Venus (and Moon) through a Herschel Wedge

[Paz]

On 05/06/2023 at 22:00, John said:

Just a quick point in case anyone else would like to try the Lunt 1.25 inch HW in this mode. I found the ND3.0 filter installed in the eyepiece holder of the wedge impossible to remove. The filter is screwed into the bottom section of the stock eyepiece holder. Luckily I had an ordinary 1.25 inch mirror diagonal available and the eyepiece holder from that screwed straight onto the Lunt HW body. So I was able to observe Venus just using the prism within the wedge to reduce the light throughput.

It might be possible to unscrew the installed ND filter from the stock eyepiece holder but it would need more force than I was willing to apply. It may also be worth using the HW with the ND filter in place on Venus - it is a bright target.

And I did put the original Lunt eyepiece holder and filter straight back onto the wedge once I had finished observing Venus - safety first !🙂

 

I had quite a challenge getting the ND3 out of my Lacerta wedge, I had been trying and failing for some time to get it out anyway, in order to allow me to use a Baader ND3 filter instead as I wasn't sure of the provenance and quality of the one that came with the wedge. The idea of trying the wedge on Venus increased my motivation to try harder and In the end I got it out with judicious use of rubber bands, a huge adjustable spanner and a vice which enabled the right forces to be applied in the right places.