22.06.2020 Nowt!

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Monday 22nd: 12.25 71/67F, sunny, but large, fluffy clouds moving quickly across from the west.

I toured the sun on the drives and there was nothing to capture. The same small proms at 11 o' clock as yesterday. Gong-Ha shows nothing of interest either.

Much later: 17.57: 77/67F. Surface detail. Just one tiny filament caught my eye.

Just in case anyone is interested here is a screen grab of my SharpCap settings. The image scale in the active window is typical with 150% zoom. You'll have to imagine this is full screen on my 27" AOC monitor.

This is about the same as I see when using a Barlow lens or GPC at 100% zoom. This is late afternoon with the sun sinking towards the trees. The surface detail is typical for a live view as the seeing settles down from its usual thermal agitation.  Though even then the steadiness is usually fleeting.

With the sun being so enlarged it is easy to spot anything interesting. Though this is not the scale of the captured video unless I add a GPC. When used in conjunction with my DIY motor and belt driven helical focuser I can be sure of the best possible focus.

The multi-hinged, screen mounting bracket is really proving itself useful. I can pull the screen out, tilt and twist it a little or a lot in any direction. It is much more relaxing to be able to arrange the screen to perfection and have it stay there. At this time of year the sun is at its highest. So that it shines through the over-the-zenith, observation slit. So I have to move around a little at my desk to avoid overheating and/or sunburn.

The multijointed, screen bracket makes this quite practical. Before that I had two flat plates in compact, dovetail form. Strictly WYSIWYG. A cap with a peak is always useful to reduce glare. It also keeps the sun off my reading glasses when I am studying the screen. I found the 15.6" laptop screen unusable. So the laptop just sits on the desk. With all the various plugs in its ports and excellent wireless reception from the house. The AOC is very low reflection. Though I still wear black or very dark grey T-shirts and/or black jackets. It all helps to reduce reflections to an absolute minimum. Not to mention improving contrast.

The next few days will be warm with continuous sunshine. What a shame there is nothing to capture.

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