20101030 Jupiter

Couldn't really lock my Ranger on the iOptron due to the slip on the quick release plate which I've mounted on the "unofficial side", so I cannot go for my 5x Powermate... fall back to 2x will do the trick but it's just too small especially with the 1/3" chip of the Lumenera.

Anyway... how much detail can you squeeze from this small disc?

20101030 Sun

Seeing 4/10, transparency 7/10.

Full disc with reducer, 1325 (GMT+8):-



Close up with 2x:-

1327 (GMT+8), I love this kind of features, extend from the surface to the edge:-



1328 (GMT+8):-

20101017 Sun

Catch the sunshine! So many cloud today and I even failed to adjust the Tmax properly in such a short period of time.

1531 (GMT+8):-

20101011 Sun

It's very cloudy today, but there's very brief moment when the sun can shine through the cloud gaps. I caught one of these, but the seeing is very poor, so I only have a single wide field shot.

Telescope: Tele Vue Ranger with NGF-CM
Filter: Coronado Solarmax 40 with BF10
Camera: Lumenera LU070M
Mount: iOptron SmartStar GPS on a Gitzo G106

Taken with a reducer lens attached to the nosepiece of the BF10, 1528 (GMT+8):-



Seeing 1/10, transparency 7/10.

Spoofing

I received an email asking about my Lumenera, it seems perfectly normal at the first stage and that "buyer" even asked for more photographs of the camera.

When everything is ready, that "buyer" said the payment was made but then when I login my paypal account, I saw nothing. Not even a notification. But then that "buyer" sent me a notice (in paypal style) that the balance was held until I transfer a certain sum back to a middleman in order to verify my identity.

From my past experience, paypal never work in this way. So, I sent email to paypal for comment. They verified that it is a common way of spoofing.

This note is written to expose this kind of spoofing, so be very careful when you do online transaction. But again, I should emphasize that most of the people are honest and nice from my experience. Just take extra care when money is involved in any case.

20101003 Sun

Very low transparency, less than 1km visibility, cannot comment on the seeing. I have to adjust the histogram significantly to bring out any detail.

1520 (GMT+8):-


Visual observation with a 13mm Nagler confirmed the low transparency, I was suspecting that my camera was going wrong :-)