Antlia Hershal Wedge w/ Cak 3nm Filter, first light & review!

In this video I give a report on the first light with this wedge. The first light did occur with the 2023 annular solar eclipse.
Gear Used:
Telescope: Stellarvue SV70T
Mount: Celestron AVX: www.highpointscientific.com/c...
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM
Images processed in Pixinsight, Photoshop, Registax, and Auto Stakkert
General affiliate link for Highpoint Scientific. I earn a small commission on any purchase you make if you use the following link to open Highpoint Scientifics website: www.highpointscientific.com/?...
Affiliate links to RC-Astro products. I personally recommend these tools, especially BlurXterminator. All of my workflow video's show the impact these tools can have on your astrophotography:
RC-Astro:
BlurXTerminator: www.rc-astro.com/software/bxt...
NoiseXTerminator: www.rc-astro.com/software/nxt...
StarXTerminator: www.rc-astro.com/software/sxt...
#astrophotography
#solareclipse
#astronomy

[@IcemanAstro]

Is there anything that James cannot process??!! Nope!! Alot of useful info on solar imaging that I didn't know. So cool, thanks

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Isaac! :)

[@jleblanc713]

Very informative video. I'm just starting to dip my toes into solar imaging and this video was extremely helpful.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@SimonsAstro]

Interesting video James! I know nothing about solar imaging, it’s something that I will probably migrate to in the future! Nice first light for you on your solar eclipse! Thanks for sharing that👍 Work does get in the way of our hobby, annoyingly! Clear skies!

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Simon! Might have to start using up vacation time on those rare days of excellent seeing, lol.

[@bazpearce9993]

I'm a Sunspot imager, and i love the fact that you don't need to wear six layers to keep warm. I made my own filter with Baader flim and cat food box for my 5" Maksutov. I include an IR cut, and green #58 filters, as they help bring out the surface granulation as well as spot enhancement. I've been doing white light since 2011. Haze is the biggest problem for solar rather than seeing conditions IMHO. I grab 1,000 frames a video, and stack the best 500, and usually get good results. Been using the same workflow for all the time i've been imaging. I used to use Registax, but upgrading from a 1034MC to a 224MC made my videos too large and difficult to process for Registax. Nowadays i use Astro_Surface to stack and get similar results to Registax.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Baz, good information. Thanks for sharing. I have not heard of Astro_surface, need to check it out. CS!

[@bazpearce9993]

@@DSOImager "The Digital Astronomer" channel has a good tutorial on AS worth checking out. It was all i needed to get to grips with new stacking software.

[@Si-fp2ij]

Very interesting James! This is an area I know very little about so thanks for the review. Cheers Si

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Si!

[@AZ4Runner]

very interesting and very cool! great images.

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Jason!

[@GarnettLeary]

Cool setup

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Garnett!

[@LogansAstro]

Very cool images. I have only done a little bit of solar imaging with the Daystar 60mm solar scout but keen to do more while the sun is so active..... just need to be able to see the sun first 😏⛈🌧☁

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Logan! Hope your skies clear up soon. Between the DSOs, the Sun, and now the meteors... you need them!

[@petesastrophotography]

Very interesting video James. I have started taking an interest in solar imaging myself, mainly to have something to do during periods of poor weather. I have been waiting for a Lunt 50 to arrive for 6 months (delivery times on these are ludicrous) but decided to give up and get a Daystar Quark instead. I received it just in time for Storm Babet to hit so still haven't had a chance to use it yet! BTW, you are well placed to catch the total eclipse next April. I have a good friend who lives just north of Houston so I'm pondering on making the trip over the pond to see it.

[@DSOImager]

I hope things clear up soon so that you can give that Quark a try. My backyard is going to get 3+ minutes of totality :) I just hope it's not ruined by the weather.

[@petesastrophotography]

@@DSOImager Nice, not at all jealous😉The next total solar eclipse that's visible from the UK isn't until 2090. There's going to be one visible in Spain in 2026, so if I don't make it across the pond next year there's still going to be a chance to see one fairly close to home with a bit of luck.

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Hi James nice to see a more in depth review on the CaK filter & it does seem to perform pretty well, I've got 2 PST's one an HA which I can double stack making the bandpass even narrower but in all honesty I generally only use it in single stack, the other PST is CaK & yes you're right you can't use it for visual however if someone in their early to mid teens were to look using one then it's possible they might see the Sun as their eyes can be more sensitive to seeing the blue end of the spectrum, I never have as I'm just to old lol. I've also got a Lunt solar wedge for white light but sadly I haven't done much solar for a while now. I did use to do outreach for the Charlie Bate solar astronomy project but since covid hit I haven't done any since. I've always liked the idea of having the PST's adapted for a PST modded telescope but I think that's a project that's on the back burner for now. Great solar images to hope you get to see the total eclipse next year as that's a sight I doubt I'll ever see. Clear skies

[@DSOImager]

Thanks Tich! I didn't know there was a PST with Cak, that's cool. I will get over 3 mins of totality from my backyard with next years eclipse. Hoping it stays clear for that :)

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

@@DSOImager You're so lucky so I hope you get clear skies capturing the event. Regarding the CaK PST they were made many years ago but Coronado stopped making them & stuck with just making the Ha version.