Simcoe Skies Astronomy

Solar Images

Sunspots Sept 11/05
Sunspot Group "0808"

First Solar Image!

I ordered some Thousand Oaks black polymer solar filter film, and sandwiched it between two pieces of light pressboard to create a frugal solar filter (less than $30 for my 10" aperture). This filter has a Neutral Density ND5, so the transmission of visible light is reduced l00,000 times

Date: Sept 11/05
Exposures: 354 stacked
Exposure length: not recorded
Amp on setting: n/a (short exposure)
Brightness: not recorded
Gain: not recorded

Notes: These sunspots were visible with the naked eye (through the filter, without the telescope), so I rushed to setup my gear and try my first solar image! The sun was low in the sky (about 20 degrees altitude) and there may have been some obstructions (trees) interfering, so there's ample room for improvement.

Thoughts for improvement:
  • use fastest possible exposure setting for webcam, tweaking brightness to get a reasonable illumination (this should help alleviate seeing conditions and heat waves rising from neighbours' rooftops)
  • take future images when the sun is higher in the sky
  • keep gain setting at less than 50% if possible to reduce noise, and leave frame rate at 5fps

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