New Observing Site

No Trees!!

Since moving to Williamsburg I've been excited about my new solar observing location and curious to see how well it works. My new house has an unobstructed back yard facing south, and I arranged to have a convenient walkway leading to a nice level concrete observing pad. This spot is a bit more private than my previous front driveway location. Also, my telescope is now stationed on a slight rise in the midst of level land, not in a low depression like my previous site.

Land surrounding the telescope is relatively open. Newly constructed houses and ongoing construction are nearby, but none of these buildings significantly block my view of the Sun.

The small blue box attached to the rear of the telescope is a video camera. The cardboard box on top of the folding table contains a laptop computer which controls the telescope and camera. The maroon cloth on the box drapes over my head and blocks bright daylight so I can see the computer screen without glare and reflections. Equipment cases lie near the table.

Notice the lack of tall trees or obstacles in the pictures above. The next picture below shows a view toward the southwest. The trees are far away and don't interfere until a few degrees above the horizon.

I can now observe any time from early morning until late afternoon - no more severely limited observing windows like I had at my previous site where trees and buildings blocked much of the Sun's arc across the sky.

I do worry about loss of elevation at my new location. I've lost 742 ft (226 meters) of elevation coming down from the Virginia Piedmont to nearly sea level. Now there will be a thicker layer of air between my telescope and the Sun. I wonder if this will affect seeing. Only time will tell.