6 replies to this topic

[revans]

I think I'm getting better at tuning the double stack on my Lunt100MTDS.  My 174MM camera is OK but probably better when I put a 2x barlow on.  This afternoon after work I took a few ser clips with the Lunt using my 174MM and 178MM and sometimes used a 2x or 2.5x barlow. I'm still processing clips, but a full disk image using the 174mm camera didn't look too bad to me. Image is my Astrobin link. I collected clips with that set up for about half an hour and made an animation, but it didn't have enough activity to bother posting.
 
Rick
 

[Foc]

Yes your discs are improving!

[rigel123]

That is definitely the best disk you have posted to date. 

[gstrumol]

To paraphrase Henry Higgins: "By George, I think he's got it!"

 

 

 

I agree with Warren that this is your best disk with the LS100DS so far:

 

(click to enlarge)

 

You know this routine by now. Except for a small section on the left which is rough (probably clipping the sweet spot which it seems is inevitable now with this setup) this is an excellent match to - heck improvement over - the GONG image, as one would expect with such a scope. It's unfortunate that the prom was located where it was because it was clipped in your image. But I'm certain you would have captured it in its entirety had it been rotated a bit.

 

Bravo, sir! 

[revans]

Now for the let down... I foolishly replaced the 174MM with my 178MM and added a 2x thread on barlow for f/14.  I should have stayed with the 174MM for this. Anyway seeing was only 2/5 and putting the barlow on was probably foolish.  But anyway, this animation represents half an hour of real time this afternoon a little after 4 pm.  The link is to my Astrobin page as usual.  Sorry for the blur on the surface etc.  I'll eventually improve if I keep at it. 
 
Rick
 

[bigdob24]

Rick

Your imaging and processing is improving , good work

Dan

[revans]

One nice thing that happened just this morning is that after using PhotoShop Elements for a number of years now, I finally moved away from the Expert tab to the Guided tab which I'd previously completely ignored.  It turns out that a sort of PhotoMerge or photo stitching feature is found there.  I've not previously had a way to create panoramas by stiching photos together and was doing it manually.  This was a poor solution because I could always see the seams and there were differences in brightness and contrast caused by my manual stitching.
 
But as it turns out, PhotoShop Elements can stitch multiple solar photos into a single panoramic image.  I like my 174MM camera for use at f/7 on my Lunt100 scope because the entire solar image will fit into the largest available ROI. But that camera has 5.86 micron pixels and really should be used with 2.5x or 3x barlow if seeing will allow to avoid sampling issues (I think I understand this, but who knows...). 
 
Therefore, for a full disk image at f/7 it seems better to use  my 178MM camera with its 2.4 microns pixels. Problem is that the solar disk just will not fit into the largest available ROI with this camera.  Therefore, it is necessary to stitch two images together.  Now (as of this morning) I can do that fairly seamlessly using PhotoShop Elements.  Here is what my first try at stitching two solar images together with the 178MM using the Lunt100 looks like:
 

 
I guess the overall aesthetics of how I processed the image needs a lot of improvement, but at least the stitching itself looks well done to me.  I can't tell where one image leaves off and the other begins.  So PhotoShop Elements seems to do well at this.
 
Now maybe I can avoid cutting off prominences due to the largest ROI with the 174MM being a bit tight to fit the entire solar disk in a single shot and without re-orienting the camera I sometimes have cut some prominences off.
 
Rick