Solar Imaging: Capture, stack, sharpen, timelapse

We capture a magnificent solar prominence and make a timelapse using freeware from the garden observatory.
Equipment
Lunt 60mm LS60T
Player One Saturn M
x2.5 powermate
Software
FireCapture - image capture
Autostakkert - sort and stack
ImPPG - image processing
Photoshop - colour align, timelapse
1:06 Equipment
2:26 FireCapture setup
5:35 Image capture
8:34 Autostakkert stacking
13:24 ImPPG processing
17:43 Image alignment
18:54 Photoshop batch colour
20:54 Photoshop image alignment
21:42 Photoshop timeline video
24:29 This is incredible
25:39 3 hour timelapse
#solar #solarimaging #sunspots #prominence #lunt

[@yveschalon9684]

Good job, très bon tutorial ,clair et précis, felicitations.

[@deliciousskyviews2792]

This is a fantastic tutorial and I love the sympathic attitude. Well done, mate

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you enjoyed it. Clear skies to you.

[@Qoride]

Looks like Steven went real quite after this video dropped haha, whether it's the astonishing solar images or being utterly disproven this video has been a treat! Great work Mark!

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you for your kind words - and yes, he’s moved onto someone else now.

[@d0n77]

the person believes earth is flat, no proving or disproving, they will not find out until they do it for themselves...these are very specific types of ppl that know very little, and they do not study things for themselves, they don't know cameras/telescopes etc...flat earthers will keep flat earthing...can't debunk if they don't understand.

[@NikonJax]

Very cool! Lots to take in :)

[@RefreshingViews]

It sure is but great fun.

[@beardy_welder]

Awesome job mate 👍 as an amateur photographer who's barely started astro stuff, solar photography is certainly a while away yet but I still love watching these videos

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you enjoyed it Beardy. I find it amazing we get to see this stuff with off the shelf amateur kit. Clear skies to you!

[@avt_astro206]

Great setup and images! The sun is Pretty active now, it shall continue to be hopefully till 2025!

[@RefreshingViews]

It’s great isn’t it? And to think I thought my solar scope was broken when we went through solar minimum!!

[@astrokev99]

Nice video Mark. I've made many solar animations, but have picked up a few new tips that I wasn't aware of. Thank you!

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you found it useful Kev.

[@AstroQuest1]

Fantastic tutorial! Cheers Kurt

[@yourfavoriteastronerd]

Awesome! Just what I needed. Thanks for all the info. Diana

[@RefreshingViews]

You are so welcome, Diana. Wishing you clear skies.

[@Frankaupolis]

Amazing! Congratulations for your awesome sun footage! =•D

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Spaced_Out_Bill]

This is amazing! Thank you for share your knowledge.

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you - glad you enjoyed it! I am missing those warm sunny days now the rain is lashing down.

[@Astro_Gardener]

Another brilliant video Mark, well above my head.

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you enjoyed it Peter - see you soon I hope.

[@rinner2801]

Very well explained for a newbie like me. Thanks so much for this video!

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you for your kind words. Glad it was useful.

[@AntonioPena1]

Mark, thank you for sharing your techniques, this is fantastic process flow you have, I learned a lot from you, awesome job!

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad it was helpful, Antonio.

[@ASVProductions]

Haven’t thought about space in any great depth for over a decade until my 4 year old took an interest. Now going doing very fascinating rabbit hole lol

[@RefreshingViews]

It’s a slippery slope but worth every penny. Wishing you and your child a great journey.

[@ASVProductions]

@@RefreshingViews thank you:) look forward to future content

[@benroutledge6126]

Great video as always. Currently saving up so I can begin capturing the Sun in ha

[@RefreshingViews]

You’ll love it Ben - and it’s something to do in the long summer days!

[@ravia.vkumar1080]

Wonderful tutorial.. will certainly try this workflow !!

[@RefreshingViews]

Great, let me know how you get on.

[@Deusgo101]

Cool, informative, and easy to understand. You gained a new sub

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you for your kind words, dogwater

[@jperez6439]

Thank you very much for your tutorial. I just applied your method to a set of solar image files I acquired yesterday and it worked very well.

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad it helped

[@user-vu9zw1sb1t]

Splendid! I have just started doing Ha imaging with my lunt 40 and i have picked up some tips about processing which will raise my game. Thanks.

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@graemehutton4105]

Great video. Thanks!

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you liked it Graeme.

[@raulmunoz2296]

Fabuloso! Muchas gracias, buen trabajo. Thanks for explaning "the how process"

[@RefreshingViews]

Gracias Raúl - ha sido un placer y espero que lo encuentras útil.

[@BushyHairedStranger]

The surface detail looks like billions of Angry Red Ants furiously attacking an invader in their nest! terrifying beautiful!

[@RefreshingViews]

Amazing power isn’t it?

[@rickpaul9858]

Best video I’ve seen yet on solar imaging. Just received my pressure tuned Lunt 60mm and waiting on delivery of my camera for it. Thanks so much!

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you enjoyed it. Good luck with your new scope and camera - sounds like you’re well set up.

[@rickpaul9858]

@@RefreshingViews have a Zwo ASI432MM arriving next week

[@cyberfel2010]

Hi Mark, great video, I have been doing it the hader way ... got a lot of help from this video, brillant, thaks a lot.

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you Felipe, glad you found it useful.

[@Space-Stuff]

That is a spectacular image and video. I have become very interested in the Sun lately well actually for quite some time now. (It's amazing how fast time goes by the older we get.) I hope I am able to capture and process as well as you have done in this awesome tutorial. I have most of the software now except for Photoshop. I was actually directed to another software that is very much like Photoshop but without the high cost and no yearly subscription. Just pay one time and you own it. It is called Affinity Photo and it's very inexpensive compared to Photoshop and it has an Astrophotography section in it as well. I watched a solar imaging tutorial this evening with it and it seems quite easy to learn. Anyway, I have all the equipment, a little different from what you have, that I need to begin imaging in White light and H Alpha, as well. So, nice work and I hope I can get my stuff to look as amazing as yours does. By the way, I am English but, I am gen 2 in the states, so I'm afraid that the tea time is out for me and will be replaced with a rather strong coffee! 🙂 Thank you for sharing your time and hard work in producing this video. Sincerely, Richard Williams Astor, Florida 32102 USA!

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you for your lovely words Richard - well apart from the coffee!! Let us know how you get on and feel free to ask if you have any questions.

[@doug8515]

Super work flow and final image/video.

[@RefreshingViews]

Thanks Doug

[@haja19]

Excellent job

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@scottflick5758]

Awsome workflow

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you Scott.

[@novus505]

Wow 😮 thank you 🙏 For sharing this with all of us.!! I had not seen these kind of shots other the what NASA released. Gracias 🙏 again

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you enjoyed it! Great fun - although I am missing the sun now it is wet and cloudy.

[@garypaulson5202]

This is very helpful, thank you

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheCosmicGuy0111]

Awesome video man!

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you for your kind words. Appreciated.

[@blmgt]

Thanks. This was really helpful.

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad it was helpful!

[@secretstill]

This is a really top-notch tutorial, Mark. I already use Autostakkert and Firecapture but learned more than I would like to admit from your tips! I have just got hold of an ASI662 camera which does a fantastic job on the sun even though it is not mono.

[@RefreshingViews]

So glad you found it useful. And yes, a colour camera still works effectively on the sun (just not at top effectiveness).

[@secretstill]

@@RefreshingViews As we speak, I'm just trying out a timelapse/autorun for the first time based on this video. Really enjoying the content you are putting out on your channel, Mark.

[@RefreshingViews]

@@secretstill great stuff! If you do publish your timelapse on the socials then let me know, would love to see the results. As always let me know if you have any questions or comments.

[@vincei4252]

Excellent, thank you. I just repaired my Lunt 60mm Ha that has been out of action since 2013 - simple fix - other stuff got in the way!. Also working on bringing the observatory that has been in deep freeze for even longer. Appreciate the walk-through of your workflow as so many of these tools weren't available a few years ago. Cheers!

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad it helped Vince. Wishing you clear skies.

[@vincei4252]

@@RefreshingViews Awesome! Thank you! Looking forward to the 2024 eclipse tomorrow. Have to do some clear skies chasing through New York state!

[@jmm3194]

Very nice video, thanks !!

[@RefreshingViews]

Cheers Jim.

[@PauloHenrique-bx7ft]

Wow.. That is amazing

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you Paulo

[@daveatkinson4774]

Great video mate :)

[@RefreshingViews]

Cheers Dave - hope you and family are well.

[@terrizittritsch745]

Nice job on the tutorial!

[@RefreshingViews]

Thanks Terri - hope all is well with you all!

[@johnparr5879]

Fascinating use of modern software, Mark...... I did notice. Tea was a very important aspect, of the. Imaging process*

[@RefreshingViews]

I find tea to be vital for any process, John - be it work or home!!

[@johnparr5879]

@@RefreshingViews Indeed..... Just been, gardening..... And now..... refreshing*.... Tea. Relocating next few weeks.... me thinks..... must get more.... Tea. In*

[@VRzichtbaar]

After shooting my first image of the sun with a Lunt ls50b600last week I am really hooked. The quality was nothing like yours but your video helps and motivates me to try again. I didn't know a mono camera could even be used and will definitely try this now. The camera I have is a ASI220mm and I hope this will work. I still don't understand how to tune the pressure and what the right setting is. The documentation is really vague. Like a doorknob operates a door while I don't even know what a door is - but that aside - What a comprehensive video, thank you for taking the effort and posting.

[@RefreshingViews]

So glad you found it useful! I simply tried the tuning at various twiddles to see what worked best in bringing out the proms and surface detail.

[@rinner2801]

Thanks!

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you!

[@manuel.camelo]

OF COURSE.. you view the sun via a camera mounted on the Telescope 🔭 There's no way on Earth I'm putting my eye in there. 👁️👁️👃👁️👁️🙏 Great Video Dude, Truly Majestic. I have a very special request, can you see Venus also? I Love that Planet.

[@RefreshingViews]

Thank you Manuel - try this recorded a few years ago while I was still learning this KZbin stuff. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJzKpZejrJimnqMsi=ILKag6rfrEunxCg0

[@manuel.camelo]

@@RefreshingViews Wow I'll watch it right away, Thanks Buddy keep up with the Great informative Content ! 🙂🙏

[@craiglowery4427]

I love this video and keep coming back to it. What is the best way to align your telescope on the sun?

[@RefreshingViews]

My scope came with a Sol Searcher - but if you search up solar finder you will find lots to chose from.

[@Nottsboy24]

Super Cool 🔬🔭📡

[@RefreshingViews]

Thanks Nottsboy

[@leoluso]

Tutorial excelente, obrigado.

[@RefreshingViews]

De nada leoluso

[@JustinBerke]

🏆

[@RefreshingViews]

Cheers Justin.

[@nacolewagner211]

Appreciate you very much for sharing this information & providing real (not cgi) photos of sol. Are you posting any newer video’s elsewhere? I only see the two videos from a year ago. ❤ 8:32

[@RefreshingViews]

Hi Nacole - thank you for your kind words. Yes, we have been doing some more videos (when work and weather doesn't get in the way). Have a look here: kzbin.info

[@craiglowery4427]

Mark I continue to come back to this great video. Did you do a one star alignment to keep the mount tracking on the sun? Thank you

[@RefreshingViews]

It was a complex task of pointing at the sun and turning on the tracking! No alignment whatsoever.

[@justaguy4real]

What would the rangers be if simply used a regular telescope? What would get damaged, and how bad?

[@RefreshingViews]

Do you mean dangers? Instant blindness if you looked through an eyepiece and a melted camera!! If you have a refractor, check out the Daystar Quark. It’s a solar observing filter you can use. I reviews one last year - great bit of kit.

[@rainstormdesign]

Im curious if you could run this final video through something like Topaz labs Ai upres tool to boost the final resolution. Krea Ai also does crazy upscale but also might embellish the scientific authenticity too much.

[@RefreshingViews]

While you can use AI to boost the details it is “making up the details” based on the machine learning as a result it’s often considered false data - although aesthetically more pleasing. Note the BAA planetary sections don’t accept images with AI for this reason. So yes you can but it’s kinda artificial.

[@miertjestoer9525]

Hi, I like to ask you a question about the Lunt 60 tilt for visual use: I also buy a used Lunt 60 tilt and doing visual around my home ( not to the grassy fields-away from buildings) question: I have find out that most of the viewing time, the surface detail looks ( at last to my Lunt tilt) much better than the prominences.... and generally I also prefer the fews in lower and medium power, then higher power. ( with imaging you don't have this "problem"?) Is this a normal thing or is this due to variance between solar telescopes/ personal preference? ( I also believe that maybe the Lunt 40 show the proms better, while the 60 tilt better surface detail...?) do you have the same experience/ tanks for the tip! Miertje... I am still learning.

[@RefreshingViews]

Hi Miertje - glad you’re enjoying your solar observing. My Lunt became very poor a few years ago. I had to replace the blue filter in the etalon (v easy) as mine become smeared / discoloured. Worth checking yours just in case.

[@JethroXP]

Thanks for the great video! I see you've already answered a few questions about AutoStakkert, but the bit I'm still confused about is that you loaded 100 .ser video files of about 30s each recorded at about 100 FPS, so each file should be about 3000 images each, or about 300,000 images in total across all 100 .SER video files. But when you are doing the quality analysis in AutoStakkert it's only looking at about 3400 frames, which is what I'd expect from one of your .SER files. Is that quality analysis then being replicated across all the remaining 99 .SER files?

[@RefreshingViews]

Hi Jethro - yes each time AS3 (and now AS4) crunches a video, it is repeating the quality analysis to work out which are the sharpest frames before stacking. If you batch up a few files you can see the quality graph change as it runs through each video.

[@m.b.h.6364]

Hello, what is the reason for putting an IR filter? thanks for the video.

[@RefreshingViews]

Because the camera sensors are sensitive to the IR. If you put an IR cut filter on it, it gives a cleaner image.

[@craiglowery4427]

Wonderful Mark. I needed this video. Several years ago you taught me planetary imaging with your tutorials, Now I want to try some solar imaging and along comes your solar tutorial. Is your scope polar align? I thought I needed to buy a new tripod. Guess not. I already bought a dedicated solar telescope. What is the finder scope you used to align the scope with the sun? Thanks again

[@RefreshingViews]

Glad you enjoyed it Craig - and thank you for your lovely feedback. And yes, the scope is polar aligned as it's permanently set up in the observatory. The finder is a solar finder: lots to chose from (including homemade options) but this came with my scope: www.firstlightoptics.com/lunt-solar-accessories/tele-vue-sol-searcher.html.

[@supengliu7704]

Very skillful processing thank you, Mark. Maybe I lost something but I noticed that you don't calibrate the flat frame. Is this not important in your case?

[@RefreshingViews]

I did need it with my ASI224 but for some reason (and my inherent laziness) I’ve not used it on this camera. Not sure why there is a difference but it seems to work (for me anyway).

[@RNP-1668]

So what is the real colour of the sun or the whole u universe?? Or just b&w and grey??

[@RefreshingViews]

I am not too sure! Mostly black with blobs of white I imagine.

[@MrMa1981]

Damn your captured frames are like my processed after stacking image. Is Lunt that good next to the Coronado wich I own? Is the monocamera that made the difference? I'm really disappointed about my solar scope. Decent but not stunning.

[@RefreshingViews]

It’s definitely an improvement using a mono camera as you’re then using all the pixels and not just the red ones. Of course seeing makes a massive difference. Note I only included the good ones here!!

[@MrMa1981]

@@RefreshingViews Ok, that's make sense. Let's go with a new monocamera. Thank you. Marco.

[@TomiTom1234]

Nice tutorial thank you! But scientifically, the color of the sun is white, not orange 🙂 or yellow. BTW, can you please tell me, if it is possible to attach a filter to my tele camera (3000 mm focal length) so that I can view this "flame" like around the sun? I have a solar filter but I can't view such effects on the sun surface and the flames around it, only some black points and a bit of surface's mesh. I will be very thankful if you lead me to a filter like that to attach to my camera. Thank you!

[@RefreshingViews]

You are right - it just appears yellow against the blue sky hence I went for the aesthetically pleasing (if not scientifically accurate) colour! Probably the simplest approach is some baader solar film. This only passes through a small fraction of the sunlight so you can see sunspots. You can get a Daystar quark that are like solar-filter-eyepieces. Not sure if they will fit between a lens and a camera body though.

[@TomiTom1234]

@@RefreshingViews Thank you.. Yes I use Baader solar film and can see the sun spots.. But I was hoping for a solar filter that can let me view this lava or flame like around the edge of the sun, which I can use with my Tele lense camera.

[@craiglowery4427]

Hey Mark what is Drizzle?

[@RefreshingViews]

Hi Craig - it’s a way of processing undersampled images. As the planet / flare / crater moves slowly during capture the software can interpolate finer features. Bit maths heavy if you need to dive any deeper!

[@lucasgatsas]

Hello Mark, I have a question at 09:02 do you import a movie file, avi or ser, but how output autostakkert images ? i mean there a lot of 13:43 files in the folder.. ?! How this will work? When i stack a avi file, only one file comes out. in your folder there a lot? How ?

[@RefreshingViews]

Hi Lucas - if you select ALL the video files, AutoStakkert will do them as a batch. There is only one tif image per ser video - I just did all mine at once. Does that make sense?

[@lucasgatsas]

@@RefreshingViews Hello Mark, thanks for your Request. But one Thing. These ser files are videos or images ? When i add "Images" to autostakkert. example. 10 Images .tif files, autostakkert output me only one file. but i want my 10 images... and when i add a avi file with 100 frames (Video) he output me too one file in the end. this with the avi make sense.. but in the first part images not.. wired and confussed me a bit. the rest of the video is clear, but only the right start with the autostakkert does not work the right why, i don't know, what I'm doing false.

[@RefreshingViews]

@@lucasgatsas hola Lucas sera files are video (but without compression). So if you stack one ser file (or avi) you will get one stacked and sorted image file. If you stack 5 ser files, you get 5 image files. Or in my case 100 ser files gives 100 image files. I simply selected all my video files when I started AS3. You can stack differing amounts eg 1000 and 2000 frames or 20% and 30% and get more image files - in the top right corner of the control window with the Open-analyse-stack. If you stack 10 image files you will get one output unless you add varying amounts of stack. Hope that helps!

[@lucasgatsas]

@@RefreshingViews Hello Mark. Okey, now i realize it, how it works. One Question, Which program would you recommend, FireCapture or SharpCap, to photograph the sun?

[@RefreshingViews]

It’s up to you! They’re both very good. I use firecapture as that’s what I am used to but lots of people use sharpcap.

[@SunShine-kd6td]

Could you take an image of the sun every day for a month and then compare the sizes and show us? Making sure to use the same zoom settings, of course.

[@RefreshingViews]

Yeah but not in England!! I’d be lucky to see the sun for several days in a row!!

[@SunShine-kd6td]

@@RefreshingViews We have the same problem here in Upstate NY. If you could even capture the sun once a week for a month, that would be enough. I will explain later why I'm curious about this.

[@OyunTireni]

@@SunShine-kd6td If you're so incompetent at making observations, you can continue to believe in these things. I truly can't believe how you managed to form such a ridiculous sentence in the description, like 'We couldn't observe that our Earth revolves around the sun.' Even a 5-year-old wouldn't say that because there's a logical word for it. Do you want to observe that the Earth's orbit has changed? The job you need to do is easy: Just choose a set of stars near the equator and track its position for 12 months. The only thing you'll notice is that the rising time of the set of stars changes as the moon passes, no longer consistently rising in the morning and setting at night or rising in the evening and setting in the morning. Now, what is the reason for this? Does the dome, as you claim, start moving without reason? You can observe the rotation of the Earth, the rotation of the Sun, and the movement of the constellations. Do you want to see the rotation of the Earth? Compare the rising times of the moon for three weeks in two simple experiments. In the second experiment, look at the rotations of the stars in the northern hemisphere and the sun in the southern hemisphere. I've done the experiments you mentioned, and the results are clear. There is nothing as easy as proving that the Earth revolves around the sun. Even a child can do it. Now, think about what I said and do it. See the truth for yourself. Don't do silly things with a silly flashlight

[@Youtuber-ku4nk]

For visual... can you see the same thing, same details with your eyes through a solar telescope?

[@RefreshingViews]

Most definitely. It's well worth checking out at a star party or club night.

[@Youtuber-ku4nk]

@@RefreshingViews can a nebula filter H alpha screw in filter be used for that?

[@RefreshingViews]

@@KZbinr-ku4nk NO - be really careful. The sun (especially through a telescope) will melt through any filter sending that intense heat into your eye. Read up on solar observing - and have a look a this kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXa1Z6iuqJmWeZo.

[@Youtuber-ku4nk]

@@RefreshingViews oh, I forgot to mention that I have ordered a Baader ASTF solar filter which is just a white filter. So I was thinking if I added an H alpha filter to eyepiece I could see the same details as with a dedicated solar filter.

[@RefreshingViews]

@@KZbinr-ku4nk alas the deep sky Ha filters are very different from solar Ha in terms of bandwidth and pass through so they can't be used interchangeably. You need either a quark or solar scope for hydrogen alpha views. You'll enjoy your white light views through the baader solar filter - great fun tracking the sunspots.

[@holeshothunter5544]

Thank you for the details. I'm an inventor. I stick with biotech, detecting & curing TB etc. I've done weii at it, saved many. I know if I tried to duplicate your gear, I'd fuck it up. I havrn't worked since '08...so I ask: how much to buy a duplicate 'scope completely equipped?

[@RefreshingViews]

Have a look here - mine is an older Lunt 60mm. www.firstlightoptics.com/lunt-solar-60mm-h-alpha-telescopes.html

[@user-wc3ig2ux3b]

目视党路过，

[@matthewwagner47]

The sun is flat.... too

[@arriecohen2672]

Why is it every content creator always gives naysayers and haters the time of day and comment back on their negativity Sir, it’s not worth it

[@RefreshingViews]

You’re right, thank you.

[@justinremple7986]

Apparently even trolling helps the algorithm and boosts your views whatever attention you bring is good for your channel ratings… just laugh at the trolls 🧌 stick and stones my friend

[@arriecohen2672]

@@justinremple7986 didn’t think of that

[@gregmckay666]

Great video. People like Steven aren't worth your time though.

[@RefreshingViews]

Yeah - you are right. I was angry by the one silly comment and then realised I can use it to my advantage in the next video!! Thanks for your kind words.