Imaging setup - Borg 100ED refractor, Nikon D300 camera, Astrotrac TT320 equatorial mount and Induro carbon fiber tripod. (click for larger view) |
The plate scale, i.e. number of arcseconds pr. pixel is NOT the actual resolution of the final image. This can only be measured on real images and it is affected by many factors, such as optical imperfections, mechanical vibrations, tracking errors, atmospheric turbulence, etc. If all goes really well I'm hoping that the resolution of my setup will be around 3 pixels = 7 arcseconds. This isn't high resolution compared to planetary or deep sky imaging, but it is in the upper realm of corona imaging. Space based observatories are the only routine means for observations of the corona and the best of these (SOHO's LASCO instrument) have a resolution of only 20 arcseconds. The very best ground based images can reach 3-4 arcseconds but this requires equipment and skills that I do not have!
Simulated field of view of my setup. (click for larger version) |
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