Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Tue, 09/08/2020 - 15:50
Many eons ago I thought I was told or read that the preferred magnification was 80 and I've used this with an old 102 mm AP Starfire apo. Recentgly I purchased an 80 mm Stellarvue apo because I also want something a little lighter and easier to use for public outreach and I've switched to a 4.7 mm ocular to gtive me ~100x. So, should I go back to 80x or doesn't it matter? I think I'm seeing about the same with the two, although it's hard to say because of the dearth of spots.
Hi MLL
Not sure what your solar ID is. Mostly the magnification would be around 45 to 60X, not much more. Somtimes with large magnification folks count pores along with the sunspots. Those pores only last about a half hour or so. It's the sunspot count we're interested in.
Rodney
Still, using 80x, my counts agree well with SDO and Kanzelhohe, an Austrian observatory I use to compare my results.
My solar ID is milj.
Hi Jay, (MILJ)
You probably know more than most about counting sunspots. So, do what's best for you. Your k factor is close to 1 now. Thanks for all your past observations!
Rodney