Saturday 16 March 2024

Sun 9th March

A new filter tilter now allows further fine tuning of the CaK system... 2024-03-09_03-25-15 CaK FD 40mm f15 zwo183mm ar13604 CaK 66mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm ar13599 CaK 66mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm Just need some decent spells of sunshine to be able to experiment with this a bit more, the setup has promise!

Sun 3rd March

Ha FD DS50 2x cemax zwo183mm G Band FD60mm f10 zwo183mm CaK Proms 40mm f15 zwo183mm CaK FD 40mm f15 zwo183mm ar13600 CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm ar13598 CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm ar13595 CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm

Saturday 2 March 2024

Sundays Trio of Disks 25th February

CaK FD 40mm f15 zwo183mm ar13590 CaK 66mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm GBand FD 60mm f10 zwo183mm Ha FD DS50 2x cemax zwo183mm

Calcium Saturday 24th February

The weather forecast for saturday had steadily got better as last week went on, but the weather man in me was actually slightly more optimistic for something better still. Turns out I was right, I woke to a clear, frosty and icey morning with nice blue skies. Seeing was forecast to be about 1.2" first thing, slowly worsening to 1.6" by afternoon. I'd already decided with the good transparency the day offered that I was going to image in CaK, and with the seeing looking like what was predicted I decided 80mm was the aperture I was working at for the closeups. CaK FD 40mm f15 colour AR13590 CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm colour ar13586 CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm ar13591 CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm ar13592 CaK 80mm  f15 2x cemax zwo290mm departing active region CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm departing plage CaK 80mm f15 2x cemax zwo290mm

Solar Disks 18th February

Managed to get a quick full disk session in when we got back from the airport on our return from Iceland - bonus! CaK FD 40mm f15 zwo183mm CaK Proms 40mm f15 zwo183mm G Band FD 50mm f13 zwo183mm
Ha FD DS50 2x cemax zwo183mm

Saturday 24 February 2024

Valentines Day Aurora in Iceland - 14th February

4am-aurora-14022024-small Taken at 4am in the morning, activity was brief, but it was there! Canon 250D, 15s, iso3200, 10mm f4.

Iceland Aurora 13th February

11pm-aurora-13022024-short Nice to see some activty! Canon 250D, 15s, iso3200, 10mm f4.

Friday 22 December 2023

CaK Proms 16th December

CaK FD 40mm f15 zwo183mm lighter colour The custom CaK filter is pretty decent at bringing out proms if the sky is transparent enough coupled with a bit of post processing.

Saturday 9 December 2023

Saturday Sunshine 9th January

Despite the day starting with a heavy bad of rain for several hours, by lunchtime the sky had transformed to (nearly!) blue skies. It was very windy though and blowing the lids of all my scope cases shut along with nearly blowing the laptop off. I was chasing the sun with the travelling kit through the gaps in the trees on the southern horizon. Seeing was terrible, and kept me busy searching for a focus that wasn't really there to begin with. Still, I managed to get a trio disks. 20231209_132524 First up 430nm Gband, taken 50mm f12 with the Zwo18mm 430nm 50mm f12 zwo183mm Then CaK, 60mm f10 with the zwo183mm CaK FD DS60 f10 zwo183mm And finally the Ha full disk, taken with the setup in the picture - DS50, 2x cemax and the zwo183mm... Ha FD DS50 2x cemax zwo183mm Despite the awful seeing and low sun, I was glad to get something. Anything at this time of year is a bonus!

Sunday 26 November 2023

Trio of Disks - 25th November

A lovely clear blue sky gave me the opportunity to capture the late autumn sunshine. Trees block the horizon so using the scopes on the solarquest mount and tripod means I can find a spot in the garden to peek in the gaps in the cluttered southern horizon. 2023-11-25_01-56-40 Ha FD DS50 2x cemax zwo183mm CaK FD 60mm f10 zwo183mm G Band FD 60mm f10 zwo183mm