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Starter Solar Telescope


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Hi Charon,

I don't know much (anything!) about the Lunt but I have been looking at the Coroado PST equivalent (Green Witch also sell these). They are a little cheaper for the same spec and seem to be very highly regarded.

Depending on your interests, have you considered a night-time scope and fitting it with solar filters? GW have a range (http://www.green-wit...olar_Filte.html) and for around £200 - £300 you should be able to covert any scope to a very effective solar one. Assuming around £300 for a modest scope, you will end up with a much more versatile system for the same price, though obviously it won't be as specialised for solar observation as a dedicated PST (e.g. the filter won't be tunable and so on).

Hth,

James.

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It depends a bit on what you want to look at.

Baader solar film - by far the cheapest option. Basically reduces the intensity to make it safe to look at. Can see sunspots but not a lot else.

Hydrogen Alpha very narrowband filtered, like most Lunt models and Coronado PST. Shows lots of nice surface details and prominances. Note a deep sky H-alpha filter wont work to convert an ordinary scope for this function as they aren't narrowband enough.

Calcium K filtered - add to existing scope. More for imaging as the eye isn't very sensitive to the borderline UV light this provides and there may be a long term risk viewing it. Gives different surface detail than H-alpha.

Personally I went for the PST as the cheapest one-stop kit to get going.

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The Lunt scopes are very nice, yes. I guess photography may be a little easier with it compared to the PST. Firstly I should say that I have seen some great photos through a PST, however I have also seen first-hand that it has draw-backs. A friend of mine had a PST and found that he couldn't get a prime focus image unless he barlowed it, which usually meant going over the seeing limit. The reason for this is the internal focusing widget, which has a narrow travel range. The 35 mm Lunt has a more standard focuser so you should be able to get away from this issue. Also, you can easily add a larger blocking filter to the Lunt (you basically just swap out the diagonal) whereas in the PST it may be more of an adventure (http://solarchat.natca.net/index.php/en/this-is-solar-chat/12-solar-scope-modifications/6942-pst-10mm-blocking-filter-denk-spectrum-60). Then again, the PST is cheaper.

I've looked through a couple of different PSTs and the views are nice. I think they're worth the money. I haven't looked through the 35 mm Lunt but I do have the 60 mm.

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I have the Lunt LS60 with 1200 blocking filter and pressure tuner, while I'm sure the 1200 filter and pressure tuner add to the experience I think you'd have great views through any of the Lunt scopes for the money. I can't speak for any other solar scopes as I've never used them, but the Lunt LS60 has not disappointed so far. It seems that solar viewing is very specialised, and the kit costs much more than regular night-time scopes, it certainly seems to be a case of the more you spend the better the views (but with diminishing returns, I fancy).

Your Hyperion Zoom eyepiece should work well (mine does in the LS60), however individual eyepieces are still slightly better I think and don't weigh down the scope as much.

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Both the Lunt LS35tha and the Coronado PST are good introductions to solar viewing. I have the PST - but have also some limited experience of the Lunt 35 (it was merely cost that determined my choice). Both are small, light and need little in the way of seting up. With both scopes you will be able to see sun spots and corona detail including prominences. But they are introductory scopes and as such have their limitations - there is little surface detail of the sun in either, for example. I have managed to take photos with a DSLR through the PST - but have no experience on that subject with the Lunt. I would recommend trying out the Lunt (if you can get hold of one!) before buying. (Somewhere on this site is a comparrison of both scopes). I find solar viewing slightly addictive - no two views are the same, even on the same day!

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