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Herschel wedge question.


Alan White

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Indeed the whole point of the wedge is to exhaust the energy being gathered .... 

I recall using an AE Solar Vue2 some 10 yrs ago .. with a Baader Cak filter .... it did have a permanently installed ND3 but the 

very bright Cak image was something to behold but unfortunately not safe to view :/

And yes I am ware of a few solar Newtonians and one gentleman is perfecting or has already an HA one ... In fact it was him 

that I bought my current Baader CC from.

 

Brian 

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Although Herschel Wedges are often perceived as dangerous, I actually think they are safer than film once setup and in use. The worst thing that could happen is that they overheat or fall off. In both cases, the amount of light going to your eye will reduce rather than increase, and the worst outcome is perhaps a warm or hot leg if you don't move!

Obviously that is NOT to say you should be reckless, and a rigorous approach to checking your setup before use is just as important, particularly if your safety ND filter is removeable in any way. I just do visual with mine so both the ND and the Continuum stay in all the time. If switching between imaging and visual setups, care and attention is needed all the time.

Educating yourself fully before starting any form of solar astronomy is very important.

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24 minutes ago, jam1e1 said:

Checked with APM /Lunt direct at the time as didn't want to risk, they confirmed all ok as I was initially apprehensive - definitely safety first with solar would no way want to risk ? 

Also wanted to check my refractor model of scope was compatible with solar as some I believe are not, all confirmed ok

Thanks for the reassurance :icon_biggrin:

I think the refractor designs that are unsuitable are designs such as the petzval which have another lens set close to the focuser which would be at risk from overheating.

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1 hour ago, Stu said:

the worst outcome is perhaps a warm or hot leg if you don't move!

I confess to almost setting a t-shirt alight when switching between my Baader wedge and Quark on a tracking mount. I removed the wedge whilst standing directly behind the scope and by the time I reached for the diagonal and Quark I had a big brown-edged hole in my white t-shirt around my naval. No more than a couple of seconds. Luckily it wasn't my eye, or anything lower down :eek:

@John I used my Lunt 1.25" in my 6" refractors on a tracking mount and never had a problem with overheating. I think some of these warnings are aimed at our cousins in more favourable climates where the sun is far more intense than it ever is here in the UK.

 

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3 minutes ago, DRT said:

I confess to almost setting a t-shirt alight when switching between my Baader wedge and Quark on a tracking mount. I removed the wedge whilst standing directly behind the scope and by the time I reached for the diagonal and Quark I had a big brown-edged hole in my white t-shirt around my naval. No more than a couple of seconds. Luckily it wasn't my eye, or anything lower down :eek:

@John I used my Lunt 1.25" in my 6" refractors on a tracking mount and never had a problem with overheating. I think some of these warnings are aimed at our cousins in more favourable climates where the sun is far more intense than it ever is here in the UK.

 

Thanks Derek :icon_biggrin:

By the way, this is what can happen when you take the solar wedge off a 10" frac :shocked::

 

Screen Shot 2015-11-16 at 10.15.00.png

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6 hours ago, Alan White said:

Clearly no sun for weeks will be visible now!

I distinctly remember Carol Kirkwood telling us this morning that we were in for a fine weekend.

I hope you haven't ruined it with your impulse buying :rolleyes2:

:lol:

 

 

 

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