14 replies to this topic

[rigel123]

I didn't notice the Ha image had some thin clouds passing by when I captured until I started processing so a tad "blotchy"!  Just a quick setup and grab before our next winter storm tonight.  It may fizzle out, you just never know!

 

Lunt LS60T DS
Orion ED80T masked to 40 mm and Lunt BF1200 CaK

 

Ha

 

Inverted

 

CaK

[havasman]

Love that filaprom.

[gstrumol]

Nice catch, Warren!

 

That's a strange blotch on the left, no? I saw it in mine and GONG's images as well.

[LuxTerra]

Any additional info on your setup? I have a double stacked LS50Tha, but the diagonal blocking filter bandpass goes off when it's cold. I've been meaning to build a heater and insulated box for it. Any help with how you've tuned your winter setup would be greatly appreciated.

[rigel123]

Love that filaprom.

Thanks!  I would have liked to have done an animation on that filaprom but the cold weather and passing clouds convinced me otherwise!

 

Nice catch, Warren!

 

That's a strange blotch on the left, no? I saw it in mine and GONG's images as well.

I noticed that too Gary, not sure what was up with that area.

 

Any additional info on your setup? I have a double stacked LS50Tha, but the diagonal blocking filter bandpass goes off when it's cold. I've been meaning to build a heater and insulated box for it. Any help with how you've tuned your winter setup would be greatly appreciated.

My recommendation is set your scope up and let it adjust to the outside temp and then tune it.  I have used a heater for the BF in the past and still saw the image go off band as time went on.  Then I tried setting up an hour before I ever tried to tune and had no issues getting it on band and it stayed that way during a 1 hour animation.  My Lunt 60mm is a tilt tuned etalon though so not sure how this might work with a pressure tune model.

[rigel123]

A bit gentler processing and work on the variations on the disk.

 

[rigel123]

And a crop and rotation of the filaments and filaprom on that SW Limb.

 

[bigdob24]

The gentler processing looks great

Dan

[rigel123]

Thanks Dan!  I think I rushed the first batch!  It also shows that strange area on the east limb that Gary referred to a bit better.  Almost like a strange arrangement of the spicules on the surface around that area.

Edited by rigel123, 11 February 2025 - 10:59 AM.

[LuxTerra]

My recommendation is set your scope up and let it adjust to the outside temp and then tune it.  I have used a heater for the BF in the past and still saw the image go off band as time went on.  Then I tried setting up an hour before I ever tried to tune and had no issues getting it on band and it stayed that way during a 1 hour animation.  My Lunt 60mm is a tilt tuned etalon though so not sure how this might work with a pressure tune model.

I will have to try that. Mine is a double stack, so front is a tilt tune and the rear is a pressure tuned. Typically, those filters don't need heated. It's the diagonal with the additional blocking filters that are problematic, but I've never tried to let everything stabilize for that long.

[astroflak88]

This looks very nice. 

[rigel123]

I will have to try that. Mine is a double stack, so front is a tilt tune and the rear is a pressure tuned. Typically, those filters don't need heated. It's the diagonal with the additional blocking filters that are problematic, but I've never tried to let everything stabilize for that long.

That was my thought that it was always the BF that was problematic, but an imager from Canada on Solar Chat never uses any heating element on his BF's and does just fine and his equipment gets a lot colder than mine!

[rigel123]

This looks very nice. 

Thanks!

[astroflak88]

Is your filter pretty even across or do you have to use flats after/add'l processing?

[rigel123]

Is your filter pretty even across or do you have to use flats after/add'l processing?

I do not use flats.  I get a bit of banding at times if I don’t take a lot of time playing with the tuning as well as the clocking of the DS etalon, but for the most part it is fairly even across the disk.  With the single stack the disk is quite even, the addition of the DS etalon shrinks the sweet spot so it is more of a challenge to get a totally even disk.  A light touch with the Dodge tool in PS helps areas that are a bit darker than the rest of the disk.