Astrophotography Blog: Coronado SolarMax

Showing posts with label Coronado SolarMax. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

NexImage 5 Coronado SolarMax II 60

Sun – October 26, 2013

This session was captured using a Coronado SolarMax II 60 hydrogen-alpha solar telescope paired with a NexImage 5 CCD planetary camera on a Celestron NexStar 4SE computerized mount.

Equipment:
Coronado SolarMax II 60 (H-alpha)
NexImage 5 CCD camera
Celestron NexStar 4SE mount
2× Barlow lens
Processing: RegiStax stacking + Photoshop false color

H-alpha Sun captured with Coronado SolarMax II 60 and NexImage 5 CCD

Coronado SolarMax II 60 NexImage 5

The NexImage 5 CCD camera records high-frame-rate video, allowing multiple frames to be stacked in RegiStax. Stacking improves signal-to-noise ratio and enhances fine chromospheric detail, including filaments, plages, and active regions.

After stacking, the image was processed in Photoshop and converted to false color to emphasize structure and contrast. Although H-alpha light is monochromatic, false coloring helps visually separate surface detail and prominence structures.

Coronado SolarMax II 60 with NexImage 5 mounted on Celestron NexStar 4SE

Telescope Coronado SolarMax II 60, Celestron NexStar 4SE Computerized Mount and NexImage5

This configuration combines the precision tracking of the NexStar 4SE GoTo mount with the high-frame-rate capabilities of a CCD planetary camera. When properly processed, the final image quality depends primarily on the optical performance of the Coronado SolarMax II 60.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Coronado SolarMax II 60 NexImage Registax Panoramic

Creating a full-disk solar panorama is not always straightforward when using a dedicated solar telescope and a CCD camera. With the Coronado SolarMax II 60 and NexImage CCD, the apparent solar disk can be too large to fit into a single frame at native resolution.

Instead of reducing magnification or sacrificing detail, I decided to apply a classical astrophotography solution: build a panoramic mosaic of the Sun.

The idea is simple in principle but requires careful planning in practice:

Record multiple overlapping solar segments (in this case – three videos).
Keep identical exposure, gain, and duration settings for each capture.
Process all videos using the same stacking parameters in RegiStax.
Export uniformly sharpened frames.
Merge them using Photoshop → File → Automate → Photomerge.

Consistency is critical. If video duration, histogram levels, or wavelet sharpening differ between segments, the final mosaic will show visible seams. Proper overlap between frames is also essential to allow accurate alignment of solar features such as filaments and prominences.

This workflow is very similar to techniques used in:

Nightscape panoramas (for example, multi-frame Milky Way images)
Large-field “Rainbow Milky Way” mosaics
Deep-sky mosaics when a single frame cannot capture the entire object

Solar mosaics require the same discipline — but with an additional challenge: the Sun evolves quickly. Prominences and surface detail can subtly change during capture, so recording segments efficiently is important.

The final result below demonstrates how three stacked segments were combined into a seamless panoramic solar image.


Coronado SolarMax II 60 NexImage, Registax, Final Panoramic 3 images, Astrophotography

This example shows that even with a compact solar setup, it is possible to produce high-resolution full-disk results by applying classical astrophotography mosaic techniques.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Coronado SolarMax II 60 Telescope Sun Photo

Why didn't the sun go to college?
(Because it already had a thousand degrees!)

This was my first serious attempt at solar astrophotography using the Coronado SolarMax II 60 hydrogen-alpha solar telescope. Unlike regular telescopes that require external solar filters, this specialized instrument is designed specifically for safe observation of the Sun and reveals incredible surface details invisible in white-light viewing.

Solar observation was actually how I first started learning astronomy. My parents bought me a small telescope when I was in middle school, and I used it almost every day to record solar activity and Wolf numbers. Later, I compared my observations with data from other observers using different telescopes. Observing the Sun is much easier in a big city with light pollution because it can be done safely during daytime.

Many years later, I decided to invest in a dedicated solar telescope — the Coronado SolarMax II 60. It already includes an H-alpha filter system, allowing me to safely show solar activity to my kids without attaching external filters like those required for regular scopes such as the Celestron NexStar 4SE.

These images were captured with a NexImage planetary camera using approximately one minute of video (~600 frames). Stacking and sharpening were performed in RegiStax, followed by final color adjustments and Smart Sharpen in Photoshop (June 15, 2013).

Sun prominences through Coronado SolarMax II 60 telescope NexImage camera

Coronado SolarMax II 60 Sun Photo NexImage

H alpha Sun surface detail Coronado SolarMax II 60 active regions

Coronado SolarMax Photo

Solar filaments and plages Coronado SolarMax II 60 H alpha

Solar filaments and plages Coronado H-alpha image

Sunspots H alpha Coronado SolarMax II 60 telescope

Coronado SolarMax II 60 sunspots in H-alpha filter

In these photographs you can clearly see solar prominences, filaments, plages, and active regions near sunspots — all visible thanks to the hydrogen-alpha wavelength that highlights the Sun’s chromosphere.

Solar astrophotography is both educational and safe when using proper equipment. It allows observation of real-time solar dynamics, something that constantly changes from hour to hour.