28.6.22

28.06.2022

 *

Tuesday 28th 60F Full sunshine. 

09.23 AR3040 First image shows serious PST sweet spot imbalance. Not responding to etalon adjustment so far. Focusing accurately is difficult.

09.40. Image soft and boiling. The seeing conditions are awful!

Giving up for the moment. Will try again later.



14.36[CET] Back to check the seeing conditions. Steadier and not so soft. The live view didn't look very much better on the monitor but the results were far more acceptable. All due to the magic of stacking and ImPPG!


 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Returned at 17.00 to check the seeing again. Impossibly bad!

 

*

27.6.22

27.06.2022 Cross-axis mast support?

 *

 Monday 27th 58F, thundery downpours.

 I just realised that there is a potential support for the north bearing of a cross axis mounting in my raised dome. A lattice TV-radio mast. These were once popular in Denmark for mounting TV aerials. The undulating landscape made it difficult to receive terrestrial signals. German TV was also popular when Denmark's TV was so limited. Now everybody has satellite TV or online streaming.

 These lattice masts came in sections and could be built to tremendous heights. There is a steady secondhand market for these masts. Often with the stipulation that the buyer takes the mast down. 

 The problem is not just dealing with the height but also the weight. Many were made of solid steel. Rather than tubular. The length of the sections adds to the difficulty or getting these things home. Probably involving the hiring of a crane mounted, delivery truck.

 New masts are available but expensive. Aluminium lattice masts are made too. I nearly bought a section of mast locally for my pier. Then developed a bad back. The mast had gone when I returned to see if was still available. Probably just as well. How would I have lifted it safely into place without a crane? I went with the 4x4" timber pyramid and plywood cladding instead. Hard work but manageable.


*

25.6.22

25.06.2022 Afternoon imaging. AR3040 flare.

 *

 Saturday 25th
Full sun and breezy from the SE until now.
 

15.41 80F. Seeing soft, shaking and squishy. AR3030 & 3032 on the limb. Filaments and some flaring.







15.56 AR3040? with lots of filaments and minor flaring.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.01 [UTC] AR3040 flaring to the south west of the AR. Meanwhile, thin high cloud had arrived and ruined the earlier seeing.


The flare was short lived and shrank to a small white spot towards the SW of the AR within minutes. 

 

 

 16.42 [CET] The seeing has not recovered since 16.00. The camera is showing 50C in SharpCap.
Going in to make a cup of tea.

 17.30 Back out to check the seeing conditions. Worse than ever! Outside shade temperature is showing 77F. Inside the dome 82F. 5C. That's quite a differential. 

 18.00 Seeing is still garbage. 

 18.15 Seeing is steadier but not much clearer. Processed image is improving. 


 

 

I captures and processed loads of images of AR3040.

It showed varying degrees of flaring. 

18.50 is a typical example.

18.53 The trees intervened.

 

 

 

 

 

*

24.6.22

24.06.2022 The Shirl Observatory 3 Early progress:

 *

  Friday 24th. Yesterday I opened the shutters on the big green dome for the first time in months. Then I could remove a lot of wood and packaging materials. The wood went into the greenhouse. [Which I had to tidy first] The packaging materials, from the dome and the ground floor of the observatory, went to the recycling yard. 

 Both "buildings" had been used as handy dumps to hide bulky things out of sight. I carefully flattened every box but the load was still twice the height of the trailer body. Which itself, is the size of a full sheet of plywood.

 The big dome is now accessible on foot. The ground floor of the observatory now clear behind the big stepladder. For many years we had been saving the boxes from every single item we bought. 

 Just in case something needed returning under guarantee. It all accumulated and nothing ever needed to be returned anyway. Workbenches, lawnmowers and other tools have huge boxes! Smaller items were nested inside some of them. Out of sight. Out of mind. It was a lot of cardboard!

 Now it has all gone I can move more freely. I can also start to remove the octagon's external wall panels within the enlarged observatory. These had been left in place for strength as I worked on the larger building and the new, much larger dome,  I also continued to use the original observatory as intended. Which remained unchanged within the larger footprint of the new building. 

 The original, plywood dome was only 3m/10' in diameter. The new dome is 4.3m Ø.  The octagon was actually much smaller than its covering dome. Simply due to having fewer, flat sides. The larger dome will be mounted on a 14-sided building. The greater number of shorter sides will follow a true circle far more accurately. Giving even more room internally.

 Within the original dome I would often find the telescopes trapped against the inside of the base ring. I could not fit a dewshield to the 7" refractor because they would hit the dome ribs. 

 I could not mount my 10" f/8 reflector either. All due to the lack of clearance. The new dome's base ring will easily clear any telescope I presently own by a meter of more. I have no plans for anything longer. 

11.00 78F. I have added some images captured this morning. It is already hot and windy. The seeing is mediocre and the telescopes being blown about. I had better get on with something more practical!

13.00 It is getting too hot for me out of doors at 80F. Particularly in direct sunshine. Lunch time.


*


23.6.22

23.06.2022 Afternoon imaging

 *

 Friday 23rd Sunny afternoon 71F.

A superb filament and prominence [filaprom] overlapped the limb in the NW.

I captured lots of images but none were very satisfactory.

 The seeing conditions improved slightly later:


17.20 [CET] Deliberately overexposed to show the filaprom and its position relative to AR3038.



17.56 [CET] AR3038. Complex multi-spot with filaments and some flaring.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 18.20 Unnamed spot near eastern limb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.29 Filament and complexity in a disturbed area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.44 Last image of AR3038 worth saving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.52 The trees intervened. The seeing never really steadied as I had hoped. 

*

22.6.22

22.06.2022 The Shirl Observatory 2. Summary of immediate tasks.

 *

 Wednesday 22nd. What needs to be done before the larger dome can be lifted into place?

 In no particular order:

1. Remove and safeguard the stored timber inside the new dome to provide safe access. Remove and cover with tarpaulins. To a site well away from the immediate working/lifting area. The greenhouse?

2. Fit the eye bolts, which I have already purchased, to the upper dome in place of existing 10mm clamping bolts. Internal reinforcement will be required to spread the loads. The seam is a double layer of GRP but local loading, during the lift, might cause damage. Even with existing, large, round washers inside. I can implement large, square, galvanized, roofing washers instead. The eye bolts can be left in place for the life of the observatory. Which will aid lowering the dome when desired. They will need to be sealed, with tap washers, like all the other bolts, to avoid rain leakage.

3. Remove and shelter the telescopes, mounting, electronics and furniture from the old dome. 

4. Remove the old 3m/10'dome from the obs. building. To make room for work on the top ring.  Cover the top of the larger building with lightweight, white tarpaulins. Some form of support will avoid a hideously heavy, raised pond! Pairs of builders stepladders lashed together at the top? I have safely used these as a support for my chain hoist. For lifting the heavy mounting. These reach almost as high as the old dome. Stable and strong enough for windy conditions.

5. Cut and fit circular plywood arcs to the top of the larger building. To lie perfectly level. In a complete ring on top of the existing, 2"x6", 14 sided, timber ring. The plywood ring will provide a much better wind seal with the inside of the dome. Rather than a multi-sided ring. Which would be open at the straight sections.

6. Fit the extra rotation rollers to the new, plywood top ring of the larger building. The rollers are already purchased and stored ready for use.

7. Trim and fit GRP panels to close the triangular holes on either side of the shutters. These are non-structural components. So may be omitted until the dome is in place. The arched doorway, steel reinforcing arc, has been refitted for dome safety during the lift.

There are lots of further steps once the dome is safely in place. The new dome will provide the vital shelter from the weather for the interior work. Tasks which cannot be carried out while the building is wide open to the sky. The shutters can be opened to let the daylight in. Or LED exterior floodlights used in inclement weather.

 The existing dome provides some shelter but only over its much smaller footprint. It is also leaking badly at the seams. Fortunately the rain mostly runs down inside the dome's interior surface. Rather than dripping onto the observatory floor. The larger building is open to the sky over a crescent shaped arc.

 No imaging can take place while this work is in progress. It would be best to carry out this work before the arrival of bad weather next autumn/winter.


*

21.6.22

22.06.2022 The Shirl Observatory

 *

 My wife was always very supportive and expressed amazement that I could construct the things I did. Her vital contributions and sacrifices to my own activities have gone unrecorded. Until now.

 Years ago she collected stones from the entire garden to lay a raised foundation for the large shed I built. [2.7m x 6.6m. 8'10" x 21'7"] The ground fell away steeply beyond the edge of the parking area. So she built up the ground by 4' to provide a level area for the entire shed. Then reinforced the bank at the rear with her dry stone walling skills. It has never subsided. Nor even lost a stone. 

 More recently she helped me to move 22 tons of self compacting gravel. As the foundation for the first, domed observatory. Despite being tiny and slender and already over 70 at the time. She tirelessly filled two wheelbarrows for days. While I walked the 30 yards to the building site with one wheelbarrow. She would be filling the other.

 This was so typical of her selfless and patient way when something needed doing. She willingly volunteered and found an efficient way to rake the gravel downhill into the empty barrow. As it leaned against the vast heap.

 A local business had promised to send a skid steer machine with a bucket to move the gravel. But like other local Danish businesses and tradesmen they couldn't be arsed to turn up for the job. 

 I rang to ask where they were as the lorry had already tipped the huge load in the drive. I was summarily dismissed and he hung up. Beware "wasters" with empty promises and lying websites. Add local electricians, plumbers, car repairers, masons, tree surgeons, carpenters and welders to the growing list of complete wasters.


 Earlier this year my wife helped to build a larger, ring foundation around the new observatory building. By laying bricks and stones in her patient and skilful way. She helped to stabilise the enlarged bank and avoid erosion from the weather. She must already have been very unwell at the time but was hiding the truth from me, and herself.

 The demolition of the old chimney provided raw materials. I have added a few stones and bricks myself but lacked her innate skill. The reinforced bank will all be covered with self-compacting gravel. Then paving slabs laid around the perimeter of the larger building. The additional material reduces the angle of the slope well below the critical [natural flow] angle. A dome drops a fixed ring of run-off from rainfall. Which cuts deeply into the gravel. Hence the paving slabs to avoid the impact.

 The observatory build had been on hold for some months. It had all seemed so pointless with the impossibility of access for a vital crane. Necessary to lift the large and heavy dome.

 When my wife died in early April I completely lost interest in everything. Which had once seemed so important. Now I realise how much she had contributed to the observatory's very existence. 

 With the overgrown hedges now cleared I could easily bring in a crane. Which [in this case] is usually an articulated lorry, tractor unit. With a telescopic crane mounted behind the cab. These devices carry out routine lifts for builders and factories. Rather than hiring a "pure-bred" crane. The lorry mounted cranes can manage up to a 30m reach with lighter loads. They can often be seen on building sites lifting pallets of bricks over roofs. Or lifting roofing materials to where they are needed.

 I shall dedicate my labours to completing the observatory in her honour. To be called after her familiar name. Used throughout our 55 years of marriage together. Her labours and countless sacrifices over the many years were never in vain. I owe literally everything, including my life, to her untiring patience and devotion. To give up now would be an insult to her memory. Not to mention squandering all the hours she spent making it all possible. The project will be called:  "The Shirl Observatory."  Built on our love for each other.

 

*

21.06.2022 Summer Solstice. H-alpha solar imaging.

 *

 09.40[CET] 58F. Set up for imaging. Lots of cloud and fierce thermal agitation of the image on the monitor. The image is so soft that it looks like it has been smeared with Vaseline. [Thin grease.]

09.46 AR3038 Slightly better image than the first attempt.


10.30 No better images captured yet. Hopeless seeing conditions. Giving up until this afternoon.



 

 

18.30 Back to find the seeing initially improved.




 

 

 

 

18.40 Defocusing and thermal distortion of the
image on the monitor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.45 Last reasonable image.

 

 

18.50 Sun is behind the trees.


 

 

 

 

 

*

21.06.2022 Pier improvements?

 *

 Tuesday 21st June. Longest Day. Summer Solstice.

 I have been giving some thought to the very tall [4m] telescope pier. 

 The pier must be moved by 65cm to the SW. To bring it central in the larger building. What could I do to improve the pier while I can?

 The obvious negative was the need to cut a hole [dog kennel door] in the western side of the cladding near the top. This was to allow me to climb the stepladder INSIDE the pier. In order to reach the observatory floor. No plywood could be used lower down because of the large stepladder. So the open side was a potential weakness.

 The pier is pyramidal and consists of four, full length 4x4s. It rests on buried carport anchors. Which are spaced at the maximum footprint. To remain inside the original 3m/10' diameter building. These footings are tapered, precast concrete blocks. They have heavy steel brackets on threaded rods on top. These attach to the bottom of the pier's four legs. Which allows fine height adjustment.

 Once clad in thick plywood, the pier was very stiff. It showed great resistance to twisting [torsion] at the top. I tested this repeatedly over time. By applying a long, steel pipe as a lever near the top.  

 Of course I was careful to ensure the pier was isolated from the observatory structure. Only near the ground did the pier footings approach those of the building. No transmission of vibration was noted between the pier and the building. I jumped up and down on the observatory floor. With a highly magnified view of the sun on the large computer monitor. No movement was ever detected. 

 I shan't expand the pier dimensions despite the new building having a larger footprint. 4.3m : 3m. I will need to dig up the pier footings and move them SW. Or I could just leave them in place and buy and bury four new footings in their new positions. They are quite inexpensive and are sunk to ground level. So will never become a nuisance. 

 Can I arrange the stepladder to completely avoid the pier? This would allow the pier to be fully clad with plywood from top to bottom. Providing a theoretical improvement in stiffness. Possibly less prone to the timber legs warping? If there ever was any. 

 Maintaining alignment, of the massive mounting on top, has never proved to be a problem. I used high magnification and imaging software to check regularly by drift alignment. 

 This drawing gives some idea of the difference in scale between 4.3m Ø and 3m Ø. The 3m square, forming the feet of the existing pier, has been moved [red] to the centre of the larger building. Leaving lots of room for the stepladder. 

 The diagonal stepladder arrangement [red] is very difficult to achieve without cutting large numbers of floor joists. A west:east arrangement [blue] is much easier.

 The more central stepladder [E] in blue, is ideal in some ways, but not others. I would have to walk through the underside of the pier. To reach the bottom of the stepladder. Requiring that two cladding surfaces are cutaway at ground floor level for reasonable access. 

 The lower position [S] in blue, would avoid the need for reducing the cladding. Though the door might prove a problem, if it hits the stepladder. [More stepladder treads are shown here than in practice.]

 I never wanted the stepladder to be external to the observatory. This would provide a clear observatory floor. Though at the expense of greatly reduced security. Not to mention exposure to winter weather. Snow and ice on the aluminium treads could be lethal. 

 Imagine arriving at the top of the stepladder. Then having to open a secure external door 4m above the ground. While carrying the usual items. This could be dangerous and unpleasant in cold or windy conditions.  Far better to have a secure door at ground level. The be safely sheltered inside. While carrying the laptop case and cameras up the steep stepladder. 

 The choice of the stepladder rising from east to west caused some problems. Particularly when imaging the sun early in the morning. I have to stretch out over the big opening in the floor to reach the camera on the tail end of the telescope. A bit silly!

 A stepladder rising from west to east and moved bodily to the south makes sense. This would place the hole in the floor where I rarely need to stand. There are tall trees to the west. Making aiming the telescopes that way completely pointless. So I don't need to be behind the telescopes.

 I gave up the heavy, counterbalanced trapdoor after a while. This was due to bulky storage downstairs precisely where the weights needed to drop. Though I could have fixed pipes to house the weights. To avoid them resting on the stored items. 

 Once the larger observatory is cleared of such bulky storage I can reconsider using the trapdoor. A much lighter trapdoor would make good sense. I used larch, terrace boards and they are thick and solid! They perfectly matched the observatory floor but the trapdoor was foolishly heavy! A plywood sandwich over polystyrene might work better. 


*

 

20.6.22

20.06.2022 Triple OTA skeleton/truss combination?

 *

 Monday 20th June.  I have been thinking about an English cross-axis mounting for ages. However, the extreme difficulty of building one so far off the ground has finally put an end to such thoughts.

 The [slightly more] practical alternative is a multi-instrument OTA. Three instruments built into a single framework. 

 So that they can all be fixed onto a single [Large] German Equatorial Mounting. [GEM] Which can then be balanced by conventional counterweights. 

 A longer DEC axis will be required to achieve balance with manageable sized disks. One person, working alone, has severe weight lifting limitations while working from a stepladder!

 A GEM will not tolerate instruments on opposite ends of the Declination axis. They would each strike the pier at some point. A combination of instruments would avoid having to remove and reload individual OTAs as they are needed. The unused instruments would be temporarily capped to protect the optics.

 The 10" mirror at the bottom of the OTA would help to balance the refractor objectives at the top.

  There is no need for the instruments to be stacked vertically. [As shown in the image above.] The optical axes could be arranged on a triangle. Built around a central axis for a more compact arrangement. Albeit at the cost of greater complexity. 

 Particularly if a Porsa tube system was employed. The Porsa joints are strictly meant be built into rectangles. The joints are a very tough plastic. Reinforced with internal, aluminium, skeletal structures.

 I used the Porsa system for my folded 7" f/12 refractor with some success. Collimation was the problem. Not the Porsa system. There are many combinations of Porsa joints available. To build a very stiff, 3-dimensional structure to personal taste.

 It might be thought that interrupting a long tube with joints would weaken the structure. This is not the case here. All thanks to the stiff and reinforced  joints. Which are [rubber] hammered into place. There being an interference fit in the square tubing.

The Porsa system is often used to support massive fish tanks (aquaria.) So the Porsa load bearing capacity and stiffness are not in doubt. The increased depth of a multiple OTA would add enormous beam stiffness to the structure. Though it would need to be very well anchored to the mounting's saddle. No flimsy dovetail plates! I use a long and heavy, channel section for the saddle. I also have rectangular sections. Which would be even stiffer.

 The 180mm/ 7" refractor = 216cm f/l. Measuring directly from the tubular OTA: This would need 168cm maximum distance between front and back plates. The objective cell collimation screws would hold the objective cell to the front plate. The focuser would be screwed to the rear plate as normal. Most likely to be used for white light solar imaging. The camera to be mounted on the 2" Lacerta, solar wedge. For visual use an eyepiece can replace the camera.

The 150mm/6" refractor needs only 116cm front-rear, plate spacing. 52cm shorter than the 7". Using the same arrangements as the 7". It would need a sub baffle for the focuser.  The objective cell would  be mounted on the front plate. The H-alpha filter system extends 40cm to the rear of the focuser base. So the camera would lie within the multi-OTA structure. Offering plenty of potential for lateral support. Rather than relying only on tubular extensions cantilevered from the focuser. For visual use [highly unlikely] a solar wedge can be used. To bring the image outside the framework.

The 25cm/10" f/8 Newtonian = 200cm focal length.
Offset from axis to camera sensor = mirror radius = 12.5cm
+ distance to focuser baffle = 2.5cm
+ focuser minimum depth = 10cm
+ camera extension = 2.5cm
So 200 - 27.5 = 175cm. 
Very close [4cm] to the 7" refractor's front and rear, plate spacing.The mirror cell could be mounted on the rear of the back plate to make up the slight difference. There is no need to try and reach an eyepiece. The 10" will, like the 6"&7" refractors, largely be used for imaging. Lunar and planetary.

 A combined multi-OTA structure uses the same length of tubing as a single instrument. Only the difference in the length of lateral tubes adds weight. The three optics and focusers are included weight of course. Since three separate OTAs, all on the same mounting, would each have them. Though each would normally have a separate main tube. There would be some savings in weight in not needing six tube rings.

 I would imagine the bare, Porsa frame would be mounted first. Then the optics added afterwards. Lifting the complete, multi-instrument OTA would require the chain hoist. At potentially, much greater risk of damage or injury.


*

20.06.2022 The cat.

*

 Monday 20th 55F. I hope to do some solar H-a imaging if it remains clear. Meanwhile, a cat found its way up. Onto the new dome's, enlarged base ring. 

 It kept going round and around, desperately trying to find a way down. Presumably having climbed up inside. In the gap between the two, nested, but offset buildings. 

 Eventually it dropped down inside and out of sight. By the time I went over to check there was no sign of it.

 My desire to complete the new dome. Then have crane hire lift it into place. Is slowly returning. I had completely lost interest after the sudden death of my wife. The new dome is being used for temporary, construction timber storage. Rather than tidy my shed alongside. Which doesn't lend itself to timber storage. Meanwhile the old dome is steadily becoming more dilapidated. The shutters are now difficult to close. Requiring pushing with a long alloy pole.  

 I ought to be brave and start dismantling the present set-up. The telescopes have to be brought into safe storage. Followed by the massive mounting being lowered by chain hoist. Only then can the old dome be separated into its gores and lowered individually to the ground. The new dome is directly below the old one. So I can't just drop the gores over the edge of the observatory building. 

 The gores are held together with literally hundreds of stainless steel bolts. Fortunately I can now use a powered driver to remove them. I used s spanner and hex key last time. Which was very time consuming. I also have a new DeWALT rechargeable jigsaw. To cut out the new and larger, plywood top ring. 

 The old mains driven, Bosch jigsaw was years old and worn out. Making cutting of precision arcs a real trial. The blade would wander all over the place. 

 I can't use my laser level. To ensure the top ring is perfectly level. Until the old dome has gone. This was the problem with the 2x8 timber ring. Which is clearly not level when seen edge-on from upstairs indoors. The old dome blocks the laser beam from reaching the larger footprint.

 The 14' high, pyramidal, telescope pier would then have to be moved 65cm towards the SW. To bring it central in the new building. Even that involves lots of hard work. New concrete footings must be buried under the feet in their new positions. I can then use the resited pier to support the laser.


*


18.6.22

18.06.2022 Morning imaging between clouds.

 *

 Saturday 18th 67F, very cloudy from the west 

 11.00[CET] Still waiting for the sun to clear. 

11.07 First image. I have quickly captured all the ARs in case it remains cloudy. 

I am getting 107 fps with SharpCap and the ZWO ASI174MM camera.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.08 Approaching the western limb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Complex disturbed region with filaments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.09 Large filaments in the north-eastern quarter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

11.38 GPC changed to 2x for wider field of view of north-eastern quarter. Cropped slightly to remove PST etalon, sweet spot variations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.47 Another wider field. South western quarter. Slightly cropped.

 

 

 

15.00 I went back out to check the seeing conditions. Awful! Impossibly bad for imaging. I'll try again later. Camera temperature was 36F.

There never was an improvement.

 

 

*

17.6.22

17.06.2022 Morning imaging.

 *

 Friday 17th 60F. Sunny but white haze and thin high cloud.  

08.59[CET] AR3030 First image. Sun is far more stable than yesterday but not still. Image soft and constantly defocusing again.

My images look much better on my Hi-res AOC monitor in the observatory. Indoors, on a Samsung HD screen of the same size 28", they look soft and boring.




 

09.12 AR3031. Image still soft. No sharp focus. Thermal distortion and displacement of the image on the monitor.




 

 

 

 

 

09.32 AR3038 Another feature near the north-eastern limb. Live flaring in the nearest disturbed region.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 09.34 AR3034 Another spot near the centre of the sun's disk.

 

10.00 The image is not improving. The sky looks speckled with thin, high cloud around the sun. I might as well give up for now and do something else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

16.6.22

16.06.2022 Afternoon imaging

 *

 Thursday 16th 65F, mostly sunny with some cloud. White haze around the sun. 

 15.11 [CET] First image. 912x912 16 bit. Some fine detail but awful, PST etalon sweet spot imbalance. Medium frequency thermal, bodily agitation.





15.23 Similar. It is difficult to see the imbalance of brightness on the monitor. Image constantly defocusing. Impossible to focus accurately.





15.32 Seeing becoming worse.  Some flaring.


 

 

 

 

 

15.43  67F. The seeing conditions are not improving. Flaring around the most eastward spot.

 

16.00 Unable to focus due to the agitated sky. Giving up for now.

 

17.10 Hoping for an improvement in seeing conditions. Slightly more stable on the monitor. Still agitated and defocusing.

 


 

 

17.47 Back to try again. Still horribly unbalanced brightness levels across the image. [PST sweet spot.]




 

 

17.56  That's better! Reset the etalon position by 2mm. Much more even.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.07 Better. Still difficult to focus. With thermal agitation. Sky very white around the sun as it sinks towards the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 18.34  Seeing still soft but steadier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.50 The sun has gone behind the trees.

 

 

 

 

*

15.6.22

15.06.2022 Afternoon imaging.

 *

 Wednesday 15th 64F, Sunshine with large clouds crossing. 

 

15.21[CET] First image. Soft on the monitor. Difficult to focus. AR3032 Northern  hemisphere.









15.37 A different spot group. AR3031 Mid southern hemisphere.


 

 

 

 

SpaceWeather.com: 

Solar disk with labelled spots. [Active regions]

https://www.spaceweather.com/images2022/15jun22/hmi1898.gif

 

16.00 The sky is almost completely overcast now. Long periods between clear views of the sun. Poor sharpness. No point in continuing.

 

 

 

 

 

*