Steve: Observing the Sun with Skywatcher 114

[Stephen Frost]

How do I get the best out of my skywatcher 114 when viewing the sun, for example what’s the best lens to use etc and what at best with this scope can I expect to see. I’ve armed myself with a  Baader  solid filter so as long as the sun stays out hopefully I’m good to go

 

[John]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I've edited the title of your post to add the bit about observing the Sun with your Skywatcher 114. You should get more advice with a more specific title

[NGC 1502]

 

Welcome to SGL, lots of folks on here to help.

First priority is safety, because as you’re probably aware solar observing with any optical instrument could cause serious eye injury or blindness.

The Baader filter must fit securely across the front opening of the telescope.  Breezy conditions could make it dislodge. Before every use check for damage to the filter and don’t observe if you see any.

You can use the same eyepieces for solar observing as for nighttime astronomy.

As to what you can see, the main thing to watch out for are sun spots.  These appear as much darker areas, some can be spectacular with lots of fine detail.  Unfortunately sunspots are in very short supply now, theres lots of discussion about the next solar cycle.

Prominences won’t be seen with your Baader filter, much more expensive filters are needed for that.

Ed.

 

 

 

 

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

Just to add to Ed’s advice, remember to remove any finder you have on the scope and never leave it unattended, especially if there are kids about.

[bingevader]

Hi, you will see sunspots very clearly.

We've found that the smaller telescopes with full aperture solar filters seem to do better than the bigger 8" stopped down, because you end up with a larger filtered aperture.

The views through the 76mm of the recent Mercury transit were better than some of the images on here!  

[Tomatobro]

On Ebay you can find a SVBONY Solar Finder Scope for about £12 which is a useful aid.

Makes finding the sun a lot easier.