solar observing.

[iantobach]

:sunny:

question guys- with the current cloudy situation, having to stay up well past my bed time( I need the beauty sleep), been thinking about solar telescopes.

Plan A was to wait until xmas when I can justify the expense and buy a PST( and eventually a nice mount probably the following xmas)

plan b was to be some solar filters- for either my 10 inch lx90 sct, or my 102 refractor- would work out cheaper and cheer the summer up a bit.

which would you guys recommend( i`d have thought the lx90 would make the image too big, and still have the worry of duff filter= roasted retina)

ian

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

I don't know if you've noticed Ian, but its cloudy during the day as well.

Solar film on the 100mm Frac. would work well and you'll be able to webcam some sunspots and the like. If you want prominences and disc detail you'll need to smash the piggy bank and get a PST.

Solar film is cheap and easy to do so you could have a bash at it and see if you get into it.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[geppetto]

Agreed, filter the Frac and you have a nice portable set up.

No need for the extra apperture of the LX..

I see Steve is doing a range of ready made filters now as well as

the foil sheet.

Please be very carefull though

[iantobach]

point taken re clouds captain.

Are the solar filters any good/safe??

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

They are safe unless you get holes in them. You check each session by holding the filter up to the sun and if you see any pinholes it goes in the bin. The stuff is strong so that is unlikely anyway. The Baader film is also available as a photography only grade, that's dangerous for visual use but its very rare and you will probably have to order it specially.

Once you have the Baader film you can add extra filters like a K line or solar continuum filter to extract extra detail.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[beamish]

It might also be worth trying the new "thousand oaks" solar film, similar to Baader's but with a reddish orange colour to boot!

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/detail.php?id=2153

I'd be interested to know if anyone is already using it and what they think.

Karlo

[geppetto]

new "thousand oaks" solar film

Hmmmm..interesting

Need some more film, might try some of that

Thanks for the heads up 8)

[Greg]

There's a good article on solar viewing in July's AN...

The Baader film comes in two flavours, ND5 is designed for visual work and ND3.8 is designed for use with a secondary filter and photography.

Excellent results can be obtained with the Metallised Biaxially Orientated Polyetheleneterephthalate filters..

But you do need to be very careful..

I check my filters before use by holding them up to a bright light source and looking for pin holes..

Any holes ...Bin it...

Greg

[Astroman]

You must constantly avoid utilizing multisyllabic statements when miniscule utterances will suffice.