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Photographing the sun in detail?

Alaness

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Alaness

Alaness

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Hello stargazers,

I have recently purchased a solar filter and I have been impressed with the shots I've got - http://tiny.cc/kr3gew

However I have been lusting over some Hydrogen alpha shots on the internet - http://tiny.cc/js3gew

So what I'm asking is, is it a simple case of buying a H-Alpha eye peace filter to go with my current solar filter? Or will I have to go out and buy a special solar scope?

Happy viewing,

Alan

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Photosbykev

Photosbykev

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Unfortunately it isn't as simple as that. You need a tuneable ethalon that will only allow the very narrow H-a light bandwidth through, you also require a energy rejection filter on the front of the scope and a blocking filter or two. All of the above costs a lot of money which is why the H-a scopes are expensive

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glowjet

glowjet

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To give you some idea Peter Lawrence reviewed the Lunt 6" Achro Solar scope in the current issue of S@N the manufactures did not use a full size Etalon ( special narrow band pass filter ) because of cost, but placed a much smaller h-alpha unit in the light train inside the tube, the cost of this scope, just a whisker under £9000 :)

John.

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sologuitarist61

sologuitarist61

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The coronado PST is around £500: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/coronado-solar-telescopes/coronado-pst-solar-telescope.html and can be used visually or photographically (with a few bits and bobs added).

Yes that is true, but it is just another £500 to have to find :)

PST's are going fairly cheap on Astrobuysell UK at the moment too, and there's plenty of them. Sorely tempted myself ;)

Really?? Haven't seen any myself though have been looking this last couple of weeks - lots in the 'wanted' category though. :D

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badgerchap

badgerchap

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Yeah I saw a few last week, going around the £300 mark. Unless I dreamed it lol. I can't imagine they hung around for long, that's a fairly decent price. My uni has 3 of the badgers, so for the minute I'm happy to use theirs, but that won't last forever :)

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sologuitarist61

sologuitarist61

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Yeah I saw a few last week, going around the £300 mark. Unless I dreamed it lol. I can't imagine they hung around for long, that's a fairly decent price. My uni has 3 of the badgers, so for the minute I'm happy to use theirs, but that won't last forever :)

Thanks badgerchap I must have missed those! ;)

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badgerchap

badgerchap

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From what I hear, the extra price is justified, but it's a hell of a splash for looking at a single star, even if it is a particularly important one! For me I'd be happy with the PST - I've had a good look through them at Uni and they're lovely things (especially when you get to use them for free!). I think it would be £300-£500 well spent, but £700 might just be a bit far for me :)

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iwatkins

iwatkins

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PST is a great bit of kit for visual, and with the right gear, imaging too. Yes, they are a lot of money but I think they are worth it. I get more use out of my PST than my other three scopes put together.

Lunts are even more as are other Coronados, some approaching five figures.

Just don't look at SolarScope prices. :)

But H-alpha isn't the only high quality solar imaging you can do. There is white light, Calcium lines, or some of the exotics like Helium imaging.

My favourite overall, for all astronomy, is white light imaging.

Cheers

Ian

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sologuitarist61

sologuitarist61

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From what I hear, the extra price is justified, but it's a hell of a splash for looking at a single star, even if it is a particularly important one! For me I'd be happy with the PST - I've had a good look through them at Uni and they're lovely things (especially when you get to use them for free!). I think it would be £300-£500 well spent, but £700 might just be a bit far for me :)

Yes I have to agree, especially as I have just used an AstroZap (Baader) solar filter on my small refractor and what you see is what you get, and once used there is little point in using it again until the following day (in the hope that the surface sunspots have changed). I can see that with the Lunt or the PST that would be different as prominences etc would change with a greater frequency.

I guess it is one of those things really, you can either afford it for its limited use, or you are poor and have to daydream ;).

However, if another one comes up secondhand for £295 I will be sorely tempted.:D

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badgerchap

badgerchap

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Yes I have to agree, especially as I have just used an AstroZap (Baader) solar filter on my small refractor and what you see is what you get, and once used there is little point in using it again until the following day

I dunno, I have seen some people take some pretty impressive shots in white light - I think it takes a good amount of wizardry and pracitice though, don't reckon I'd be much cop! Do intend to give it a pop as soon as this accursed cloud clears thoug (just got a dslr :)

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iwatkins

iwatkins

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I'm impressed to hear you get lots of use out of a solar set up - you sure you're from the UK??!

Yep, defo UK. :)

But for visual, a PST takes 30 secs to setup, so five minutes of viewing gives me my fix. I just take it when I can get it.

WL imaging, as I say, is my first love. Even with the poor seeing we get in the UK, I get some good results.

Use a video camera/webcam/DSLR to grab video for 1000-1500 frames, align and stack in AutoStakkert (free) and I get some nice images. I'll put some below. Actually, I do the same with the PST. I actually find post processing much easier and faster than processing DSOs for instance.

One of the huge benefits of solar astronomy is that you can do it in the summer when the DSOs disappear for a few months. I can also do it in the evening after work, whereas imaging after 2300 is usually a bind for me because I'm tired. ;)

Cheers

Ian

WL

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iPdCFoUY5X0Hz.jpg

ibeoUfWvYb5fYZ.jpg

And PST

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irNKLfJONckzi.jpg

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