that's exactly what they look like ive seen sunspots (ive seen these with my refractor b4 i got my dob) heaps bigger and more ive seen them appear and disappear. (also had a look once sofar with the dob).
to lign the sun up i use the shadow on the ground technique
some sunspots can be the size of the earth several times over you can fit 180 earths across the diameter ot the sun just for scale
scroll down and click on the MDI Continuum one once that one comes up you can click on it again for a larger version its the site i use to keep tabs on it or offcourse you can use the one on IIS
Last edited by vindictive666; 26-07-2005 at 10:23 AM.
is that aproximately what it looks like visually too?
Yep, unlike great planetary images which don't quite reflect what you see in the eyepiece, with solar images they are almost exactly what you see in the eyepiece.
just thought id add a small observing report to this post as well
i just got in from have a look at the same sunspots. saw a couple of them darken but seeing was lousy it was hard to keep in focus even using the 2inch gso 32mm which gave me the best view also the same with the 30mm plssl 1.25"
any mag above this whas shocking but stil found it interesting
Hey Rob, thanks. I use a full aperture solar film filter, that I made.. here's the details.
Wow! that looks cheap and easy enough, I think I'll have to have one of those. Have you tried or been able to compare yours to those full aperture thousand oak glass filters. Which are quite expensive in comparison and looks to give the same result
regards, May your clear skies be forever jetstream free
There's really no difference between the film and the glass, besides the cost. The glass can give a different hue to the image (ie: a yellowey/orangey colour), whereas the view through the film is literally white.
I'm going to have to agree with you there. I had a look through Astro_south Thousand Oak glass filter attached to his ST80? I think it was. Mind you it was back in early Feb, not sure if I noticed/remember a yellowey/orangey colour... I thought it pretty much looked like your result. Actually I notice some granulation on the surface in your image. I dont remember seeing that through the thousand oak, of course that maybe enhance through imaging.
But you say the image is the same as the EP view.
I think $55.00 verses $210.00 minus postage, it looking like a no brainer. And if you were to accidently drop yours onto a hard object it isn't going to smash. It'll be a good partner for my PST when I get it.
Actually I notice some granulation on the surface in your image. I dont remember seeing that through the thousand oak, of course that maybe enhance through imaging
You're mostly right, that the surface granularity is enhanced through the contrast and wavelet adjustments. There's not much of that to be seen through the eyepiece.
I thought of getting a glass filter when I was looking for a solar fix, but as you say, the cost justification just doesn't add up.
