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astrozap baader solar filter or wedge?


bish

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Hello,

I was thinking of buying a baader solar filter for my 127 mak but have now seen those wedges that you can buy. There's a big difference in price and believe I would need to buy a small frac for this purpose. Does anybody know if there is much difference in the views?

Thanks.

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Bish, I find the Herschel Wedge (with filters) provides the best white light solar views obtainable but are not recommended with any type of reflecting telescope, NOT Schmidt-Cassegrain, Maksutov, Newtonians etc.

Unless you wanted a frac - and there's no reason why not - I don't think it is worth buying one solely to use as a white light scope with a wedge. Just seems like a lot of money to spend.

Baader's Mylar film, for example, can be used with any type of scope and will give you outstanding white light images, that is, you will see sunspots, faculae and surface granulation. This is an excellent, cost effective, safe performer if used correctly.

To see the sun with prominences etc you need to use a very expensive Ha filter or Quark eyepiece (fitted on a frac) or a Coronado or Lunt dedicated solar telescope.

Once again, a Herschel Wedge will only work with refractors as they replace the diagonal whereas the Baader film fit's over the front of a telescope and can be used on any type of telescope.

All solar viewing equipment needs to be carefully checked on EVERY occasion it is used ... Observing the Sun is great fun but without care can be very dangerous indeed.

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Not at all sure a wedge is safer than an objective filter. You do have to check your filter for defects, but my general advice is that an objective filter works on all scopes, but a wedge is only for refractors with no plastic parts in the focuser! For a mak (or indeed my SCT or the kids' mini-Dob) objective filters rule.

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sorry, I should have been clearer. when I said safer I meant less likely to be damaged/inadvertently removed/develop holes. even if a wedge were to fall out, you only end up with a slightly tanned midrif, rather than eye damage. yes, objective filters are safe when used properly and I have been using them for ages but I feel much happier allowing children at my school to use a wedge than a film filter.

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Thanks for your replies - all very helpful. I'm may try out the solar filter first and look out for a relatively cheap second hand frac to use with a wedge at a later date. I do a fair amount projecting my bins onto white paper and what to go a step further. I had considered trying to make my own filter out of the baader film but am so inept at DIY (ask my wife) would rather go for a more expensive but safer option.

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I just bought a 102mm f10 Celestron OMNI OTA from a fellow SGLer and the views are not much behind those of the much more expensive Vixen 80mm f11. With a wedge and a frac for maybe £100 used you'll get great views but do ensure it's all metal parts as above. In the longer term this is a far better solution in my experience. Do factor in a mount, a Baader solar continuum filter and a polarising filter too.

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I just bought a 102mm f10 Celestron OMNI OTA from a fellow SGLer and the views are not much behind those of the much more expensive Vixen 80mm f11. With a wedge and a frac for maybe £100 used you'll get great views but do ensure it's all metal parts as above. In the longer term this is a far better solution in my experience. Do factor in a mount, a Baader solar continuum filter and a polarising filter too.

Yes, there are a few things to think about. If I were to use my AZ mount then I am limited to the ST80 or ST102 - not sure how suitable the fast fracs would be. Something like an SW Evostar 90 on EQ2 is still quite cheap - but I will need to investigate a bit further to about all metal parts.

I have heard about the dangers of damage to bins but keep pushing my luck with it. That's partly why I want an alternative now.

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Warning! A polaroid filter doesn't block the Infra Red ( and possibly the Ultra Violet ), even in combo with a Solar Continuum filter. What's needed is an additional No.3 neutral density filter.

Thanks Merlin
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Warning! A polaroid filter doesn't block the Infra Red ( and possibly the Ultra Violet ), even in combo with a Solar Continuum filter. What's needed is an additional No.3 neutral density filter.

I was working on the assumption that all Lunt wedges are now pre-fitted with a ND3.0 filteras I understand is the case. but you are quite right.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As usual finances made the decision for me. I received the astro zap solar filter today and the sun is actually out. I think it was money well spent and a lot better than projecting with my bins. I will almost certainly pick up a small frac and buy a wedge when money permits, but am happy for the tine being.

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