Solar Scintillation Monitor

This device determines the seeing value in ArcSec at your respective location. It supports amateur astronomers in their search for the best observation sites and times for solar observation and photography. The Solar Scintillation Monitor The SSM unit is easy to use and allows the continuous recording of the seeing without having to use the telescopic optics or the recording camera. It and shows you in real time when conditions are particularly calm. This allows you to target the sequences and time the best moments for the sharpest images. The fast sensor can be placed in the most suitable place on the telescope. The impact-resistant housing can be placed either on the telescope itself or on the tripod. Mounting on the telescope with external sensor Due to its measurement reliability, the Solar Scintillation Monitor not only makes it easy to find the best location for the solar telescope or to determine the typical seeing course during the day and thus determine the best times. It also allows you to use exceptionally good times spontaneously. An automatic camera release is not supported, because from experience with changeable seeing, a few good seconds of good seeing are usually followed by bad moments. In practice, this only triggers many ultimately unusable sequences. The SSM unit constantly measures the light sun via an external VTP4085H sensor in a spectral range of 400 - 1100 nm and thus calculates the seeing, which is displayed in arc seconds. Thanks to the built-in LCD display, it can be used both as a stand-alone device and from a PC. The device is very stable with a particularly impact-resistant housing. The power supply is via a USB cable, which is used on the one hand for power supply (e.g. when used as a stand-alone device) or for connection to a PC.

The electronics of this Swiss-made device are housed in an impact-resistant housing and are thus well protected. This means that it does not break immediately even if you fall to the ground!

The SSM can be placed anywhere on the telescope or on the mount. The sensor must be placed in a place that always has a clear view of the sun and also points in the same direction as the telescope. Obviously, this is on the front of the dew shield, which automatically measures the values that are also seen in the focus of the telescope. It should be noted that if the sun is tracked for a long time on the sensor of the camera, or its housing, heating could possibly take place over time, which must be avoided. A stronger or better solar filter would then have to be used. However, this will not be the case with a good solar filter. Mounting is done either on a standard viewfinder base or by means of a 3" clamp on a corresponding mounting rail on the telescope or with a Velcro socket (please specify when ordering).

Mounting at the rear of the telescope

Software at Windows PC

The software (for Windows PC) allows graphical monitoring of seeing. This allows the air calm to be better assessed.

		User manual (English) for the SSM as PDF.
		The associated SSM software for Windows allows monitoring from a PC.

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