Solar Scopes..

[martin_b]

Not finding the time to get out much at night, so I'm thinking about getting a solar scope.

Is there anywhere that explains all the various options round filters etc?

cheers

martin

[bish]

Hi Martin,

Sorry I don't know much about solar scopes but if you say what your budget is and what scope you currently use I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice. If it were me (on a budget!) I would get a PST - but this may not suit you.

[brianb]

There's a good roundup here: http://www.solarscopereviews.com/

[Merlin66]

There are basically two options:

White light observing which will show the sunspots and some surface granulations. A Baader Solar Film aperture filter and a light green eyepiece filter ( or the Baader Continuum filter)

Alternatively there's H alpha/ Calcium (CaK)- these require special filters (read expensive!!) . To see the prominences and filament details the cheapest entry point is a Coronado PST or a small Lunt version. These are around 40mm -50mm aperture and can give some very good views of the Sun. The CaK filters are only really suited to imaging. (The normal eye has difficulty seeing down in the UV.)

[martin_b]

thanks all, ( I'll take a look at all the suggestions,) but i have just read that my cataract operation by serve another useful purpose!