 
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stets
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/13/06
Posts: 2369
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very nice detail
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colinsk
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/17/08
Posts: 2170
Loc: CA
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Great! That is one of the best granulation shots I have seen. Can you offer us any focus tips?
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Mahalo,
Colin Kaminski
Coulter 10.1" Dobsonian
TV-76/Baader Film White Light
LS60T/DS50/FT/BF1200
LDX-75
AT Voyager
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DesertRat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/18/06
Posts: 1045
Loc: Valley of the Sun
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Fantastic detail, well done! Looks like you have it nailed down and are ready to go for the big ones coming.
Glenn
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Brandon 94mm f7, Televue TV102 f8.6; GM8
Baader Wedge & Filters, Coronado SM90/BF30
IM715; C11 & C14; G-11 Gemini
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mtlott
member
Reged: 07/12/08
Posts: 57
Loc: Georgia
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Very nice! So what's your trick to getting the focus sharp?
Marie
--------------------
 Atlanta, GA (white zone)
 Sharon, GA (blue zone)
BSG: They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.
J: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.
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Solar B
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/28/07
Posts: 1030
Loc: By Edinburgh , Scotland
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Its another cracker.
Brian
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" Gentlemen only ever use Refractors "
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darkstar528
Postmaster
Reged: 03/06/07
Posts: 7467
Loc: Hodgenville, Kentucky, USA
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Awesome shot!
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Blue skies,
Stephen "Darkstar" Ames
PST(#96038), VIXEN 8-24mm,CEMAX 2x Barlow, Thousand Oaks White Light Filter and a Meade Elec EP
CFI, CFII, MEI, working on EIEIO!
BAA Member
My solar site:
http://seemysunspot.com
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NickH
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/09/06
Posts: 3717
Loc: Wiltshire, UK (near StoneHenge...
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Looks like sandpaper...good shot, nicely done
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brianb11213
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 3315
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Thanks guys, compliments much appreciated.
Quote:
So what's your trick to getting the focus sharp?
Trick? None. Patience and delicacy help, though.
The following techniques I find helpful. As usual, your mileage may vary.
1. Whilst focusing, reduce the gamma (more contrast makes focusing easier) and increase the gain (allowing shorter exposures so seeing is less critical, even though noise becomes very intrusive).
2. Use the preview zoom to magnify the image to at least 200%. Use the scroll bars to view the centre of the image whilst focusing.
3. Having focused roughly, watch the screen for moments of better than usual seeing and remember how sharp the image is. Tweak the focuser very slightly. Watch for the next moment of better seeing ... If the image has become sharper, tweak in the same direction again & repeat. If it has become less sharp, tweak in the opposite direction & repeat. If the same, the focus is about right.
4. I think it may be helpful to make the last focusing movement inward so the the camera weight is acting against any backlash in the focusing mechanism.
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Jim Rosenstock
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/14/05
Posts: 4207
Loc: MD, south of the DC Nebula
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Whew...from my first read of your subject line, I thought you had dropped your glass filter! 
I'm quite pleased that it wasn't THAT kind of cracking you were speaking about!! 
Great photo....here's to many more! 
Jim
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marktownley
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/19/08
Posts: 2883
Loc: West Midlands, UK
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This sudden surge in white light observations - may have to have a go myself to keep up with the Jones's 
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John Carruthers
Skiprat
Reged: 02/02/07
Posts: 2382
Loc: Kent, UK
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Excellent work, the bar keeps going up doesn't it? must sort out a decent focuser....
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Jc
ATM 10" F6.1, 1/25th wave spec (max wavefront error +/- 1/12.6 in zone 4 of 6, sodium light )
6" F7 spec
127mm F9.4 Refractor
10 x 50 bin
ETX80 (finder)
Canon 20D
PST
DSI 1
and a curious mind
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brianb11213
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 3315
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Quote:
This sudden surge in white light observations
It's hard to get enthusiastic about a blank disc. A bit of activity, mixed with a spell of exceptional weather, works wonders.
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 4407
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Quote:
Quote:
This sudden surge in white light observations
It's hard to get enthusiastic about a blank disc. A bit of activity, mixed with a spell of exceptional weather, works wonders.
I'm afraid we're going back to a blank disk again, at least for a while. Here's the Big Bear GONG image for June 5th
This active region was never very prominent visually in WL--much more photogenic in H alpha. I think some of the excellent WL images posted on this forum could give one the the hope that the sunspots would be dark and easily visible.
I believe when they first emerged, they were dark, but faded fast. They were dim when I sketched them on June 2nd. Geoff Gaherty, an experienced and skilled observer, posted a report on the Starrynights Yahoo group June 3rd. He was unable to detect the AR in white light with an 80mm refractor at 60x, although he could easily see it in H alpha.
Oh, well--we like observing the Sun because it is so dynamic. 
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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brianb11213
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 3315
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Quote:
I'm afraid we're going back to a blank disk again, at least for a while.
Yeah, I failed to the the AR in white light today (so no image). I think at least part of the problem with a "blank disc" is that it is so hard to focus, and until you have the focus almost dead right small spots simply remain invisible. If there is something big enough to focus on, suddenly you can get the focus right & small pores become visible.
I found the spot group easily enough with my 80mm refractor x53 (same filters used for imaging) on June 1st through 4th.
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4333
Loc: Ireland
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Brilliant shot, Brian!
-- Jeff.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-125 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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gdjsky01
sage
Reged: 11/25/06
Posts: 254
Loc: Southern California
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Is this the same as Solar film Astrophysics sold? I have some of that from years ago when I had an AP APO.
Great image BTW!
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Jeff Gortatowsky
Fullerton, California
Teleport 18cm f/5.7 Truss Newt
Starsplitter 20cm f/6 4 Pole Newt
Litebox 45cm f/4.5 Truss Newt
Televue TV-101 10cm f/5.4 APO
Cave Astrola Deluxe 25cm F/6 Newtonian
Vixen/Celestron CP-80 / f/11.7 Archro
Coronado SolarMax 60 f/6.6 H-Alpha
Orion 100mm f/6 archomat w/ Lunt B600 CaK Module
Starmaster 11 ELT 28cm f/4.5 -sold 
TMB-180 18cm F/9 - sold
AP130EDT 13cm F/8 - sold
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 4407
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Quote:
Quote:
I'm afraid we're going back to a blank disk again, at least for a while.
Yeah, I failed to the the AR in white light today (so no image). I think at least part of the problem with a "blank disc" is that it is so hard to focus, and until you have the focus almost dead right small spots simply remain invisible. If there is something big enough to focus on, suddenly you can get the focus right & small pores become visible.
Have you heard of the focus aid called the Hartmann Mask? I've never used one, but it's supposed to be quite helpful.
Quote:
I found the spot group easily enough with my 80mm refractor x53 (same filters used for imaging) on June 1st through 4th.
Geoff might have had poor transparency--he didn't mention it in his report.
I thought that looking through Baader imaging film visually was a no-no. Please reassure me that I misunderstood you.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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brianb11213
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 3315
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Quote:
I thought that looking through Baader imaging film visually was a no-no. Please reassure me that I misunderstood you.
You misunderstood me. The Baader solar film that I'm using for imaging is the visual (ND5.0) variety. I can't find a source of the photographic (ND3.8) stuff except in 1m x 0.5m sheets, and I don't need that much. Actually making a filter with ND3.8 film is the next step for me, the exposure that I needed for the image at the head of this thread was 1/19 sec, with the ND3.8 film that would be cut to ~1/250 sec which would be much better for coping with poor seeing. If anyone knows of a source of ND3.8 solar film in A4 size sheets please let me know.
As for a "no-no", well, there's no way that I'd condone this, but I think the combination of ND3.8 film with solar continuum filter (which has some density in its own right) would be uncomfortable but not necessarily dangerous, at any rate for occasional use for short periods. AFAIK the "photographic" variety is intended to be used with reflex cameras - when you are looking through it for image composition and focusing - as well as with imaging systems using an electronic display for viewing in real time.
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