projecting the sun

[musherrob]

Hi All..I am just getting to grips with this fascinating hobby.Have TAL 2 Reflector which has a sun projection fitting.

How do i project the sun through the telescope ?Do i use the eyepiece to project the image for live viewing and do i use/need a filter to show ie;the limb and possible corona etc;.The projection screen is wedge shaped so would card give better coverage .Rob:glasses1:

[Merlin66]

In the dust cover for the scope you should have a small separate cap about 50mm diameter... with this removed and the dust cover placed (and taped) back onto the front of the tube ( remember to leave the cover on the finder!) you can put a cheap eyepiece ( I mean one which can be sacrificed if need be! the Kellner?) in the focuser and align the telescope on the Sun by looking at the shadow.

The eyepiece acts like a projection lens and by moving the screen and/ or the focuser you should get a good image of the sun.

To take a photo of the sun, you take a photo of the image on the screen!

This is a white light image so will only show the sunspots and the edge darkening.

Caution: the eyepiece will get hot - there's a lot of light and energy pushing through it and sometimes the lens (or the glue between them) can be damaged.