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I'd recommend a 1.25" Lunt solar wedge with Baader Solar Continuum filter and a polarising filter (as well of course as the usually pre-fitted ND3.0). You'll never look back. I use mine in my 120ED and views are fab.

Thanks Shane, are all these available from FLO and is there a book about Solar observing that you would recommend.

Avtar

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+1 for a Herschel wedge and Solar Continuum if budget allows. You can then use it with the 71 for grab and go and with the 120 for the bigger sessions at home. I have the Equinox 120 with the same optics, the views are superb. Hopefully like me you will be surprised when conditions are good how much detail you can see.

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Avtar,

I know you already have a frac, but just for the record it turns out that the refractor route is also the best way to go about solar viewing.

With your frac, you could start out with Baader's Solar Film for Visual Use and make yourself a filter to put over the scope's objective or simpler still, buy one of the pre-made solar filters. Make sure you get the film for visual use, for there is another kind for photography and this will not be suitable for observing the Sun.

With the Baader solar film, you can be up and running for whiite light at quite a low initial outlay. If after a while you think white light isn't really for you, then in relative astro terms it hasn't cost you a lot and you can store the solar film away to use from time to time. If, however, you find yourself enjoying the Sun's photosphere, you can then start thinking about a Herschel Wedge with an ND 3.0 filter which I feel gives a sharper, more contrasty image than the already very exceptional and decent Baader Solar Film.

While you're working down this white light route, you can also play about with green filters to see if this improves the detail and contrast on the Sun's photosphere. If your eye takes to this, you can see if a continuum filter might be more fitting. 

The other plus point for going the frac route - especially if you've got something around 80mm f6 to f8 - is that you can also start saving for a Quark eyepiece and in that fashion you will not only have a pleasing night time scope, but also a scope which can do white light and H-alpha!

However, while saving for the Quark and the necessary gear you will need for this eyepiece/filter (battery pack, cable, etc), you might decide you fancy a dedicated H-alpha scope and for about the same price as a Quark et al, you could look into purchasing a new Lunt 50mm or a secondhand 60mm.

Regarding power, in white light regardless of scope used, I find about 50x to be my eye's sweet spot. In the TV 76 f6.3, I find a 9mm B.G Ortho my most used eyepiece. And it's very much the same story with the Tal 4" f10 but this time with a 19mm Panoptic.

For the solar film you don't need any other filter, although a Baader Continuum or Wratten #58 will be useful to help tweak detail of penumbra and faculae etc and for general Wedge usage, you need an ND 3.0 filter, and possibly a variable polariser and continuum filter. For a good while I simply used Baader's solar film and a blue and yellow filter together to get that continuum green look (until a proper filter turned up secondhand and I felt I was ready to use a Wedge) and from time to time, I use a red filter to enhance detail in the umbrae.

When seeing is good, a lot of detail can be tweaked in white light. You will be able to detect subtle differences in tone in some umbrae - a kind of very deep dark brown, you'll be able to identify pores, light bridges and subtle streaking within the penumbrae. Faculae will also be very prominent and generally suggests the promise of new activity in the next day or so.

H-alpha is quite a bit more pricey and helps highlight what is visible on the Sun's chromosphere. Here you will be able to observe plage, prominences, filaments and so on. 

By way of example, here are the different things your eye will see. The first is a white light sketch, the second in H-alpha. Needless to say, they both complement each other and you'll probably find that although initially expensive, solar observing will become quite an important and active part of your interest in astronomy and sketching. 

post-21324-0-62167000-1428016621.jpg

post-21324-0-07835700-1427940952_thumb.j
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Avtar,

........you'll probably find that although initially expensive, solar observing will become quite an important and active part of your interest in astronomy and sketching. 

I agree !

A level of guilt was felt when buying my dedicated Ha scope, I even thought it may be an extravagance.  In hindsight it was a great investment with no regrets, the guilt has subsided and its a very rewarding and opportunistically addictive part of the hobby.  What must other stars look like when viewed this way ?

I will grab a miniscule half hour of solar viewing any time I can :)

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Thanks For the advice Rob, I think thats a very good idea going the Baader Solar film route as if it turns out it's not for me then I haven't really lost that much, although my gut feeling is I'm really going to enjoy it and will be oberving in white light and Ha.

I'm going to India next week for 3 weeks but when I get back I will definitely be ordering some solar film from FLO and whatever other filters needed for safe observing of the Sun.

Avtar

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Good thread! I am also considering White Light solar observing and all the questions I was going have been answered here.

Qualia, I take it you have no problems whatsoever with using the Tal, no heat build up etc? I only have one scope and would be rather sad to see it melt!

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Good thread! I am also considering White Light solar observing and all the questions I was going have been answered here.

Qualia, I take it you have no problems whatsoever with using the Tal, no heat build up etc? I only have one scope and would be rather sad to see it melt!

Great Stuff, Roy. In answer to your question, just make sure you remove the long, plastic dust/dew shield from the objective end of your Tal 100rs and everything will be tip-top  :grin: Whether you decide to use a Herschel Wedge or Baader Solar Film, you'll find the images in white light outstanding.

If you've any questions or doubts Roy, just post them up. Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to solar work :smiley:

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