Solar observing using the ASIAIR?

scopesnc

Have not seen much in the way of using the ASIAIR for solar observing. Is it not possible to use the ASIAIR for this? I have not tried to do anything like that, but noticed that not one posting is about using it for solar.

w7ay

scopesnc Is it not possible to use the ASIAIR for this?

Not only is it possible, the fact that you can now focus the telescope from the dark indoors can be a great help. You still have to tune the etalons out in the blazing Sun, but fine focusing can be done remotely.

ASIAIR did not implement solar guiding, so the mount has to be left unguided, unless you add a solar guider like this one: https://www.sciencecenter.net/hutech/Hinode-sg/index.htm (IMHO, worth its weight in gold.) You can still connect and issue GOTO from the ASIAIR to the mount, but guiding in this case is through the mount's ST4 port.

Remember that you also cannot polar align in the daytime using an ASIAIR; so it is best to leave your polar aligned tripod outdoors until morning. Or, at least mark the locations of the tripod legs on the ground.

The reason you don't see much discussion of solar is that ASIAIR has nothing specific for solar. (Note: no money to be made, since they don't OEM any product for solar work either).

Chen

johnpd

Yes you can use Video Mode to view the Sun and create .AVI images with it. You can also stack the video in the ASIAIR. It requires different exposures for the surface and the proms. I tried with my ASI533MC Pro. I used .13 sec for the proms and .002 sec for the surface. There is a limit on the exposure length. I don't remember the lowest value. You can also change the resolution. Standard resolution is 1080P (1920 x 1080). Other resolutions are 720P (1280 x 720), 460P (640 x 480), 360P (480 x 360), and 240P (320 x 240). This allows you to zoom in on the Sun, Moon, or planet. If you have a ZWO camera which has a resolution higher than 1080P, that resolution is not available. Depending on the focal length of the telescope you are using, you may not be able to get the entire Sun in view.

JohnD

johnpd

I tried a few Saturday afternoon using my ASI662MC camera. I did a 1 minute video of one part of the Sun that had a nice prominence. It is not the greatest but if gives you an idea of what you can do. I stacked the video on the ASIAIR and sharpened it (a lot). It was late afternoon and it was a little breezy so it was tough to get a good focus. I used an 80mm refractor with a 60mm H-a filter on an Alt-Az mount. I had set the exposure for 40ms to enhance the proms and used a 480x360 resolution setting. I used to use some old Mallincam cameras that would allow you to black out the very bright surface live so the proms would really stand out. Can't do that with these.

JohnD

johnpd

I did a little processing on the original .avi video. Unfortunately ZWO's ASIStudio cannot handle the videos created by its own ASIAIR (v1 software). The only thing that works is a program called AstroSurface. It is the only one that can properly debayer the .AVI. It does a great job. I toned down the sharpening a little and blacked out the solar disk. I should have taken a disk image.

JohnD

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Steve-C

Are you saying if you choose the solar tracking option in asiair plus, that it won't work (did not implement)?

Corsair

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RoscoeD

To be clear, tracking should work as it's an option built into the mount....guiding (no visible stars) will not. Get a good PA the night before and leave the mount alone and tracking should be good enough (video frame exposures won't be long enough for tracking errors to manifest themselves).