Airplanes and Rockets' history & copyright Google search American Modeler Air Trails American Aircraft Modeler Young Men Hobbies Aviation Flying Aces Saturday Evening Post Boys' Life Hobby Distributors Amateur Astronomy Engines & Motors Balsa Densities Silkspan Covering Comics Electronics My Models Model Aircraft Articles Plans Model Boat Articles Plans Model Car Articles Plans Model Train Articles Plans 1941 Crosley 03CB Radio Model helicopter articles & plans Crosswords Model Rocket Articles Plans Restoration Projects Photos Peanuts Collection Model Aircraft Articles Plans Sitemap Homepage Hints and Kinks Amateur Radio Archives of the homepage R/C Modeler Electronics About Airpleans and Rockest, Disclaimer, Terms of Use Model Topics Please Donate to Airplanes and Rockets Parole Plaza, Annapolis, Maryland Hobby Items for Sale Airplanes and Rockets Hero Graphic
RF Electronics Shapes, Stencils for Office, Visio by RF Cafe

Academy of Model Aeronautics Government Advocacy Coalition - Airplanes and Rockets

Cafe Press
RF Cascade Workbook - RF Cafe

Sunspot Photos
April 26, 2013

The sky finally cleared and the wind finally calmed down enough to try out my new solar filter on my Celestron CPC800 Deluxe telescope. Since Celestron does not manufacture or sell the Baader film solar filters anymore I did a saved search on eBay and then waited for one that did not cost a ridiculous amount of money. They often sell for more than $100 - when you can even find one. I lucked out and got mine for $65 after about six months of waiting.

Unfortunately, by the time the sky cleared the sun was only about 30 degrees above the western horizon, so the seeing quality was not so great. Still, the view through the eyepiece was awesome when the atmosphere steadied occasionally for a split second. It was good enough to prompt me to go ahead and hook up the Celestron NexImage 5 camera. Achieving a good focus was impossible because of the scintillation, but as you can see from the image below, it wasn't a total loss. Poor contrast on the computer screen due to high ambient light level was a real problem, too, so next time I'll be sure to take a cloth drape to use like the old-time photographers used with outdoor shots.

The large image of the entire solar disk was made by simply holding a point-and-shoot type camera up to the 32 mm eyepiece. The CPC800 Deluxe mount is incredibly stable and can withstand a lot of handling without shaking, especially at low magnification. I did not attempt to do the same with higher magnification because the image was changing rapidly due to atmospheric disturbances. I figured the best chance of obtaining a good image was to use the video function of the NexImage 5 and run the results through RegiStax 6.1 software. The best example is shown below.

April 27, 2013 Update:  Today, we had a severe clear sky with only a breeze. I couldn't resist taking the telescope and camera out again. These results are even better than yesterday's.

Sunspot photographing setup - Airplanes and Rockets

Sunspot photographing setup.

- Celestron CPC800 Deluxe telescope

- Celestron Baader Solar Filter

- Celestron NexImage 5 camera

Sunspots on April 27, 2013, 11:30 am - Airplanes and Rockets

Sunspots on April 27, 2013, 11:30 am

Sunspot Group A - Airplanes and Rockets

Sunspot Group A (see full sun photo)

Sunspot Group B - Airplanes and Rockets

Sunspot Group B (see full sun photo)


April 26, 2013 Images:

Sunspot that looks like a dog's head was named "Spot" by Supermodel Melanie - Airplanes and Rockets

Sunspot group nicknamed "Spot" because it looks like a dog's face.

Close-up of sunspot group from April 26, 2013 - Airplanes and Rockets

Close-up of sunspot group

Celestron 8" Baader Film Solar Filter - Airplanes and Rockets

Celestron 8" Baader Film Solar Filter

Sunspots through Celestron CPC800 Deluxe - Airplanes and Rockets

Sunspots on April 26, 2017. Celestron CPC800 Deluxe telescope using 32 mm eyepiece.

 

 

Posted April 27, 2013

Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Plans Service - Airplanes and Rockets




RF Cascade Workbook 2018 by RF Cafe

Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) - Airplanes and Rockets

Academy of Model Aeronautics

Tower Hobbies logo - Airplanes and Rockets

Tower Hobbies

Horizon Hobby logo - Airplanes and Rockets

Horizon Hobby

Sig Manufacturing - Airplanes and Rockets

Sig Mfg

Brodak Manufacturing - Airplanes and Rockets

Brodak Mfg