Best solar filters

[harleygirl]

Hello

I know it's only February and there's lots of dark, clear nights to look forward to (I hope) but I'd like to do some solar observations when summer comes around (if we get to see the sun this year through the rain!!!) What's the best, budget solar filters to use? I'm not looking to spend huge amounts, but I don't want to scrimp either. Thanks

[camoscato]

Hiya,

I got some good advice when I asked a similar question a couple of months ago:

The short version is you can either buy the solar filter material and build your own for about £20, or buy one already built for about £30. I didn't feel like building one, so I went with one of these:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/astrozap-baader-solar-filter.html

I sent FLO an email before purchasing to make sure I got the right size.

Hope that helps.

[Bluey]

I made my own with Baader solar film from FLO, it was easy to do and very effective, just make sure it fits nice and snug over the scope and check every time you use it to ensure there are no holes. It's well worth the effort, seeing the sun, if it ever comes out again, is great.

[Bizibilder]

Agreed - Baader film and either a commercial or well made DIY holder. It is vital that you check it before every use. If you want it for visual observing then you need to get ND 5.0. They make another version that is designed for photography (ND 3.8 I think?) that is not suitable for visual use!

If you take due care then solar viewing with these filters is perfectly safe.

PS You may see reference to the "projection method" of using an unfiltered telescope to project an image onto a white card held behind the eyepiece. This method is not used these days (generally speaking) as the Suns heat can easily damage the plastic parts of your telescope as well as ruining the optically clear cement that holds the lenses within your eyepieces together. Stick to the filters mentioned above and you will be OK.

[JamesF]

Another vote for Baader film here. No need to wait for the summer though. Get out and do it as often as you can. I, along with many others I bet, was out imaging the Sun yesterday using just such a filter. It makes up (a little bit for those nights when it's cloudy.

James

[harleygirl]

Thanks for all your replies - any excuse for sitting in the sun is always good

[rwilkey]

Hi Harleygirl, the Baader solar film allows you to look at the sun in 'white light', and you will be able to see sun sopts and nothing else, this is amazing in itself, but you will not see prominences, that is the domain of expensive H-alpha specialist solar scopes. I find a good website about sun spots as follows: http://www.spaceweather.com/

Just click on the 'daily sun' image to see the bigger picture. By the way, to give a bit more advice, I use a low power eyepiece to view the sun, my 2" 32mm PanaView. I also use a set of Lumicon 2" colour filters to make the views more interesting.

[rwilkey]

I meant 'spots' not 'sopts', silly me!