Solar n00b!

[hornedreaper33]

Hello everyone

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'm getting a bit feed up with light nights and bad weather. So, I read the solar article in AN and decided I should have a look at the Sun. Before I buy things, I would like to ask a few questions please.

I have a Celestron C8 SCT and was considering using it with safety film to start with. First question, is an SCT OK to use in this way? I have heard that you can get heat build up in catadioptric telescopes??

Is it possible to create a projected image with an SCT?

Unfortunately my only experience of viewing the sun was through a small refractor with a Ha filter so now I want to replicate that. Can I purchase Ha filters for my telescope similar to the lunar/planetary filters that screw into the EP?

Finally the filters I have looked at online etc all quote a number prefixed with ND or OD. What does this mean? Is it the specific wavelength the filter is aimed at?

Thank you in advance for any help

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Don't project an image: the heat might shatter a secondary.  Baader Solar Film is the best (cheapest) option. I bought a Thousand Oaks glass solar filter when the alternative was mylar film (which does not last that long). Both are for visual ( the ND and OD stand for neutral density and optical density respectively). These produce white-light images such as the following:

The H-alpha filters used in special-purpose solar scopes are a far cry from those used in DSO imaging. You really should buy a Coronado PST (there's one on ABS-UK at the moment) or Lunt LS35 (or the new LS50) as starter H-alpha solar scopes. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Certainly in my view! The result looks more like this

[hornedreaper33]

Thank you for the reply and the amazing images. So is there no point getting a hydrogen alpha DSO filter to view the sun? I can't afford the dedicated telescope at the moment, going to NZ for 4 months w00t!!

[Umbraldot]

Thank you for the reply and the amazing images. So is there no point getting a hydrogen alpha DSO filter to view the sun? I can't afford the dedicated telescope at the moment, going to NZ for 4 months w00t!!

The advice give already is correct. You can project the solar image but you need a refractor. Your 8" SCT is fine as long as you have the appropriate glass solar filter, probably just over £100 for that size scope.

H alpha is a whole different ball game. Expensive in a word. You can get systems to fit some telescopes but not your 8" SCT. You would be better off going for a dedicated Ha solar scope such as the Coronado PST or the Lunt equivalent.

White light solar observing is cheap and really interesting. Get started on that, get experienced and then go for the H alpha side of things once finances allow.