"cheap" solar scope setup

[Stu]

Just remembered that some people also use Baader 35nm Ha filters in front of Quarks for Ha viewing and imaging, so these filters can be put ahead of the focus point without problems.

[Starwatcher2001]

Ah, of course., it's not absorbing radiation. I've learned something today, I think. Cheers Stu.

[GKA]

On 07/06/2021 at 14:11, Starwatcher2001 said:

Stu, please can you confirm what you mean by "in front of the wedge". You don't mean on the sun side of the wedge, do you? Wouldn't that fry the filter

On my wedge I'm using the svbony uv/ir-cut filter in the front of /sunny side of the wedge, it rejects some of uv/ir out of the telescope, and I also use the Baader continum filter in front of the camera or the eyepiece, but you could also use the #56 filter, they both Enhance contrast, although the Baader is better ( my opinion) 

Here's AR2827 taken with this set up and the wedge i started this tread on. 

Edited June 11, 2021 by GKA

[Stu]

Nice shots @GKA.

I tried my UV/IR cut filter in front of my Wedge after the partial eclipse yesterday and it was fine. Certainly no negative impact on image quality and I took a couple of shots of the small ARs visible and they came out ok. Need to give it a try on a large AR to see if it makes much difference.

[GKA]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

Nice shots @GKA.

I tried my UV/IR cut filter in front of my Wedge after the partial eclipse yesterday and it was fine. Certainly no negative impact on image quality and I took a couple of shots of the small ARs visible and they came out ok. Need to give it a try on a large AR to see if it makes much difference.

Very nice , i forgot to mention  that i use svbony  sv305 pro camerea and sharpcap and take a film on 1000 frames the picture above is the best 30/1000 ,stacked in autostakkert3 and edited in Registax6 , Orion 120/1000 achromat .Pretty new at this solar stuff , but already found out that seeing is evrything , and it changes fast.

Edited June 11, 2021 by GKA

[Highburymark]

On 07/06/2021 at 17:09, Stu said:

Actually I’ve just ordered a 2” Baader UV/IR cut filter to give it a go. If you read the info, it says:

Stays cool and will not shatter if subjected to great thermal stress, since even intensive radiation is not absorbed – as with ordinary 'heat protective Filters' such as KG-3 or KG-5. Energy is reflected due to an elaborate interference system of 39 dielectric coating layers.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/uv-ir-filters/baader-uvir-cut-filter.html

So, it seems fine to me. Happy to report back once I’ve given it a go in my wedge.

There is plenty of commentary around in SGL and Cloudy Nights on this topic. Varying opinions as to what people do, but no one saying it shouldn’t be done as far as I can tell.
 

 

Will be interested to hear your experiences with this Stu. I’ve got a UV/IR (only 1.25”) that I used with a Quark before buying a full ERF. Have never considered it for white light. Are you expecting any further improvement in image quality?

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, Highburymark said:

Will be interested to hear your experiences with this Stu. I’ve got a UV/IR (only 1.25”) that I used with a Quark before buying a full ERF. Have never considered it for white light. Are you expecting any further improvement in image quality?

I mainly bought it to see if it would improve my solar images with the phone Mark. I think unfocused IR light can have quite a blurring impact so I wanted to see if it improved things. I don’t expect any visual improvement at all.

[GKA]

9 hours ago, Highburymark said:

Will be interested to hear your experiences with this Stu. I’ve got a UV/IR (only 1.25”) that I used with a Quark before buying a full ERF. Have never considered it for white light. Are you expecting any further improvement in image quality?

This might help . 

solar white light imaging: add UV/IR filter or not? - Solar Observing and Imaging - Cloudy Nights

[Stu]

44 minutes ago, GKA said:

This might help . 

solar white light imaging: add UV/IR filter or not? - Solar Observing and Imaging - Cloudy Nights

Interesting. I’ve had my Wedge for a while so am not sure if my Continuum filter leaks IR or not. I suspect it may be worth betting a 1.25” one for my PST mod too.

[GKA]

6 minutes ago, Stu said:

Interesting. I’ve had my Wedge for a while so am not sure if my Continuum filter leaks IR or not. I suspect it may be worth betting a 1.25” one for my PST mod too.

I think i remember that i read somewere thar the early ones leaked , but not the newer ones. (contimum filters)

[Stu]

25 minutes ago, GKA said:

I think i remember that i read somewere thar the early ones leaked , but not the newer ones. (contimum filters)

Yes, I think that’s right, I just don’t know what ‘early’ means. I’ll check back and see when I got mine.

[GKA]

3 minutes ago, Stu said:

Yes, I think that’s right, I just don’t know what ‘early’ means. I’ll check back and see when I got mine.

Baader Solar Continuum - do recent versions still need UV/IR cut? - Solar Observing and Imaging - Cloudy Nights

[Highburymark]

10 hours ago, GKA said:

This might help . 

solar white light imaging: add UV/IR filter or not? - Solar Observing and Imaging - Cloudy Nights

Thanks - will give it a go

[Louis D]

Clearly, Baader Solar Film leaks IR as I have always maintained.  It feels like your eyeball is being cooked without an IR/UV cut filter.

[CraigT82]

7 hours ago, Louis D said:

Clearly, Baader Solar Film leaks IR as I have always maintained.  It feels like your eyeball is being cooked without an IR/UV cut filter.

The solar film let's everything through as it isn't a wavelength filter. Do you mean the solar continuum filter? 

[Louis D]

7 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

The solar film let's everything through as it isn't a wavelength filter. Do you mean the solar continuum filter? 

No, I mean the solar film.  I'm not even convinced it's a full ND5 at IR wavelengths.  Has anyone confirmed this with a spectrometer?

Before adding the IR/UV cut filter, I couldn't continuously solar observe here in Texas with my 8" Dob for more than about 20 minutes before severe eye fatigue set in.  Adding a moon filter didn't significantly help, so it wasn't due to the image brightness in the visible spectrum.

[Merlin66]

The transmission curves for most (all?) astronomical filters cover the range of wavelengths used by the CCD and CMOS sensors - 350nm to 1100nm. They are not sensitive beyond these limits.

For solar the recommendation is to have ND5 protection in the visible wavelengths.

Baader have a dedicated website for their solar products: http://astrosolar.com/en

My spectrograph only works with a CMOS, so limited to 1100nm coverage.

There is plenty of reliable data available on current solar filters which shows they are safe to use.

A UV/IR cut filter is not always a good solution. They also can have high transmission out in the NIR (>1500nm). A KG3 element does suppress the NIR.