First solar view - monocular

[furrysocks]

As the sun was setting below the rooftops this evening, I just managed to squeeze in my first solar observing session! According to NASA's SOHO site, I've bagged my first sunspots - 1711, 1713 and 1714.

I used a 10x40 monocular I got from eBay for about £8 and made up whatever that is that you can see in the picture below...

Hankering after a bit more magnification, I've now got a £7 16x40 on the way to use instead - should just be a drop-in replacement.

I've got a filter to make up for my dobs (8.5", f/7.6) so I'm in for some finer white light views soon, but a wee "handheld" 16x40 should be a good wee thing to have around.

[furrysocks]

As far as standard monocular sizes go, there's 22x32 for <£7 or 22x36 for nearly twice that. I've ordered a 22x32 - see how that goes. I'll need to tape up the end of the barrel a fair bit to get it to friction fit into the filter, but the extra magnification should be good.