Solar Virgin - Help and advice please.

[Northern Soul man]

Hi to All, been observing for years, but not Solar.  Was at a local meet up at Barr Beacon in Walsall in the West Midlands for the eclipse, had a look through a couple of scopes, A Megrez and a Coronado PST, the Megrez had the Mylar type solar filter and was very nice with a sunspot easily visible under quite a low mag, the Coronado was just very nice - I think in Ha (red coloured Solar disk), showing a few very nice proms - nothing like this I had ever seen before, but with the Coronado the aperture was a little small - not saying this in anyway derogatory, but the  view just showing the prominances.

So here it is - got me thinking, I have a Celestron 127mm Mak Cass, which if I bought a Mylar type filter would give me the Solar Disk (Obviously) - at F12 - ish - much larger image scale under magnification - so I would think well suited to Solar - wondering how the "seeing" is in the day - not so good as on a night ?

Am I correct in thinking that the Mylar type filter will remove all the heat - can use to observe the Sun for hours with no damage to the optics ?

Then I was thinking of using another filter - to "filter in" the surface detail, granulation and faculae - is there a way to use such a filter ( UHC) - I know that they aren't going to give the same views as a dedicated Solar Scope in Ha or CalK - but do these filters work well enough to bring out surface detail ?

Also, I see these Solar Continuum filters - are they worth putting on the end of the EP - using them in conjunction with the full aperture Solar filter - any change in colour and do they show surface detail like granulation ?

So what I an wondering is can the above ideas work to give surface detail - or do I need to keep saving for Coronado/Lunt (NOT £££££££££'s)

Just your advice from you lot "in the know" would be great.

Thanks very much.

Paul.

[David Smith]

You can certainly use something like Baader Solar Film over the front of your scope to see sunspots and faculae (bright areas) and there is no limit to how long you can oberve with this in place. The film reject nearly all the heat and light before it gets into your scope. As far as filters go, you can experiment. Visually I just use a #56 green filter which helps bring out the faculae but others use UHC / OIII / Continuum. You will not see prominences, flares or filaments with this arrangement, for that you will need a dedicated Hydrogen Alpha scope aka the Coronado / Lunt options. These will be considerably more expensive but will show you something similar or better than you saw with the PST depending on which option you choose.

If it were me I would start with some Baader film, see if I like it and then start looking at H alpha options.

Good luck whatever you choose to do and welcome to the light side

[Bizibilder]

The Baader solar film will give you good "white light" views of the Sun.  It does allow you to work continuously without any heat build up (apart from the "normal" heating up of a scope in full sunlight !!).  Some folk use filters - either green or continuum type - but they are not necessary as you can see the surface granulation without them.

All pretty straightforward and the total cost is only around £20 for the film.  Get the ND5.0 type for visual work - it is also perfectly OK for photographic use.

[GazK]

I use the same scope with Baader film for white light solar observing. The image degrades once the scope heats up but until then its nice to use and gives good sunspot views. Pair it with a ~25mm EP and you get the whole disk fitting in nicely.

[jkwhinfrey]

In my limited experience Ha and white light (baader film) observing are very different, and complementary experiences. Both are great fun and a good deal warmer that night time observing.

I've used refractors, both slow and fast, with Baader film and it does remove the problem of heat. People use this film on Newtonians too for that reason. I found it to provide quite a lot of surface detail above and beyond sunspots once you get your eye in, but I also use blue and green filters on the eyepiece that can help. I've not tried a continuum filter yet.

As for using a Mak for white light solar viewing, I've got a friend who's a solar addict and he swears by his SkyWatcher 150 Pro. He also bought a PST in the end too ;-)

James

[jkwhinfrey]

Oh, and the seeing can be rubbish during the day - the Sun's it's own worst enemy - so I prefer early morning before everything heats up. Avoiding concrete and especially rooftops helps.

James

[nightfisher]

Hate to say it and i bet i get shot down a bit, but mak`s are not best for Solar, i tried it recently with my 150 and it was pants! a star travel 102 or 120 is great for Solar white light

[Northern Soul man]

Dave, Roger, Gaz - many thanks - Dave I've just been out and had a look at my colour filters, I've not got a #58, but a #56 will this be ok to use - probably not a great deal of difference - not sure.

Yes I know about the prom detail, was very nice in the Coronado, Gaz - how long before the scope heats up too much - didn't think of that - but being a closed tube ??

Thanks Guys.

Paul.

[David Smith]

Think 58 was what I was recommended but only had a #56, so should be fine.

[nightfisher]

regarding the scope heating up, this is due to the sun hitting the black paint on the ota and causing thermal tube currants 

[Pig]

Paul,

I have not tried a Mak for solar but I have used two SCT's with Baader solar film and the views were fairly satisfying, as both had GoTo tracking capability I used to point the scope away from the sun when I took a break and simply used the GoTo to locate the sun when I returned (not that I needed to I just did it).

Solar observing is extremely rewarding and the sun gives very dynamic views thus it becomes very addictive  so watch out for the empty wallet

Shaun

[Northern Soul man]

Guys, Thanks for the great advice and replies, Dave, Jules and Shaun - great - Thanks a lot. I think I'll be trying the Mak with the CG5 (I can get up and running in a few minutes)- I can "allow" the Sun, in the Sun menu, Solar System Align and yes Shaun I can just "hibernate" away from the Sun to allow for a little cooling - great thought.

I've used the Solar System align on the CG5 and the CPC - it works very well as I will only be tracking 1 object - I find this more than accurate on Jupiter when I'm on for a session, just by using the Solar System Align - I find it more than accurate - so should be OK for the Sun I think?

So I think I'll order the Baader film (Astrozap Solar Filter) from FLO in the week and have a "tinker" as I already have the filters mentioned.

Thanks again for the advice - I'll do a bit more surfin - but must say until the Eclipse I had not even thought of doing any daytime stuff, but seeing those prominences through the Coronado, even the "relief" on the Luna Limb (not showing a perfectly defined sharp edge) - just goes to show how dynamic the "white side" is!!

Paul.

[GazK]

Mines the blue version but yes, once it gets warm it affects the view, and once the outside air temperature gets up that does too. So best to observe in the morning during the summer. It would also be trivial to shield the scope, e.g. a space blanket. It obviously depends on time of year/time of day but typically an hour before it starts to get warm.

[nightfisher]

Guys, Thanks for the great advice and replies, Dave, Jules and Shaun - great - Thanks a lot. I think I'll be trying the Mak with the CG5 (I can get up and running in a few minutes)- I can "allow" the Sun, in the Sun menu, Solar System Align and yes Shaun I can just "hibernate" away from the Sun to allow for a little cooling - great thought.

I've used the Solar System align on the CG5 and the CPC - it works very well as I will only be tracking 1 object - I find this more than accurate on Jupiter when I'm on for a session, just by using the Solar System Align - I find it more than accurate - so should be OK for the Sun I think?

So I think I'll order the Baader film (Astrozap Solar Filter) from FLO in the week and have a "tinker" as I already have the filters mentioned.

Thanks again for the advice - I'll do a bit more surfin - but must say until the Eclipse I had not even thought of doing any daytime stuff, but seeing those prominences through the Coronado, even the "relief" on the Luna Limb (not showing a perfectly defined sharp edge) - just goes to show how dynamic the "white side" is!!

Paul.

some kind of solar jacket to shield the ota from the sun will help a lot, give it a go