What's Up? Webcast: SolarQuest Mount Overview
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.ย. 2024
- What's Up? Webcast: SolarQuest Mount Overview
(Episode 140)
We take a deep dive into the Sky-Watcher SolarQuest! This mount automatically aligns and tracks the sun without any alignment needed. It is perfect for outreach, eclipses and just general observing of the sun.
What's Up? webcast take place right here on the Sky-Watcher USA TH-cam channel every Friday from 10am to 11am Pacific.
For more information on Sky-Watcher products please visit www.skywatcherusa.com
Tangential to the topic, at the end of the video people were asking about camera's for solar imaging and some folks just blurted out specific models, but Kevin's answer was spot on, it depends on the telescope you are pairing it with. You will only be capturing Ha, which is a very specific wavelength of 656.28nm, so to ensure critical sampling you need to do the math to figure out what pixel size will give you critical sampling at your focal length. Alternatively the math may indicate that your native FL is insufficient for critical sampling with any of the available pixel sizes and so you'll need a Barlow or PowerMate to get the focal ratio as close as possible for the pixel size you are using.
To determine Optimal Focal Ratio for critical Sampling use: 3 * Pixel Size in Microns / (1.028 * Wavelength in nm / 1000)
For example, an ASI174MM has 5.86 micron pixels, so the formula for ideal focal ratio is: 3 * 5.86 / (1.028 * 656.28 / 1000) = 26.06
So for dedicated Ha telescope like the Lunt LS40THa with a native f-ratio of 10 you'd need a 2.5x barlow to get critical sampling, but the problem is a 2.5x barlow zooms so far in that you won't get a full disk without doing mosaics.
So I opted for a Player-One Neptune-M which uses the IMX178 chip, similar to the ASI178MM but Player-one was able to boost the frame rate a bit. The IMX178 uses 2.4 micron pixels. Doing the math shows:
3 * 2.4 / (1.028 * 656.28 / 1000) = 10.67
The native focal ratio of the LS40THa is 10 so this camera gives me critical sampling at native focal length and gives me a full disk.
You also want to use a camera with a sufficiently high frame rate. Something with 30+ FPS is generally considered minimum, 60 FPS is better, and 100+ FPS is ideal. You can often increase FPS over specs by defining an ROI and reducing the bit depth.
Bought it 2 years ago, and still love it. One leg of the tripod keeps slipping down. Other than that, it's perfect.
I have mine already, waiting for my backordered Lunt to finally ship! Can't wait to try it out!
The annular eclipse in October is right over my house! There are lots of places In NM besides Albuquerque to view it. Far SouthEast no one knows we are here
😮
I’ve had it a couple weeks, bought for 2024 total eclipse. Love it! I do have one question: I can’t get it to truly power down. I.e. I press and hold power, led goes off, *seems* to power down, but then it won’t power back UP. To get it to power on again, I have to completely disconnect the power, I.e. unplug the battery pack or pull the DC and wait a couple seconds. As I’m practicing with it, I’m powering up and down a lot, and worried about wear and tear on the plugs, and battery and adapter doors. Worried something might break. Is there a fix for this, or am I doing something wrong?
Tech Support says it sounds like a motorboard issue. Did purchase from us or a dealer?
Hi, I have a Lunt 60 tilt solar telescope, but I am tired to use the slow motion I also want to concentrate to one thing without using the knobs. Question: will this work with the Lunt tilt for visual use? And is the little more expensive "second tripod" from skywatcher better for me? Thanks for the tip!
The Lunt 60 only weights 7 pounds, so is well within the specs for the SolarQuest mount. You shouldn't need a second mount .
Is it possible to attach a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a telephoto lens to the SolarQuest?
I'd think as long as it has a vixen dovetail you can mount it. You can get a small dovetail and attach it to your camera's tripod hole
Can this mount be connected to the asiair plus
No, there is no external connection capabilities with the SolarQuest.