millers18@att.net [24 Dec 03]
Thank you for all the work you do to keep your site current and informative! I have learned so much from your web site! Attached to this e-mail is a picture I took on October 29, 2003 just as the San Diego, California skies started to clear after our firestorm. Details are as follows: Telescope used was my ETX 60 AT ("fake" alignment but it was tracking very well, as usual) with a full aperture Celestron Mylar Solar Filter. Camera used was a Nikon Coolpix 4500, electronic cable release, eye piece projection using Scopetronix Digi-tee adapter through an Orion Explorer II 21mm to 7mm zoom (set at 21mm). NR set to "off", image quality set to "fine". Five still images taken on October 29, 2003 between 15:00 & 15:03 Pacific Time at ISO 200, f 4.6 1/250 second exposures stacked with Registax 2 and sharpened one level. The image is not flipped or anything-- that's the way it looked through the telescope. According to NASA these were the largest sunspots in 13 years. The large complex sun spot is #486. This is the one that blasted the Earth with an X17.2 flare on October 28, 2003 and the associated CME struck Earth on October 29, 2003. Before it rotated away in ripped loose an X28 flare on November 4, 2003, the largest ever recorded! Mike here: Cropped from its original full frame.
wanglese@bigpond.net.au (Wally Anglesea) [10 Dec 03]
Love your site, It's a wealth of information for the Meade owner. I've been doing things with my ETX105. Up until now, I've just been using my Kodak 4330 Digital camera, which is pretty basic, but I've recently bought an LPI from Meade. Unfortunately, my laptop is at the lower end of power, so I'm setting up the PC for "outside" use, and the images should be awesome, based on the tests I've been running. Anyway, you solar page suggests contacting you with links. Here's my "cheap astrophotography site". I used to have larger photo's but I ran out of disk on the ISP. As I change things, I'll have one large jpg as a link from one of the smaller ones. users.bigpond.net.au/wanglese/photos.html This page is permanent, so link to that one Also, One of my Lunar shots won a prize in a digital photography competition, because it showed what you can do with entry level stuff. users.bigpond.net.au/wanglese/bdphotos.html (this page is only up for a month because of some stuff I'm doing with some other photographers. I just want you to see the moon shot).
pietducci@comune.carrara.ms.it (Ducci Pietro) [26 Nov 03]
SUN - 15/06/2003, MEADE ETX 90/EC, CAMCORDER SONY Hi8, EYEPIECE 40 MM. MEADE, ASTROSOLAR FILTER
pwp1964@sbcglobal.net (Paul) [18 Nov 03]
Here are some shots I got of the recent very large sunspots. I used my JMB Class A solar filter and the 2x Barlow for the cloesups. The stats are: Scopetronix MaxView 40 2x Meade Barlow Canon G3 at 4x optical zoom F5.6 at 1/40-1/125 Processed in Photoshop Elements 2.0
jbowers1@mindspring.com (Carl VanLynch) [7 Nov 03]
Here's the final processed sunspot pic. There is a bit of a quality loss as I had to compress the jpg slightly to get it down to a reasonable (but still large) size. Specs are the same as the single spot I sent you last week except this is the whole pic. Hope you like it!
mmathosian@comcast.net (mark mathosian) [7 Nov 03]
Here is a sun spot photo shot with my ETX90.
mmathosian@comcast.net (mark mathosian) [4 Nov 03]
Been a while. Hope all is well. Here is a photo of the sunspots causing all the havoc this week. Shot through an ETX90 with 32mm lens on a Nikon Coolpix 995. Naples, Fl.
medell@charter.net (Mark) [31 Oct 03]
This is my first attempt at shooting the sun. I shot it with a Olympus digital camera attached to my ETX-125. How did I do? If you would like you can put it on your site.
kubamalecki@i-net.com.pl [31 Oct 03]
Equpipment used: ETX-90/RA, Baader solar filter and ToUcam Pro in main focus. About 440 frames stacked and processed in Registax. Seeing: fair, 5/10
P010249@aol.com [31 Oct 03]
hi mike great website my first reasonable sun shot using e t x 90 and minolta dimage f100 digital camera location 49n 3w today france
ETX_Astro_Boy@sbcglobal.net (Craig M. Bobchin) [31 Oct 03]
on 10/23 before the smoke from the fires here in So. Cal got so bad, I managed to grab a bunch of shots of the large sunspot groups that were visible. I'm including 3 shots from that session. One is as close to a full disc shot showing both groups. one in the center is 0484 and 0486 is visible on the limb. There is also a close up version of 0484.
This is an animated gif that shows 0484 and on the lower right hand side you can see an object transiting across the face. As I was only able to get 3 shots, I was only able to get a short path of the object. I'm not sure what it is, possibly a plane or a satellite.
jbowers1@mindspring.com (Carl VanLynch) [31 Oct 03]
I've attached one sunspot from one of the large groups currently on the sun. I'm always surprised by the performance of this little ETX. Specs are: ETX-90RA Meade 2X barlow Toucam Pro 18:00 UT, Oct. 30, 2003 Seeing and transparency: both good Best 150 frames Baader solar film filter Registax/ Photoshop for processing
HSchilling@birch.com (Schilling, Henry) [31 Oct 03]
These are the best solar images I have taken. The focus is a little off but I like them. Spec: Meade ETX-125 UHTC in alt/az, Canon 300D at prime focus, white light solar filter. 1/60 ISO 100, RAW converted to 16 bit TIFF then converted to jpeg. No processing. Enjoy hjs henren.digitalastro.net/images_small/CRW_0247_RT16.jpg
mschmidt6120@earthlink.net (Mary Beth Schmidt) [28 Oct 03]
here's a recent photo taken using my Olympus 2500L digital camera, ETX 70EC and Scopetronics Digi-T adapter, 30 mm eyepiece and Class A Solar Filter. Exposure was 1/500 second. Saved the original photo as a small jpg file (attached, which shows more graininess than the original).
nking@synner.co.uk (Nick King) [28 Oct 03]
Here's a shot of sunspot group 10485 I took today and thought you might like it for your gallery. Sunspot 10485 is at the bottom of the image. The ring grouping at the top doesn't have a number as yet. Taken with an ETX105 and a ToUcam Pro at prime focus. Movie captured with BTV at 10fps with no compression. The best 50 frames from about 500 stacked, aligned, sharpened and histogram tweaked with Keith's Image Stacker.
geheniau@xs4all.nl (Job Geheniau) [28 Oct 03]
just took this one, very active sun!
Dieter.Wolf@DNSint.com [28 Oct 03]
would like you to post this to the Gust Astrophotographic Gallery - The Sun. The sun is very active at the moment, showing two huge sunspot 'clusters' numbered 10 484 and 10 486. This is surprising as we move towards a sunspot MINIMUM. These two sunspot groups can be easily seen with the naked - but solar filter protected(!) - eye. So they must be at least round about 100.000 km in diameter. They produce X-flares (big X-ray emissions) and Coronal Mass Ejections (plasma ejected from the sun) which may influence medium and shortwave transmissions on earth within the next two days (any 'DXers' or 'HAMs' around?) Dieter Wolf (Munich, Germany) MEADE ETX-125EC with glass solar filter (ND-4) Philips ToUCam pro (1/2500 to 1/5000s) South up, East left [Top] 10 484 (October 25th, 2003; 12 frames out of 300) the smaller dark umbrae equal earth's size sun's granules can be nicely seen on this photo [Middle] 10 486 (October 25th, 2003; 45 frames out of 300) this sun spot group is even more complex and of round about Jupiter's size fine structures in umbrae and penumbrae [Bottom] 10 486 (October 26th, 2003; 40 fames out of 500; shot through quickly moving clouds) this shows the changes withing about 24 hours some spots have separated, others melted together These pictures always remind me of how much we depend on the 'smooth functioning of that big reactor in the sky'...
sdbodin@hotmail.com (Steve Bodin) [28 Oct 03]
Enclosed is an image of the Sun today, 26 Oct 03, thru my EXT-60AT. Taken at prime focus, thru the photo port, with a DX-8263SL video camera and, of course, a mylar solar full aperature filter. The ETX-60 is just the correct focal length to enlarge the sun to full screen with these 1/3 inch CCD video cameras. The yellow is' false color' since these mylar filters seem to render the sun a pale blue. Processing; video capture to computer and 161 frames stacked in Registax, sharpened and passed to Picture Window for color and enlargement.
MaxIPTer@aol.com [28 Oct 03]
Here's a solar pic from yesterday's sunspots (484, 486). I get to play in the Air and Space Operations Center and used these to interject my opinion on the probability of spacecraft charging due to the effects of the CME two days ago. Interesting how great the predictions from the "experts" varied. The CME view from SOHO was incredible. I'm somewhere in between the "national" experts who predicted significant effects and our local experts who low-balled the effects.
tonyh0905@hotmail.com (Tony Hatwood) [28 Oct 03]
Here's one for the solar page. Sun spot groups 484 and 486, taken in sunny Wales!
williansouza@ig.com.br (willian) [28 Oct 03]
sunspots, Willian Souza, Sao Paulo -Brazil
geheniau@xs4all.nl [22 Oct 03]
Rain is coming the next days, but we had a little sun today and a big sunspot so... at lunchbreak at work I drove home to get some pictures of the sunspot. Yes, hooked on the hobby :-)
EddieDTS@aol.com [22 Oct 03]
shame about my camera but this is a picture i took of the new huge sunspot that has just appeared as described in sky&telescope website, i took it today through my etx90, its not perfect but i hope whoever looks at it likes it, eddie
ETX_Astro_Boy@sbcglobal.net (Craig M. Bobchin) [11 Oct 03]
Here is a shot snapped with the 105 and my homemade Baader film Solar filter.
dvdstoyou@fsmail.net [25 Sep 03]
here is my first attempt (today 24 sept 2003) at some astrophotography. This is the original image taken at 2.03pm today and the enhanced version using microsoft picture it (cropped then sharpened about 10 times), i think it gives an interesting effect, but im new to this so what do i know? equipment is ext90ec with uhtc, bc+f screw in solar filter, digital camera (fuji finepix 2400 zoom) held to the eyepiece (orion explorer 2 zoom). im from the uk by the way.
heres the same cluster of sunspots 3 minutes earlier than the last using the same equipment, higher magnification. Again sharpened 8 times with microsoft picture it, then contrast and brightness adjusted to obtain image. No colour manipulation involved. I think that this image is different to others because it is a genuine one adjusted in sharpness and brightness but no other effects added and if you look at it, it appears to a nebula like image in the shape of (bizzare i know) a dog! I am genuinely new to this (i was interested from 12 till about 15 and have recently regained an interest, due mainly to your site) but i do like the images obtained by this method and hope that you will let me know if this is old fashioned etc.
gillo@diala.greenpeace.org (Gilberto Cutrupi) [15 Sep 03]
Congrats again for your site. I don't know if you are interested in having these on your site, but you can just keep them for yourself. These are picts taken with my Fuji Finepix 2800Z on Elba island (Italy) where a forest fire practically covered the whole area with a massive cloud made of ashes. the sun appeared red like I've never seen before. Very weird, but great to see, didn't try to point my unfiltered etx-70 at it though :-)
EddieDTS@aol.com [30 Aug 03]
my first attempts at astrophotography, taken thru the ETX90ec UHTC 26mm series super plossl 4000 eye piece using a fuji finepix F401 digital camera hand holding it to the eye piece on full auto taken using a scopetronix class A solar filter which is superb, if anyone knows a piece of kit to have this particular camera properly mounted for future photography i would love to know, Mike here: See the Helpful Information - Astrophotography page as well as the Accessory Reviews - Astrophotography page for info on attaching your camera.
Dieter.Wolf@DNSint.com [23 Jul 03]
please find attached two images of the very active sun for 'Guest Astrophotography Gallery - The Sun'. One is an overview of the whole hemisphere, the other shows the very complex F-group E-0410. It has a diameter of round about Jupiter's size. Thanks for your site, Dieter Wolf (Munich, Germany) July 20th, 2003 14 : 00 UTC MEADE ETX-125EC solar filter type 4 (glas) + grey filter ND-96 Overview: 26mm SP, CASIO QV-2800UX afocal (1/2000, f/3.2) Detail: Philips ToUCam pro prime focus (best single shot out of 400)
cosmoflot@mail.ru [11 Jul 03]
The Sun with ETX-125 http://www.antiufos.narod.ru/Sun.html
anssi.mantykivi@mail.suomi.net (Anssi Mntykivi) [3 Jul 03]
Here is a photo of sunspots.Taken 1.7.2003. Meade Etx-70at,Plossl 9mm+Barlow2x, Baader Astrosolar,Canon Powershot S30, Photoshop. Anssi Mantykivi Muhos Finland
mmathosian@comcast.net (mark mathosian) [31 May 03]
Sending you two sun shots from May 31, 2003. Meade etx 90 and Nikon Coolpix 995.
MMathosian@aol.com [16 May 03]
erwin@matys.at (Erwin Matys) [9 May 03]
pls find attached an image of a large type f group, obtained on 4th may 2003. Equipment: ETX-90RA, Logitech Quickcam Pro Filter: Thousand Oaks Solar Filter Images: 93 of 100 images stacked, 2x resampled Processing: Registax and Photoshop Location: Vienna, Austria Seeing: mediocre (3-4) Date: 4th May 2003 More at Nightflight: members.eunet.at/erwin/
geheniau@xs4all.nl [6 May 03]
Here a picture I took from the sun with the Meade electronic eyepiece and my home made sunfilter ($10) and my ETX90. You can see some granulation! It was a test for the mercurius event tomorrow (7 may 2003) which will hopefully follow if the weather is fine here in The Netherlands (and it looks good). Job Geheniau The Netherlands
Dieter.Wolf@DNSint.com [6 May 03]
saw a lot of impressive photograps on your site - but not so much 'sun related'. So I send you this one for 'Guest Astrophotography Gallery - The Sun' Dieter Wolf (Munich, Germany) 04.05.2003 MEADE ETX-125EC solar filter (glas, photographic) Philips ToUCam Pro (1/2500s, 3 manual selected frames stacked) large sunspot group 349 Thanks for your work and site, Dieter
ughbug@covad.net [5 Apr 03]
Again, thanks for your site. I submitted a picture to you, which you posted, in November. I've got a new one for you, if you want to use it. I've sent you the full sized image so that you can shrink it any way you'd like. Besides, I thought you'd enjoy the better resolution shot more. As for the particulars of the shot, it was taken on March 15th. I used my ETX-70 with 2x Barlow Lens and Scopetronix filter. However, this time I used my digital camera - A Minolta Dimage 7. Thanks again for a great site. It has been both an inspiration and a great source for knowledge.
r_shoesmith@madasafish.com (Richard Shoesmith) [31 Mar 03]
Here is a photo for the sun gallery. Taken on the afternoon of 30th March 2003 using ETX-70AT, solar filter, Baader contrast filter and using Fuji 602 Z on auto exposure, manual focus, ISO 400. The image has only had minor contrast adjustment and cropping in Paintshop Pro.
williansouza@yahoo.com (Willian) [31 Mar 03]
Here is my Sun picture thar I take today (March,29 at 17:30UT) I have been used my home made adapter and ETX90 w/ Sony DSC P30. Cheers, Willian Souza Sao Paulo , Brazil
grizz1@optonline.net (Craig Schriever) [21 Mar 03]
I took a shot at the sun this morning. It was a little hazy and the sun was near the horizon but I tried anyway. Camera Nikon 995, Solar filter 90mm J.M.B. Indenti-View glass. 14mm scopetronix camera adapter. This is a stacked 3 exposure shot at 1/30th sec at f/2.6. I fooled around a little in Photoshop. I shot this with my ETX 90EC piggybacked on my LX200GPS. After faking a alignment and syncing on the sun it tracked it very well.
mmathosian@comcast.net (mark mathosian) [13 Jan 03]
Here's a shot of the sun from today. I learned from my last attempts to shoot the sun that you must clean as much dust off of your lenses as possible before trying to take photos. Therefore, I used a compressed air can to clean the lenses before attaching my Nikon 995 and then wiped them with a camera lens cloth. This photo shows the sunspots very clearly. Here's the details on the shot: The Sun - January 12, 2003 at about 2:00 p.m. Meade ETX 90EC telescope using ScopeTronix, Inc. 18mm wide angle lens and Nikon CoolPix 995 camera at automatic, wide angle and Class A Solar Filter. Adobe PhotoShop used to enhance color, sharpen and add contrast. Shot at Naples, Florida.