Solar work general
This section is mainly to add notes and information that is useful during planning an observing session and then working on it.
Polar Alignment
To get roughly polar aligned the shadow of the sun was used at 1pm (summer time) as well as a good compass. This proved adequate to follow the sun over some hours with only occasional adjustment and drift during the short exposure was negligible. In this position small marks were painted on the blockwork path for future use.
General Wrinkles
- The camera used is a ZWO ASI 120M. A better camera would be the ZWO ASI 174M but the smaller chip ZWO works fine. There are problems with Newton’s Rings, but these can be eliminated most easily by taking a flat frame. As temperature changes the rings tent to change so a flat is needed for each exposure unless close together (few minutes) in time.