Here is an article submitted by Jerry Farrar. The LS152T was used with the Hydrogen-alpha module and in White Light mode using the Lunt Wedge… Jerry and Alan put their LS152T and LS60T/PT to good use during the daylight hours..

…”Hello All,

After receiving the LS152H-aPT I headed to the Messier Marathon with Alan Strauss during March 12th,13, and 14th.

Alan took his LS60H-a PT, TEC140, Lunt Herschel Wedge, Celestron 9.25, a CGEM and his personal tripod with his Disc Mount. I took (along with the LS152) my Celestron 9.25, Lunt Herschel Wedge, and a CGEM mount. It was memorable to say the least.

Not only did the LS152 and LS60 impress all who shared the experience of observing the Sun, but the Sun itself decided to excite everyone by exposing an enormous prominence on it’s north west limb along with a very active region (11054).
We got to watch as the Sun blew the large prominence from the limb. And it did just that, the prominence did a somersault as it departed from the limb and was visible even at 300,000 mile from the limb before it dissipated.

What was amazing was how much detail we could see with the LS152, including using high magnification (100+pwr).The magnetic field lines within the Prominence were seen in clear detail. And what we saw within the active region can hardly be described. We could observe the fibrils and magnetic field lines as they arced away from the large spots within the plage and could observe in real time as the region began the brighten and change structure.

The spicules could be seen changing with careful observation. It was like being there ( but it was good to be 93 million miles away)!
Alan put his Lunt Herschel Wedge on the TEC140 and we got the best of both worlds (or should I say Star). The detail in observing the spots within the active region was just amazing. The umbra and penumbra around the spots looked like threads of fingers immerging from the blackness of the umbras.
We could pick out detail estimated to be ~450 miles in size. Half the size of average granulation!

Both Alan and I were actually taking a tour of the Sun in H-a and white light. Truly amazing! We both did sketches of the Sun in the photosphere and chromosphere. There was much to see and a lot to share, but overall this was an experience we will never forget.

Oh, by the way, we also did our night observing ……..guess what we talked about!

Best regards,

Jerry Farrar….

Feedback like this is truely appreciated! Thanks Jerry for taking the time to provide some comments, and enjoy your scope!!

I hope you have has a chance to read this post and are making plans to visit Tucson.

I am going to be moving on to other subjects, but will continue to update this area as we get nearer to the event. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or suggestions.

We are pleased to announce that Lunt Solar Systems will be sponsoring the 2010 ALCon event in Tucson, Arizona. June 24 thru the 26th.. An opportunity for anyone curious about the night sky to come play and learn.

SAVE THE DATE!!!

You will not want to miss this event. Lunt Solar will be hosting it’s 2010 ASC (Arizona Solar Conference) in conjunction with the ALCon event at the Hilton East location. A great venue for both day and night astronomers..

Registration to either event, gets you into both…

A few quick announcements that I want to get out:

Kids are FREE!. That’s right, school kids are invited to attend, look thru the solar scopes, and check out the vendor exhibits. We will have giveaways and educational (okay.. cool posters etc) materials, as well as some really cool door prizes.

We will be having some entertaining exhibits for both kids and adults.

If you are a teacher and would like to bring some kids for a few hours, or the entire day.. You are WELCOME. Please contact us to make arrangements, we will be happy to help.

Some of the exciting activities are still in the planning stages, but please check back often to get updates on the event. Simply search OLCon or ASC at left to grab the posts.

More information can be found on the ALCon site: http://alcon2010.astroleague.org/

Rooms are available at the Hilton East, Tucson at a discount rate of $72 per night. You can reserve your room by simply calling the hotel at +1.520.721.5600. An online reservation link will be available soon.

For more information, or to be added to our e-mail list for this event, please contact Rikki at sales@luntsolarsystems.com

Over the next week we will formalize the registration process and provide much more info about the event and the planned activities.

Tucson is a great vacation destination, and June will be warm and beautiful. Make plans to join us at the ALCon/ASC event and take advantage of the surrounding tourist activities.

Some of you may recognize the Bino platform. It is the unique design from Howie Glatter. It was designed to accept the PST, but as you can see, it readily accepts the LS35Ts. (I need to let Howie know that I have his set ready :)

We had a customer and his wife come by to personally check out the system that he had just purchased. As you can see, the system even has 2 zoom eyepieces which worked remarkably well. I was very pleased with the view after everything was aligned. It really gives a nice 3D feel to the Sun. Doppler shifting slightly allowed the eyes to merge the images, giving an impression of even more detail than thru a single system.

The LS35T/Deluxe Package comes standard with the mounting foot for the Bino Platform. However, if your inter pupilary distance is anything like mine, the tilt mechanisms on the LS35T front etalon assembly will need to be shaved a little.

If you are interested in the LS35T for Bino use, give us a call, or drop us an e-mail. We would be happy to get you a matched set and do the modifications for you. Contact Howie for a Bino Platform and you’re off and running.

About Lunt Solar Systems LLC…

Lunt Solar Systems is a manufacturing and sales facility located in Tucson, Arizona. Lunt Solar design, fabricate, assemble, and test solar telescopes and solar filters. Whether you are looking for a dedicated solar telescope or a solar filter for attachment to you own astronomy telescope, we can help. Solar telescopes models start at $499 for an LS35T (telescope) or the only slightly more expensive LS50F (filter), all the way thru the 152T and the 160F. Solar observing is both fun and educational. Don’t miss out on Solar Maximum. Feel free to contact us with question or comments and we’d be happy to help.

Howard E. was kind enough to send a few images taken at the Winter Star Party in Florida. These images were taken over several days in varying conditions.

In addition to the images I have added a portion of his text.

“…..imaging with the Lunt B600 Ca-K diagonal at the Winter Star Party in Florida.  I have been using the diagonal since March 2009 after ordering it during the previous star party.  I have imaged with it around 200 days since, taking both whole-disk and close ups, and it is performing flawlessly.”

“…We have had mixed weather here at the star party with seeing ranging from poor to great, with mixture of clear and clouds.  Today it is gusty and partly cloudy, but I will get more Ca-K images sometime today.  Attached below are photos of the past 4 days at the star party, close ups of Ar 1045, and a composite comparing continuum and Ca-K.  The Ca-K reveals so much more regarding the spots, magnetic activity, and prominences, that I have all but abandoned continuum imaging.  I am thrilled to be able to continue to use the Ca-K diagonal on a daily basis…”

Thank you very much Howard!. It is so very rewarding to get images and feedback like this from our customers.

We invite anyone who has images to send them in with a description of what is used and how..

About Lunt Solar Systems LLC…

Lunt Solar Systems is a manufacturing and sales facility located in Tucson, Arizona. Lunt Solar design, fabricate, assemble, and test solar telescopes and solar filters. Whether you are looking for a dedicated solar telescope or a solar filter for attachment to you own astronomy telescope, we can help. Solar telescopes models start at $499 for an LS35T (telescope) or the only slightly more expensive LS50F (filter), all the way thru the 152T and the 160F. Solar observing is both fun and educational. Don’t miss out on Solar Maximum. Feel free to contact us with question or comments and we’d be happy to help.

With the weather finally clearing up in Tucson, I had a chance to go outside and see what all the Solar fuss has been about.

I would have to say that the current activity is somewhat better than expected. With AR11045 putting on quite the show. I had a few LS35s and LS60T/PTs to test. That all went pretty quickly and I could move on to bigger things. We should have LS60Ts in both the Pressure Tune and Standard versions shipping with the Double Stack package later this week.. A lot of them.. (50s have been the usual hold up).

Unfortunately, the only DS capable system I had to use was the LS152T with the LS160F in DS and single mode. I figured if that was all I had, I would just have to suffer ;)..

The LS152T was setup first on single stack Ha mode. It yielded excellent prom and surface detail. Quite the nice balance for a good overall study of the Sun in Ha.

I removed the Hydrogen-alpha module from the back and replaced it with the Ca-K module.. The active regions really stood out and the system was able to take good magnification.

Jerry Farrar came by to take a first hand look thru the system. You should probably get his opinion directly, but I do believe he was very pleased. He has one on backorder. I think he almost fell over when I told him he would be getting his in a few weeks..

The LS160F was added to put it thru it’s paces. There will be more on the LS160F over the next few weeks, we have a few shipping very soon.  (The LS160F will be the largest Etalon in the world). I think it was at this point that I went from testing to observing.  The active areas stood out in awesome 3D like detail. It’s been worth the wait, and I am very very pleased with the end product.

Things are really starting to come together. It’s an absolute joy to be able to view such spectacular views thru the new generation solar systems. Despite all the hard work and the numerous setbacks, I can finally begin shipping what will be the top of the line Lunt Solar Systems.

About Lunt Solar Systems LLC…

Lunt Solar Systems is a manufacturing and sales facility located in Tucson, Arizona. Lunt Solar design, fabricate, assemble, and test solar telescopes and solar filters. Whether you are looking for a dedicated solar telescope or a solar filter for attachment to you own astronomy telescope, we can help. Solar telescopes models start at $499 for an LS35T (telescope) or the only slightly more expensive LS50F (filter), all the way thru the 152T and the 160F. Solar observing is both fun and educational. Don’t miss out on Solar Maximum. Feel free to contact us with question or comments and we’d be happy to help.