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Sunday 3rd 53F. Morning coffee is over. The 50% cloud has now become 40% so I should check the seeing. The light, southwesterly breeze has helped to keep me cool on my morning walk in the rural lanes. Fortunately that wind direction won't trouble me in the dome and has already reduced to occasional, dead calm.
10.00. 55/50F, set up and aligned on the sun. Best focus via the motor drive was stress free. Cloud increasing rapidly in size and volume! It seems be coming from the W-NW and traveling much faster than yesterday. It is going to be one of those days of grabbing short captures at long intervals.10.25 57/50F First processed capture. I don't have time for a flat. Clearances between huge plates of cloud are down to seconds. I am capturing 500 frames at 260fps in about 2 seconds.
Even that is barely quick enough! The highly disturbed area on the SW limb is still visible. Capturing it is another matter! The sun is completely invisible on the monitor for 90% of the time. I have to leave the gain at its best setting for clear. Or it will be completely burnt out when the cloud clears.I have SharpCap set to 150% zoom so I can monitor the best seeing. Then I keep grabbing a quick video. A dozen or more captures and none is coming out of AS!3 clearly. With nothing to lose I have fitted the 2x WO Barlow nosepiece to the camera. Now I am seeing even more violent thermal movement.
11.00 59/52F. From my view through the open slit it looks like a minimum 90% cloud cover now. I had to collect another jumper as it was getting cool and breezy in the dome.
The day wore on with infrequent clearing. So I made a "flat" cell. My usual mod of a cooking utensil by cutting out a circle in the bottom with small, curved metal shears. I then covered the remaining shell, made from an old steamer, with a single layer of translucent, bin bag. [Refuse sack] I tried two layers of plastic but it was too dark and it didn't seem to help. Besides, it greatly extends the flat capture period. One layer is almost instant.
I pop the light metal ring, with neatly stretched plastic over the D-ERF cell for the flat capture.This means standing on a plastic beer crate and stretching up on tiptoe. Then there is the hurdle of braining myself on the end of the declination shaft. As I rush back to the monitor and keyboard to do the capture. Ask me how I know this?
At least I didn't fall down though the trapdoor as I swayed half conscious over the void! I had very sensibly closed the trapdoor at that point. Perhaps I just need a rubber cap for the end of the shaft? 50mm might just be the right size for a trailer tow hook ball. I have a big, fat rubber one somewhere. Normally the greasy ball is decorated with a neater and much smaller, plastic cap.
Now I am down to one telescope again I don't really need the great length of Dec axis to carry more counterweights. Do I feel strong enough to remove the shaft and replace it with the original shorter [and much safer] one? This is no easy matter. The shaft is very heavy. Even when bereft of its saddle.
15:30 73/55F Mid afternoon and I am still capturing videos when the sun clears the cloud. I am seeing fleeting sharpening of the image on the monitor. Though still haven't managed to capture or process a much better image. I'm hoping that late afternoon will provide improved and steadier seeing conditions. Except that I have more and more cloud instead! I finally gave up at about 17.30.
Couldn't find the rubber tow ball cap. So I stole the white plastic cap from the car. Put a black one in its place. The white one fits the 50mm shaft nicely. A black one was loose and fell straight off! I'll keep an eye out for the rubber one in case it turns up.
The day wore on with infrequent clearing. So I made a "flat" cell. My usual mod of a cooking utensil by cutting out a circle in the bottom with small, curved metal shears. I then covered the remaining shell, made from an old steamer, with a single layer of translucent, bin bag. [Refuse sack] I tried two layers of plastic but it was too dark and it didn't seem to help. Besides, it greatly extends the flat capture period. One layer is almost instant. I pop the light metal ring, with neatly stretched plastic over the D-ERF cell for the flat capture.This means standing on a plastic beer crate and stretching up on tiptoe. Then there is the hurdle of braining myself on the end of the declination shaft. As I rush back to the monitor and keyboard to do the capture. Ask me how I know this?
At least I didn't fall down though the trapdoor as I swayed half conscious over the void! I had very sensibly closed the trapdoor at that point. Perhaps I just need a rubber cap for the end of the shaft? 50mm might just be the right size for a trailer tow hook ball. I have a big, fat rubber one somewhere. Normally the greasy ball is decorated with a neater and much smaller, plastic cap.
Now I am down to one telescope again I don't really need the great length of Dec axis to carry more counterweights. Do I feel strong enough to remove the shaft and replace it with the original shorter [and much safer] one? This is no easy matter. The shaft is very heavy. Even when bereft of its saddle.
15:30 73/55F Mid afternoon and I am still capturing videos when the sun clears the cloud. I am seeing fleeting sharpening of the image on the monitor. Though still haven't managed to capture or process a much better image. I'm hoping that late afternoon will provide improved and steadier seeing conditions. Except that I have more and more cloud instead! I finally gave up at about 17.30.
Couldn't find the rubber tow ball cap. So I stole the white plastic cap from the car. Put a black one in its place. The white one fits the 50mm shaft nicely. A black one was loose and fell straight off! I'll keep an eye out for the rubber one in case it turns up.
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