Going H-alpha: PST arrives in the post.

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WARNING: SOLAR OBSERVATION REQUIRES GREAT CARE AND SAFE FILTRATION.
INSTANT PERMANENT BLINDNESS CAN EASILY RESULT FROM SIMPLE MISTAKES.
NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH ANY LENS, MIRROR OR INSTRUMENT UNLESS IT HAS BEEN FULLY TESTED AND APPROVED FOR SUCH USE. YOU FOLLOW MY EXAMPLE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

Despite no heads up that it was out for delivery the PST duly arrived just after lunch. It was centered in a very large box densely packed in cut foam. The instrument felt remarkably heavy for its modest size. Neatly made too and still in fine external condition.

First light was around 2.30pm within minutes of arrival. A very low winter sun @ only 13° altitude, was scraping along through a long and lumpy string of cloud.

When the blinding sun managed to break clear, the image was rather dim, very deep red and almost lacking in any detail at all. I tried a 10mm Plossl but is did not improve matters. I fetched a black plastic bin bag as a temporary dark cloth.  I can quite see the point of the vertical shades one can purchase or make for fitting in front of the PST telescopes.

Tuning, via the rather stiff, knurled ring resulted in a change from a small, barely visible, dark spot at 4 o'clock near the limb, to a fuzzy white one. This coincided with fleeting glimpses of surface granulation around the white smudge. Was the whiteness a filament? No prominences were visible. The limb was quite easy to bring to a sharp  focus with the smooth focuser on the lower back casing.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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