20250517 Sun (reducer finally works)

This is a test of equipment, a 1.25" 0.5x focal reducer.  It won't come to focus before, but then I remember that I have a very short 1.25" nosepiece for C mount.  It comes to focus finally.

It's easy to take a full disc shots now!  Maybe good for continuous monitoring, like making animations, I shall try later.

This is a simple two frames mosaic at prime focus.  The non-uniform illumination makes it a bit tricky, but this does not worth the effort now.

Close up with AR4087, with 2x barlows.

Solar imaging is happy in Scottish summer.

20250513 Sun

Didn't pull out my setup for quite long, the thing couldn't get focus properly at first for unknown reason.  I removed the filter and insert again, things work normally then.

Those two 1.25" focal reducer did not work, they looked identical optically and physically.

The solar filter is not very useful too. 

I am going to sell the above on ebay.

1055 (UT+1), prime focus:

1106 + 1108 (UT+1),, failed mosaic at prime focus

And then finally push up the exposure to bring prominences., not well executed:

Too little practice.

20250417 Setting up and testing

Add a quick release mechanism between the mount and the pillar, need to try out polar alignment so that it could be far faster later.

Did a few test shots afterward of M81 and M82.

Also M41.

Canon EF 200mm f2.8 acting as the main scope, and the Canon FD 300mm f2.8 modified as the guidescope.

It didn't get dark until around 9:30pm... so summer came!   

20250401 Stargazing with my family

Our small backyard opens up some cosmic opportunities.

I used my 85mm ED refractor for observation.  Wide field with a 20mm widescan, high power with a SVBony 9mm and a TMB 4mm eyepiece.

The moon was so close to M45, a great side that could be seen within the same field of view of the 20mm widescan.

Soon I pulled out my Canon 10x30 IS and my 18x50 IS for quick scanning.

I looked at a couple of open clusters.

We looked at the Jupiter, and the Mars.

Later I pulled out my green laser pointer, to show them around the night sky.

It was not exactly dark, but that certainly brings a lot of joy.

A pure visual session with Canon 18x50 IS

Transparency low with moon hanging up high.

Even Orion was not apparent, M45 was not detectable with naked eyes.

Scanning around and found M42, and then I could make out the Orion.

And then scanning in the direction of M45, done.

So many low earth orbit satallites, I could even see two of them at the same field of view.

With high magnification of IS binoculars, detail on the moon is great.  Mars is quite close to the moon, making a very nice view.

A new solar season

By new season, I mean the sun goes up high enough to clear the trees.

With reducer:

With 2x barlows:

At prime focus, two frames merged:

This is my new setup, actually, it was an old setup which left unused for quite sometime.  The new solar finder is effective, the mount could hold the setup rather easily despite the very windy condition.

Love this one, except somehow I want a hand controller for faster slewing.

First image taken with my Canon EF 50mm f1.8

 Just a random shot to try out wider field of view, no idea ahout image processing:

Processed by Siril