27.06.2021 Imaging AR12835 through cloud.

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Sunday 27th 70/63F, cloudy from the west. With only occasional, brief, sunny periods. Moments of tantalizing transparency. Spoilt by thermal image displacement, defocusing and shaking. 

Now add problems with the PST etalon. I am seeing a dark ring of detail. Off-band, bright patches to right and left. I tried re-wrapping the etalon element with PTFE tape. It made it worse!

 

12.27 I keep capturing videos during breaks in the cloud.

 

I have now changed to the 2.6x GPC to try and narrow the field of view. Double, branched light bridge over the more western spot. [AR12835?] Double light bridges over the more eastern spot.

13.20 Very cloudy now. Paused for lunch.

14.25 A little sunshine tempted me back. Still too much cloud and a white sky instead of blue. 

 

Time to do some more woodwork! 

I wish I hadn't! I had to align three arcs on top of three others with staggered joints. Which meant I couldn't see the joints underneath. What made it worse was working down on the grass. Grass full of warring ant colonies! Plus it was hot and humid working in the veiled sunshine. With perfect hindsight I should have used screws to hold the  arcs as they were assembled. Instead of which, I added dozens of spring clamps. I was being bitten by ants but didn't notice it at first. Perhaps they were gnats? I used G-cramps and F-clamps to ensure the joints were tight.

18.00 Doing some late imaging. Some transparency returning but the image is simmering fiercely. Huge variations in thermal distortion require split second timing and anticipation for a capture. Thin, high cloud crossing too.

If only the cloud would disappear the transparency would work for me.

Only a quarter of an hour before the trees intervene.

 

 

 18.54 Last useful image.

18.57 The trees eclipsed the sun.

 

 

 

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