Baader Astrozap Solar Filter and Lunt Herschel Wedge

[Red Dwarfer]

 

With the 2 Baader filters , Continuum and Polarising , that brings the price of the Lunt Solar Wedge up to about £250 - is it worth it at this point of the Solar cycle ?

[laudropb]

I am afraid you will not see proms using a white light set up. They require an Ha scope or a Quark . The sun is very quiet in WL just now as we head towards Solar minimum. Although I do think that the wedge gives more contrast in the views compared to the objective filter, I think I would just try out your current set up for now. I do not think you require both filters, just one or the other. I personally prefer the continuum filter even though it turns the Sun a bright green colour.

[Red Dwarfer]

51 minutes ago, laudropb said:

I am afraid you will not see proms using a white light set up. They require an Ha scope or a Quark .

Okay , many thanks for the reply - on the subject of granulation , do you need an Ha scope or Quark to see these ? 

[laudropb]

No. Granulation is on the photosphere and is viewed in white light. It is quite difficult to see as it requires quite high magnification and this in turn requires good seeing conditions. You will also be able to see faculae which are bright areas usually near the sun’s limbs and often associated with sunspots.

[wookie1965]

Hi have a herschel lunt solar wedge I have took these with it. 

[Red Dwarfer]

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

Hi have a herschel lunt solar wedge I have took these with it. 

Great results ! Did you start with a basic Astrozap style filter then upgrade ? If so , what was the major difference ? 

[wookie1965]

41 minutes ago, Red Dwarfer said:

Great results ! Did you start with a basic Astrozap style filter then upgrade ? If so , what was the major difference ? 

All I have is a Bresser single polarizer and a smart phone I would like a continuum filter.

[Stu]

I used solar film for a little while before moving to a wedge. For me, the difference is in the fine detail that you can see, especially at higher powers. Particularly surface granulation is easier to see with a wedge, but that said, things are very quiet in white light currently so it may be worth using solar film for a while and spending money elsewhere.

I’ve attached three images showing different detail levels. The first one is an iPhone shot, as is the second one but at higher power. The last one is taken with a more dedicated camera, with stacking of multiple frames to improve the detail. Hard to be precise but the detail visible with a Wedge is not dissimilar to the last one, although if anything it is sharper and  the granulation much more distinct.