Solar Activity in Mid-December

 

The details revealed through double-stacking are just remarkable.  When I first began solar imaging, the prominences at the edge of the Sun were my favorite, but the more I image the more I'm enthralled by all the activity on the disk itself.  It's like watching solar weather patterns from 93 million miles away.

Photo Details

December 12, 2021

Lunt Ha 60mm double-stacked solar telescope

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is one of my favorites and never seems to disappoint.  Also known as Messier 31, this galaxy is often compared to our own Milky Way since it has a mass of the same order of magnitude (1 trillion solar masses).  However, it has an estimated 1 trillion stars which is about double of our home galaxy.  The light in the photo began it's journey to Earth about 2.5 million years ago when we were just beginning the ice ages which would last until about 11,700 years ago.

Photo Details

November 7, 2021

AstroTech 65Q on VX Mount

SBIG STF-8300C Camera

Skyglow filter

57 subframes at 3 minutes/frame

Total Exposure Time = 2 hours 51 minutes
Image Acquisition in CCDOps
Image Stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image Processing in PhotoShop

First Solar Double Stacked

This was my first attempt at imaging through my double-stacked hydrogen-alpha telescope.  Tuning both etalons was a challenge, and I still have a lot of room for improvement.  However, the level of detail available in the double-stacked mode is really astounding.

Photo Details

November 14, 2021

Lunt Ha 60mm double-stacked solar telescope

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Ever Changing Sun

 

The Sun continues to put on a spectacular display.  These images were from the end of October and I can't wait to get back out again.

Photo Details

October 23, 2021

Lunt 60 mm Pressure Tuned Telescope

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Saturn RGB

2nd attempt at using RGB filters, this time on Saturn.  Like my earlier result with Jupiter, it seems to pick up more detail and provides better color.  Likely will continue with this method.

Photo Details

October 22, 2021

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

ZWO ASI178MM 

RGB Filters

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax

Combine RGB in Photoshop
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

 

Jupiter RGB

 

This was my first attempt at using RGB filters with a monochrome camera.  It's more complicated in post-processing but does seem to pick up more detail and color.  I definitely have a lot more to learn, but overall pretty happy with the result.

Photo Details

October 22, 2021

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax

Combine RGB in Photoshop
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Lunar Images

 

It really is amazing just how much lunar detail can be seen on a clear night with even a modest telescope.  At times it feels like you can step right through and onto the surface of the Moon.  It's exciting that we will soon be sending missions beginning in February 2022.

Photo Details

October 16, 2021

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Jupiter and Saturn

 

Pretty good sky conditions over the weekend and fantastic arrangement of the Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon.  Looking forward to more cool and clear nights.

Photo Details

October 16, 2021

Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount

Neximage 10

iCap 2.4

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Solar Activity in Early September

 

Really good solar activity in early September and finally time to do the post-processing.

Photo Details

September 5, 2021

Lunt 60 mm Pressure Tuned Telescope

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Solar Activity from May 2021

 

It's been a hot, humid, cloudy summer.  These were shot back in May.  Solar activity is picking up pretty good, so I'm hoping for some clear skies this weekend.

Photo Details

May 23, 2021

Lunt 60 mm Pressure Tuned Telescope

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop

Sun in April and May

 

We had some decent skies and good solar activity back in April and May before all the severe heat and humidity kicked in, but it took a while to finally get time to go through all the post processing.  Worth the wait?

Photo Details

April 3, 4 and May 15, 2021

Lunt 60 mm Pressure Tuned Telescope

ZWO ASI178MM 

SharpCap - 8 Bit Mono

Image Stacking in AutoStakkert
Wavelet Filtering in Registax
Final Adjustments in Photoshop