Viewing the sun

[daveangie0110]

Hi all,

I am a newbie, i have a 6SE with a solar filter that goes over the front of the telescope, the other day i tried it out with a 25mm eyepiece but i could not focus in on the sun as the sun filled the whole view through the eyepiece, can anyone give me some tips on how to view the sun better, i also have a 9mm eyepiece, i am thinking of buying a eyepiece kit made by celestron which give you a selection of eyepieces and filters has anyone got any thoughts on this kit good or bad.

Many thanks

[Moonshane]

I find about 50x the best sort of magnification on the sun. in your scope this would equate to a 30 or 32mm eyepiece. I'd imagine you'd get very nice views with that sort of eyepiece.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Important question:

What type of solar filter do you have?.

When observing the sun, you really dont need to be using a 25mm eyepiece. Something about 8-9mm will do (the Sun in the sky is the same size as a full Moon). But 30-32mm will give you a view of the whole disc...............

A good tip of learning how to focus on the Sun, is to just focus on the edge of it. Once that is sharp, you will be good to go. 

[Steve Ward]

Unless the atmosphere is it's usual turbulent self that is , a lot of the time the very edge of the disc has the appearance of a circular saw blade and is nigh on impossible to focus on ...

Better to pick a small but distinct sunspot to get focus , you will find that you will have to be patient and monitor the spot for a while once you think that focus is right.

The seeing on a warm day can play havoc with the view so if the detail doesn't pop out after a little while then gently tweak the focus and repeat , when that moment of still air appears all will be revealed in it's full glory and then it's just a matter of keep watching and enjoying those moments of clarity.

Mid morning is usually the best time to observe/image I have found , the Sun has had time to climb above the thickest part of the hazy atmosphere but not long enough to heat up all the surfaces/roofs etc that causes warm air to rise and ruin the view.

[Qualia]

i have a 6SE with a solar filter that goes over the front of the telescope...can anyone give me some tips on how to view the sun better

Yeah, like Luke, I'd also like to know what solar filter you're using, Dave and how you're setting up. I don't want to sound like some old busy body, but I'd really like to know everything is safe and sorted for you before you start pressing your precious eyeball up against a globe glowing at some 10,000,000ºC .

Other than that, it's just as Shane suggests. About 50x on the Sun is a really nice sweet spot and will be the power used about 90% of the time. I can occasionally up that to 71x and on the rare session to around 100x.

You'll also find a light green filter of significant use. This will help augment white light solar features like faculae, granulation etc. As with anything else stargazing wise, the more you view the Sun, the more you'll be able to tweak detail from it.

i am thinking of buying a eyepiece kit made by celestron which give you a selection of eyepieces and filters has anyone got any thoughts on this kit good or bad.

I've never actually owned the kit but if I were you, I'd look at what it is offering in terms of magnification, exit pupil and field of view and see if its eyepieces work for you more than purchasing dedicated eyepieces.

The trouble with this kind of advice is that relative beginners will rarely know what they need in order to define their search accurately and make any kind of coherent choice. And the good news is, this need to be any bad thing

Balancing up the options, juggling the possibilities, I'd personally suggest that you hang on to your hard earnt cash and wait until you've got yourself some valuable eyetime in. With a few hours under your belt, you'll have a clearer idea of what it is you most want.

I'm of the opinion that for 90% of your DSO viewing, you can have a magnificent session with just three eyepieces, upping this a little if you're really into your Moon and planets. Along these lines, I think that you'd be better off in the long run buying a couple of decent EPs like BSTs or X-Cels LXs from FIrst Light Optics, rather than a kit full of cheapy EPs, half of which you'll probably hardly ever use.

Needless to say, take your time, Dave. Spend some time using your kit, get comfortable with it and see what kind of thing might aid your sessions. In time you'll soon get an idea of what you're looking for.

I hope this helped a little

[jetstream]

Safety first!!And this comes through knowledge,sounds like fun though

[daveangie0110]

Thanks all, steve and qualia the only way i can describe my filter is that its a metal circular case and in between the two plates looks like silver foil, so you would recomend a good 32mm eyepiece.

Thamks

[nightfisher]

The filter sounds ok, a little safety tip is to hold the filter to a bright light and look for any holes or damage, also remove the finder scope before viewing the sun, yes a 32mm eyepiece will be very useful

[ronin]

A 25mm should have managed the whole disk of the sun.

The 6SE is 1500mm FL so with a 25mm that gives 60x.

On a plossl that is 0.83 degrees, the sun is 0.5.

Agreed it would pretty much fill the view but there should have been a bit spare.

Concerning the eyepiece kit I would prefer selecting individual eyepieces.

[MND]

Is it safe to use a normal telescope to look at the sun just with a filter? I presumed you would need a specific telescope because of the heat as well as possible eye damage?

[C7tsj]

Is it safe to use a normal telescope to look at the sun just with a filter? I presumed you would need a specific telescope because of the heat as well as possible eye damage?

As far as I am aware, regular scopes are safe provided you use a proper filter. Scopes without a filter can crack lenses (videos on YouTube) and of course blind the user

[Moonshane]

yes, you can put a (usually full aperture for scopes up to maybe 150mm aperture) filter on any telescope for white light solar views. it is quite safe as long as your solar filter cannot come off, does not leak light and is undamaged. most use Baader solar film e.g. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/baader-astrosolar-safety-film-nd-50.html but there are others. as always you can buy a ready made unit but it's more expensive.