First Light through my new PST

sheeny (Al) · #1 04-07-2006, 05:33 PM

My new PST arrived yesterday, and we've had nothing but cloud here for a week or more, but I noticed as I knocked off from work today that I could see some blue sky... Still patchy cloud around, but at least some blue!

So as soon as I got home, the PST goes on the tripod and out the front for first light. It's just sooooo simple and easy to use!

Lined ol' Sol up and straight off there's a prominent sunspot near the centre (not sure if you'd call it big or not - I suspect not - but I'll get a feel for that with some experience). Focussing seems to be pretty easy, and the spot increased in size and devloped some shape and a penumbra, and the limb of the sum had quite a few chunky bits hanging off it when it was in focus!

I didn't have much time before sunset, and the patchy clouds kept drifting past (not to mention steam from the factories where I work!

) but I had a bit of fun for 10-20 minutes!

I found the face of the sun very red with no detail, so started adjusting the filter a bit. From what I've read, barometric pressure affects the filter and how it needs to be tuned so I suspect 1100m altitude would affect it as well...

I don't understand how that works yet... something new to learn! Managed to get a hint of detail and some plage around the sunspot, but really just ran out of time!

New toys are great fun!

Al.

Miaplacidus (Brian) · #2 04-07-2006, 06:23 PM

Congrats, Sheeny,

I found that it took me a while to get the most out of my PST. Now I seem to see lots more detail than I did originally, both on the disk and in the surrounding flares. I'm sure you'll get lots of fun out of it.

Cheers,

Brian.

mickoking · #3 04-07-2006, 06:52 PM

I hear those PST's are great, is it worth the money? Not that I'll be buying much for a while being unemployed

sheeny (Al) · #4 04-07-2006, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miaplacidus

Congrats, Sheeny,

I found that it took me a while to get the most out of my PST. Now I seem to see lots more detail than I did originally, both on the disk and in the surrounding flares. I'm sure you'll get lots of fun out of it.

Cheers,

Brian.

I don't doubt that Brian! Every new instrument has a learning curve, but my first impressions are very positive... not the least of which is the ability to quickly set it up on a camera tripod and be viewing with so little fuss, compared to setting up the C8!

I can see it getting used quite regularly in the arvos after work, or in between jobs on the weekend

. Looking forward to it! (As if you can't tell!

)

Al.

sheeny (Al) · #5 04-07-2006, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickoking

I hear those PST's are great, is it worth the money? Not that I'll be buying much for a while being unemployed

Yeah Mick, that's gotta slow things down! "Worth the money" is heavily influenced by how much money you have to play with. For me at the moment, I think it's "Yes" definitely... a couple of years ago while I was paying $1500 a month child support... no way mate!

Hope you find an astro friendly income soon! I wouldn't mind a lottery win myself...

Al.

CoombellKid · #6 04-07-2006, 10:36 PM

I have one on order to pick up from Astrofest QLD, very much looking
forward to getting it, then it's good bye baader film lol, actually it might
be nice to view both. I have also heard the more time you spend looking
the more detail you'll start to notice and pull out.

Thanks for posting Al... use as many of those clouds up as you can over
the next couple of weeks lol

regards,CS

Rob

CoombellKid · #7 04-07-2006, 10:56 PM

Al,

Remember too, the Sun is subjected to the same atmospheric conditions
as any celestrial object. It being winter at present the sun is lower to
the north, where as in summer it gets right overhead. And then there
the jetstream that been pretty persistant lately.

regards,CS

Rob

regards,CS

sheeny (Al) · #8 05-07-2006, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoombellKid

Al,

Remember too, the Sun is subjected to the same atmospheric conditions
as any celestrial object. It being winter at present the sun is lower to
the north, where as in summer it gets right overhead. And then there
the jetstream that been pretty persistant lately.

regards,CS

Rob

regards,CS

Yeah I'm aware of all that Rob. I read some where recently (might have been the Cloudy Nights review of the PST?) that its actually better viewing during the early morning and late afternoon to avoid the thermals of the middle of the day

. Sort of contradictory to what we're mormally used for night time astro work, but I suppose all these things are in play. Sometimes early morning and late evening might be good, other times the normal astro factors might be dominant perhaps?

Time and experience will tell though!

Al.

iceman (Mike) · #9 05-07-2006, 10:49 AM

Excellent Al, i'd really like one one day to do some solar imaging of prominences and flares. Though I don't get a lot of time during the day (you know, work), so it only leaves the weekend which is when I'm usually spending time with the family.

ah well, one day.

CoombellKid · #10 05-07-2006, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheeny

Yeah I'm aware of all that Rob. I read some where recently (might have been the Cloudy Nights review of the PST?) that its actually better viewing during the early morning and late afternoon to avoid the thermals of the middle of the day

. Sort of contradictory to what we're mormally used for night time astro work, but I suppose all these things are in play. Sometimes early morning and late evening might be good, other times the normal astro factors might be dominant perhaps?

Time and experience will tell though!

Al.

I prefer early morning, before the sun heats up the ground. That's when
I've managed to get the best observations of suns spots and images,
with baader films anyways so I guess Ha will be the same. I can usually
get a couple of hours in before work, if there is something to look at. It's
going to be nice to see and or image something other than sunspots.

regards,CS

Rob

sheeny (Al) · #11 05-07-2006, 03:00 PM

Because I live close to work

I ducked home for lunch today and ate my sandwich while viewing the sun! Wow!

So much detail! Numerous little flares/prominences (

not sure if I have the terminology right yet!

) round the limb. The big spot in the centre is in two possibly three pieces. Lots of detail in the active region around it.

I also tried my 13mm Nagler and 10mm plossl. The 10mm was larger scale but not as sharp. The 13mm looked impressive when I put it in, but when I went back to the standard 20mm Kellner supplied with the PST I think I was seeing the same amount of detail - just the image scale was down a bit. It seems very sharp through the 20mm K.

Good fun! I'll have to have a go at trying an image or two soon!

Al.

ving (David) · #12 05-07-2006, 03:11 PM

see now a pst and a eq3 and you could take it to work and image during your lunch break!

danielsun · #13 05-07-2006, 07:57 PM

Great stuff there Sheeny!! A PST is on my eventual shopping hit list.
Question : Can you see sun spots as well as prominences? And what difference does the calcium-k pst make?

sheeny (Al) · #14 05-07-2006, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielsun

Great stuff there Sheeny!! A PST is on my eventual shopping hit list.
Question : Can you see sun spots as well as prominences? And what difference does the calcium-k pst make?

Yeah no problem seeing sunspots!

The CaK PST is obviously tuned to a different spectral line... other than that, all I know is what the guy at the shop told me as I was ordering mine. He reckoned that the CaK is more suited to photography and the Ha better for visual. He said the image through the CaK is a lot dimmer.

I went for the Ha.

Al.

seeker372011 (Narayan) · #15 05-07-2006, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielsun

Great stuff there Sheeny!! A PST is on my eventual shopping hit list.
Question : Can you see sun spots as well as prominences? And what difference does the calcium-k pst make?

You can but really white light filters are probably better for sunspots and H alpha better suited for prominances..but people have taken some stunning images of sunspots with a PST-notably Pete Lawrence of Selsey observatory

As for Ca K -for the vast majority of people -you will see nothing.It's mainly for imagers though some people do report being able to visually observe with a CaK

CoombellKid · #16 05-07-2006, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheeny

I also tried my 13mm Nagler and 10mm plossl. The 10mm was larger scale but not as sharp. The 13mm looked impressive when I put it in, but when I went back to the standard 20mm Kellner supplied with the PST I think I was seeing the same amount of detail - just the image scale was down a bit. It seems very sharp through the 20mm K.

A 14mm XW works a treat in one too!

just the right image scale.
Although the 10mm is pretty sharp too, but I tend to think (yet to
try) going to much higher you start to lose it. I dont think my 3.5mm XW
is going to work too often.

Actually I was going to buy 30mm & 40mm XW's, but with the coming
Mercury transit in Nov this year I put the PST on top of the list, along
with a 20mm t5. Just a couple more EP's to get then it's a bigger scope.

regards,CS

Rob

Miaplacidus (Brian) · #17 05-07-2006, 10:51 PM

FWIW, my 10 mm XW is far and away my preferred EP for the PST. Excellent detail, large image size, and it fits everything in. Sheer magic.