Some more Solar - Sunday 31 March 2013

[Matt Wastell]

Hi all
It is great to see so many solar images here of late - a very rewarding subject (no. 1 in my book).
I dodged clouds - well actually I was dodging the blue bits as the session was long but only included 2 minutes of AVIs.
There were great proms, filaments and a new AR rounding the limb - bummer.
I had to use a higher exposure than my usual, 1/154 as there was always clouds crossing the disc.
Here is my favourite from the session - colour and Mono.

[asimov]

Great work Matt! The colour version has a lovely glow/iridescent look to it!

What scope are you using these days again? I note you have several in your website.

[Larryp]

Very nice, Matt. Love the colour version

[Star Catcher]

Agree Matt about the solar uptake. Nice smooth discs. Looking at my monitor, some curves or gamma on these might be worth an experiment :)
Ted

[Matt Wastell]

Hi John - Lunt60 is my goto disc scope - I just like the simplicity of whole discs on the computer screen.

[Matt Wastell]

Hi Ted
Yes, these are high gamma images to get the proms too - they get a bit fuzzy. If I do too much in the processing I lose the proms.
I usually post the lower setting shot as well - here it is for you!

[Star Catcher]

Hi Matt

I'm not a Photoshop master, I'll leave that to many other in this forum, however in PS you simply mask off the disk from the proms, you can then work on each separately, or you could create separate layers to work on, so you can have your cake and eat it.

Hope you don't mind, I took the liberty to do a quick rework on your image, however it might not suit your personal tastes in processing.

Ted

[icytailmark]

im thinking about buying my first solar scope. Which would you pick 60mm lunt or the 80? for imaging and viewing. The extra 20mm worth the extra money?

[Matt Wastell]

Hi Ted - no worries at all. I did the exact same thing with my colour versions! I am a processing wimp and try to keep things to a minimum.

[Matt Wastell]

Hi Mark
You should absolutely get a Ha solar scope - yes the 80 is a better scope due to the additional aperture but is it worth the $......mmmmmmm!?
If you have the funds get the 80, if not get the 60 as it is a great scope that provides great views and is a good imaging scope. I believe the 60 is better value for money (not better) than the 80.
You should also know what and how you want to image - hi-res, prime focus discs, hi-res mosaic discs.
I like the simplicity of the 60 with the DMK51 - I will never part with them!
Do your research and go for it!

[icytailmark]

i currently image with a c14 with a imaging source camera. Solar imaging pretty much the same principal? Planet imaging more difficult? I have looked at some solar imaging tutorials and it looks like the hardest part is the processing of the images. I mostly want to focus on sunspots,solar flares and filaments. Full disc Mosaics look like they would be hard to do.

[Matt Wastell]

Hi Mark
Having imaging experience will obviously help. The best imagers for the Sun are mono ones as I believe they have a great range - what camera do you use from IS? I find the Sun easier than planetary stuff but I only image the Sun now, so it may be experience!?
The processing is time consuming if you let it be - you can get rewarding stuff with little time investment - mosaic discs can take hours (I have heard someone spent 10 hours on one!!!!).
If you want to get Ha features as you mentioned a 60 with a DMK31 would be a great combo.
Have a look at the images you like and see what equipment is used - 60 or 80 will keep you interested for years and years!

[asimov]

I've found it extremely easy to slide straight into solar imaging. I've been a one eyed planet imager for years & I must say the planet imaging experience has helped in this regard. The same old gain, gamma, exposure FPS camera settings apply only naturally the settings are different but the point is those settings need to comply & compliment one another & the principle is the same as planet imaging.

I can get a 6 pane mosaic with the PST & DMK21 done, dusted & on IIS in under 30 mins.

[Quark]

Nicely done Matt, always good to keep up with whats happening on Sol and the full disk looks great.

Regards
Trevor