Solar questions

[Venus_is_my_friend]

Hello,

Long time since I spoke on here due to many reason which may bore you. The main reason is I now live in Japan!

Anyway as I have moved from dark skies to the bright lights I can no longer observe galaxies and nebulea so I have swapped my focus to Lunar, Planetary and now solar observation, so here comes my stoopid noobie questions.

Can I buy a cheapist telescope and put baader solar film over the end and observe away?

Do I need filters on the eyepiece or are they just to draw more detail out. i.e can I observe without them?

What do I need to be able to see the enough detail on the sun as to see the typical "ball of flames" and not a flat disc with sun spots?

And here come the potential dumb question of the month

Can I look down a normal telescope wearing eclipse glasses?

Thank you for reading,

Be safe and warm.

Neil

[Luke]

"DO NOT combine specialist solar glasses with looking through binoculars or a telescope – the heat from the focused sunlight will melt through the glasses"

http://astronomynow.com/2015/03/18/eclipse-dos-and-donts/

[ronin]

Put a solar filter (film) over the front of the scope, think for visual it id the ND5 item not the ND3,

Putting a filter in the optical path with solar film does not do much, usually all it does is colour the "white" light image from the fim but it does not turn it into a Ha solar scope.

So not really much point, but you must have the solar film on the scope.

To see thre "ball of flames" you need a dedicated solar scope, at this time these seem to be the Lunt and the Quark item which is a sort of eyepiece addition. These are getting good reports. The use of the Coranado seems to have reduced in favour of the Lunt and Quark.

Do not use eclipse glasses and a normal unfiltered scope believe they are totally unsafe for the following.

A simple 70mm travel scope type thing will be collecting I guess about 200 times the light that the eye does (eye pupil at 5mm say) and the film in the glasses is not designed to handle that much additional concentration. So that would be unsafe.

A car may be safe in a crash at 50mph, but at 200x faster, 10,000mph you are going to end up as a very thin pancake.

You can easily get a small cheepy scope and fit solar film and get going, just to find out what you think of it all. Depending on what you have in equipmnt now you could look at a better scope small ED refractor and film again. The ED costs more but would be useable on visual night astronomy, and later with the addition of a Quark for Ha solar. Have half an idea that the Lunt is a add on item that comprises of diagonal and specialist filters and if so then a 70mm f/6 ED (look for a 72mm) would fill a lot of options.

Looking at Saitama, you are going to need a small refractor as a travel scope and then get the bullet train to somewhere a bit darker. I would for that reason look at a 70-72mm ED refractor for any night observing.

[Pig]

Neil as Luke mentions caution is always number one whilst observing the sun, it is refreshing to see that you have asked prior to blinding yourself.

Your other questions:-

• You can buy almost any scope and use it with a solar filter, the most common filters are either Baader Solar film or Thousand Oaks filter, both types completely cover the front aperture to prevent any stray light from entering the front of the scope, these 2  filters also reduce the amount of heat entering the scope to extremely low and safe levels. Check with the retailer before you purchase anything solar related.

• Stay away from filters that fix to the eyepiece, they will crack at some point and will almost certainly lead to serious eye damage. I believe they are banned now.

• To see balls of flames / solar flares( Ha - Hydrogen Alpha) you will either need a dedicated solar telescope or a Quark filter. Please note the Quark can only be used in refractor type telescopes. Once again you must also check with the retailer before you proceed to make sure all is compatible.

[Luke]

Hi Neil,

Sorry for the rush job above, only had a minute at the time (family breakfast called) and wanted to get the important safety message in.

As per Shaun's post, with your Baader solar film or equivalent in place, you can in addition try filters on eyepiece side if you have any (e.g. green/OIII, UHC, Solar Continuum) to boost contrast but you can still see good detail without them. If the view is bright, a variable polarising filter can help to get the brightness to what works best for you.

With the Baader solar film you need the ND5 visual version - and not the ND3.8 photographic version which must not be used for visual (the photographic one lets more light through for imaging to allow a faster shutter speed).

Of course always read the safety instructions that come with the solar film (check for pinholes every time before use, make sure filter securely fitted, do not observe in windy conditions. etc.).

I had to switch from DSO imaging to solar and lunar imaging (due to life rather than moving to a new place) and it's been a revelation! Good luck with your solar observing!

Luke

[Reeny]

I was going to ask the very same question Luke.

We have the 76x700mm reflector travel scope which is mostly redundant now.

To convert it to solar, I think I need.

1x Baader solar film for the scope.

1x Solar film for the finder - or make it fail safe by locking the front cover on, or removing it altogether.

Then crack on and enjoy the views.

I already have an OIII, ND-0.9, ND-0.6, and a set of polarising moon filters.

Along with a decent Zoom and some Revelation Plossls for around 90x magnification.

It sounds so simple.

[Venus_is_my_friend]

Wow! Thank guys for all the great help and advice/warnings. As regards the eclipse glasses, I failed to realise but this quote from ronin says it all.

"A car may be safe in a crash at 50mph, but at 200x faster, 10,000mph you are going to end up as a very thin pancake." Food for thought

What kind of detail/image can I expect with a cheaperish (yeah it's a word) telescope and a solar filter film fitted firmly to the front (try saying that ten times when drunk)? Are we talking a white disc with black sun spots or can you draw out any detail around the sun spots or the edge of the disc?

I have priced up some Lunt scopes in Japan and the cheapest is around £560, so I am just wondering if I can get some rewarding views and eventually photos without a solar scope? I only ask because I can still see the rising moon and planets from my balcony and if I can get a £200 odd scope to view them and then some addon for solar viewing it would help the bank balance.

Thanks again,

Neil

[Cornelius Varley]

Wow! Thank guys for all the great help and advice/warnings. As regards the eclipse glasses, I failed to realise but this quote from ronin says it all.

"A car may be safe in a crash at 50mph, but at 200x faster, 10,000mph you are going to end up as a very thin pancake." Food for thought

What kind of detail/image can I expect with a cheaperish (yeah it's a word) telescope and a solar filter film fitted firmly to the front (try saying that ten times when drunk)? Are we talking a white disc with black sun spots or can you draw out any detail around the sun spots or the edge of the disc?

I have priced up some Lunt scopes in Japan and the cheapest is around £560, so I am just wondering if I can get some rewarding views and eventually photos without a solar scope? I only ask because I can still see the rising moon and planets from my balcony and if I can get a £200 odd scope to view them and then some addon for solar viewing it would help the bank balance.

Thanks again,

Neil

With a white light filter on front of the telescope you will see sun spots and maybe some granulation on the surface of the sun. If you wish to see more detail you need a dedicated solar telescope.