Sun January 4th

A 5cm layer of snow and a perfect blue sky. Sol'Ex time :)
My SSM3 Seeing monitor registrated very good seeing with levels below 1 arcs with sometimes below 0,5arcs. I still have issues with my allignment of the spectral lines which are curved. Maybe I need to adjust the slit? 

Setting: TLAPO80/480 with Sol'Ex by James R and ASI678MM

2nd Gen slit and Herschel Wedge

Tilt <0,5° and Sx/Sy 1,15

SSM3 seeing Monitor via SharpCap

Software: SharpCap, Inti, JSol'Ex, CS4, DeNoise AI

ROS 2026 - Registration is open

The next Solar Observers’ Meeting (ROS) is scheduled for June 13–14, 2026, in Serbannes. Once again, the program will feature many instruments dedicated to solar observation in white light, calcium lines, and the H-alpha line for observing prominences, as well as the latest filter innovations. The Sol’Ex spectrograph will also be part of the event.

Registration is now open.

Nikon D7500 Shutter Count

 

My Nikon D7500 has currently 42472 clicks. According to Nikon, my camera can reach 150.000 clicks.

The count was made using  https://www.camerashuttercount.com/

Sun January 2nd

My first observation of the Sun this year.
Moderate conditions and settings of Sol'Ex not perfect, mainly the north side of the Sun.

Setting

Sol'Ex by James R, TLAPO80/480 with ASI678MM

Tilt < 0,1° Sx/Sy 1,04

2nd Gen slit and Herschel Wedge

Software: SharpCap, Inti, JSolex 4.4.2 and CS4

My picture of Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon in Magazine Heelal

My image of Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon is published in Magazine Heelal. This is my 35th contribution to this Astronomical magazine. 

 

Happy New Year 2026

 Happy Astronomical New Year 2026 with lots of clear skies.

My Astronomical & Blog statistics

My astronomical and blog statistics.

- Same blogposts as the last two years

- Increase visits and now above 240.000 visits

- My project "Herschel 400" is not progressing

- A total of 16 observation nights, which much better then last year and comparable with 2023. The focus is on a couple of objects and long exposure images made over more days; eg. Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon and Bernard's Loop.