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In this month’s issue

Solar Astronomy with a PST

Junior Star Gazers

Hugh’s View

OAS Academy

Your Observations

Solar Astronomy with a Personal Solar Telescope A Personal Solar Telescope allows the user to see solar flares and plagues on the Suns surface.

To take images of the Sun using a Personal Solar Telescope, you will need

A Meade Coronado Personal Solar Telescope

Camera (DSLR or webcam)

3 x Barlow

Laptop

Capture software (we use the EOS Capture utility that can with our camera).

Data Cable to connect the camera to the laptop

I use an EQ1 mount which is the smallest of the EQ series to mount the PST on. Unfortunately at the

time of writing this the seeing was not good and I was fighting high winds.

First job is to attach the barlow to

the nose adapter. This has already

been done in the picture. We then

need to attach the “T” adapter left

The assembly is now ready to mount

onto the body of a DSLR camera

The next stage for me is, I like to insert the data cable into the camera at this time

With the assembly now mounted

onto the camera, we are good to go!

OR nearly!

Two areas where I have come

unstuck in this kind of work, is to

ensure the camera is set to

(Monochrome), and the battery is

full. Check with your camera

instructions if unsure how to check

this

Another quick check before docking

it into the telescope is to ensure the

mode is set to “M”, Manual.

Setups can vary, but I use this EQ1 driven mount, you can see the screw on top where the PST is

mounted

On my camera this is at the side. It is

the data. You can see it inserted

below

The mount has been loosely pointed

north, with the drive controller and

battery pack inserted.

In this setup the PST is screwed onto

the EQ1 mount as you can see

Everyone is different, but I like to

align the telescope to the Sun using

a white piece of paper, once the

telescope shadow is aligned as

indicated, the Sun SHOULD be in the

field of view

Now Is the time to turn on the drive and mount the camera

As indicated earlier I did not have the best conditions when collecting data for this, there is a better

course in the academy, however we will continue to walk you through the process

The circular window on top is the

finder. Once the Sun appears as a

white spot in the window it should

be in the field of view

Simply insert the camera nosepiece

assembly into the telescope

eyepiece barrel as shown

The final assembly, ready to go, you

can see the USB data cable has been

plugged in. At this point ensure the

camera is switched on, you might

also need to make further

adjustments to ensure the Sun is

still in view once attaching the

camera. I align with the camera as it

makes for a less complicated

shadow for alignment purposes.

Once the camera is on and ready, fire up your capturing software. We are using the EOS utility

software that came with this camera

You see here an overview of how the sun appears

One thing that becomes apparent is there is NO need to touch the camera, it’s all controlled from

that interface

Achieving focus.

Fine focussing is something that is an art and is a trade off with seeing conditions

However if you use the mouse to move the white rectangle as seen in the live view screen, double

click that to pull up the fine focus window. As a means of keeping this article to a reasonable length

all that happens is another window comes up, use that to focus on the prominence then cancel it off

once complete. You are then good to go

Each time you take a shot, a preview of what you have taken will show the computer screen so you

can decide if you’re happy with it or try again.

Adjust the expose here

Adjust the ISO here

Take the shot with the

black button!

This method has worked for me for some time now, the process is not a lot different to using a

webcam just you’re using different software.

For the best results, keep a towel to hand so you can throw it over your head when working at the

laptop (keeps the suns glare out of your eyes).

If you choose to work from just the live view of the camera, ensure your SD card is inserted and has

enough space to save your work.

Also consider the longer the exposure, the more likely your image is going to show some shake. Keep

in mind when doing this kind of work to NOT glare at the Sun just glance for direction and to gauge

cloud cover. Also if you’re working on a particularly windy day as I was when I compiled this, it’s

going to cause issues with telescope stability (it will be battered by the wind). Sometimes, working at

a high ISO and lower exposure works best.

My suggestions, if conditions are favourable, use an ISO or 100-200 and an exposure of no more

than a second.

If you prefer detail, use ISO 100, exposure 1/13 second or so. You will barely see the Sun in the live

view BUT you will do more to bring out surface detail.

For prominences and flares, same ISO but use 1 exposure

A more detailed course is available with the Online Astronomy Society Academy. In this the course

covers a more informed video on the setup, with a proper video on how to capture and process the

final image, all for £12 per year including ALL updates or additions to the Academy. Click here for

more details

The material on the academy is designed by amateur astronomers for amateur astronomers ,with

the aim of training the astronomical community in practical and theoretical skills, so they can get the

most out of this amazing hobby. The main reasons for the formation were:

To provide a service as discussed above

To assist Alastair into one of his goals, this is to get a foot hold in E-Learning. He does love

his training!

Courses are all online, interested parties can enrol for £12 for the year; this allows access to ALL

courses and updates.

To celebrate the launch and given that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, we thought we would

make an offer that no heavenly body could refuse. Why not treat your astronomical beloved to a

year’s enrolment on the academy, complete with a personalised message from yourself and a FREE

copy of the DVD Eyes on the Skies, posted direct to your partners address or venue of your choice

Your partner will receive a custom card complete with their login details for both the forum and the

academy, so all they will need to do is login. The year starts from when they first login!

User friendly interface

User friendly interface

Exclusive video content

PDF files can be downloaded and printed

In Andromeda, we have some interesting galaxies. Although M110 is classified as a dwarf galaxy it is still

a substantial object; based on its major diameter of 21.9 arc minutes and distance of 2.6 million light

years then I estimate its size at over 16,500 light years. Bands of dust are faintly visible in my image,

towards the galaxy’s nucleus.

Although M110 appeared in a drawing of the Andromeda Galaxy made by Charles Messier in 1773 he

did not include it in his catalogue. It wasn't until 1966 that astronomers made it the final M-numbered

object. Personally I like to give Caroline Herschel the opportunity to step into the limelight. Unaware of

Messer’s drawing she independently discovered M110 in August 1783 giving it her own catalogue number

CH9. Caroline selflessly supported the work of her more famous brother William as would have been

expected of her at that time, but she still managed to carve out her own place in the history of astronomy.

(Image details: 8” Meade LX90, Meade DSI II CCD colour camera, Meade f3.3 focal reducer, stack of 18

x 30sec exposures)

Snaps of the Sky

Many people when they first get into Astronomy are focussed on imaging. This one is for

you. If you have a DSLR camera like we saw in the PST section above, try setting the ISO to

around 400 and taking a 15 second shot of a constellation. To do this you will need to mount

the camera on a tripod, point and shoot. ISO 400 should be ok, but experiment. 15 secs

should be long enough before you see the trail caused by the Earth’s rotation. With this

setting it should be possible to take some really cool pictures of the constellations. Try

Orion, see if you can spot the nebular, M42 in the image!

Orion and the Moon

Conjunction of Moon, Venus, and Jupiter

Catherine Leith’s Junior Stargazers

OAS juniors

OAS Juniors aims to provide interesting articles targeted at our

younger audience. Children are the future of astronomy and

OAS hopes to not just educate but inspire the astronomers of

the next generation.

This month we look at Asteroids…

Asteroids

What are asteroids?

An asteroid is a large rock in outer space. Some, like Ceres, can be very large,

while others are as small as a grain of sand. Due to their smaller size, asteroids

do not have enough gravity to pull themselves into the shape of a ball.

Astronomers group asteroids into different categories based on the way they

reflect sunlight.

The asteroid belt is divided into an inner belt and an outer belt. The inner belt,

which is made up of asteroids that are within 250 million miles (402 million km)

of the Sun, contains asteroids that are made up of metals.

The outer belt, which includes asteroids 250 million miles beyond the Sun,

consists of rocky asteroids. These asteroids appear darker than the asteroids of

the inner belt, and are rich in carbon.

Where did the Asteroid Belt come from?

Asteroids are materials left over from the formation of the Solar System. These

materials were never able to become a planet because they were so close to the

strong gravity of the planet Jupiter.

How many asteroids are there?

There have been 26 very large asteroids that have been discovered which are

probably most of the big ones. But there are still millions of smaller ones that we

have yet to see because they are so tiny, only a mile across or so. If we stuck all

the asteroids together to form a planet it would be smaller than our Moon!

The largest known non-planet object in our Solar System is Quaoar. It is one-

tenth the size of Earth, and is larger than all the other asteroids put together.

Ceres at 600 miles wide was thought to be the largest asteroid until 2001 when

a larger one was discovered. This new asteroid, called 2001 KX76, was found

orbiting the Sun near Pluto.

Ida is a unique little asteroid as it has its own moon called Dactyl.

Match game!

A large rock in outer space the Asteroid Belt

Ida has a moon named formation of Solar System

Biggest asteroid until 2001 Dactyl

Asteroids are left over material from Asteroid

Most asteroids are found in 2001 KX76

New largest asteroid is called Ceres

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