Perkil8r Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 If you plan on looking at or imaging the Sun there are a few golden rules to follow. Never look directly at the Sun through any kind of telescope or binoculars without a purpose made filter or filtering device. Never look directly at the Sun with the naked eye. Damage can still be caused to your eyes. Sun Glasses are not a suitable filtering device. Always use filters specifically designed for use with your type of equipment. Photographic filters are not safe for use visually. Always check filters etc for damage before use. This may all seem rather over the top but it really is not worth the risk. Serious and often permanent damage is likely to be caused unless the correct equipment is used to look at the Sun. You will not get chance to blink, the damage will already have been caused and you are likely to be unable to make the same mistake again since your sight will already be lost. Suitable equipment: White Light Filters. Solar Viewing Glasses. Often cardboard framed with solar filter installed. Suitable for direct viewing unaided only. Must not be used with a telescope or binoculars. Cost around £2-4 a pair. You might see very large Sunspots and are great for eclipse viewing. Baader Solar Film. Comes in sheets usually of A4 size for around £20. Use this to make a blocking filter for the objective end of your telescope. The Sun will appear white. Expect to see Sunspots and a little faculae especially if used with a Continuum filter. Thousand Oaks Solar Film. As Baader except gives a slightly yellow/orange hue to the image you see. Glass White Light Filters. Much the same as solar film except made of glass and ready made for specific scopes. Expect to pay £40 upwards. Heschel Wedges. Made by Baader and Lunt. These are for use with small refractors upto around 6" and replace the diagonal. Expect to see more definition and contrast than with solar film. Cost from £180 to £400. Hydrogen Alpha. Almost all will show the Chromosphere (the inner atmosphere of the Sun) and will show features such as Prominences, Flares, Fillaments, Sunspot groups, Granulation. Quark Unit. Used with your existing refractor. Views a very spescific wavelength in the Hydrogen Alpha emission line. Relatively new to the market and cost around £700 or so. The unit also functions as a 4x barlow so not suited to everybody and will perhaps suffer in the UK with our poor seeing conditions. Comes in many different forms for different exact band passes to reveal different features. Coronado PST (personal solar telescope). A 40mm refractor with etalon fitted which is tuneable to reveal different features. Cost around £700 new or £450 second hand. Cost effective and good for visual use. Coronado Solar Max. Comes in various sizes and is the next step up from the PST. Can be used visually or for imaging although the standard focuser will not allow focus with a DSLR. Prices from £1300 to £7000 depending on size and if double stacked. Double stack gives a much narrower bandpass for greatly enhanced detail and contrast. Lunt Solar Scopes. Much the same as Coronado but have the edge on quality, user friendliness and a superior image. Also much easier to use for imaging due to a greater focus travel. Cost £640 (35mm basic) to £8400 for a the 152mm single stacked version. Calcium K. Coronado used to produce a specific CaK solar scope, now only available second hand. Looks at a very narrow bandpass in the Calcium K bandwidth. Shows surface detail with more granulation and faculea as well as Sunspots. Very expensive Herschel wedges are available for this and also a CaK version of the Quark system. Wedges approx £800 or so and Quarks £1500 upwards. Gives a purple image which is very difficult to see visually, more suited to imaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 can this be a sticky at the top of the solar board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perkil8r Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 It is Johnnyaardvark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Can't have enough of these warnings especially now solar is becoming so popular. Useful equipment primer as well, thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 When I was 11, I made my own filter using a small aperture and old exposed camera film. It worked well but once I knocked it off and managed to get out of the way on time. About 10 years ago I was bin scanning the Sun in Maastrict, Holland when an optician rushed out to tell me off. I explained about Baader filters and calmed him down. Various people have told me thy didn't know they could see the Sun through tin foil. I also get funny looks when I view or snap the Moon in daylight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tezrez Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 How can you track the Sun with a Skywatcher mount Tez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 2 hours ago, Tezrez said: How can you track the Sun with a Skywatcher mount Tez If I remember correctly you have to alter the sidereal speed, I believe there are settings for lunar and solar and normal night time viewing (cant be 100% certain, do not own a GOTO or tracking mount). Also, I think that you cannot GOTO the Sun, I think SkyWatcher have left that out of their GOTO settings as a safety precaution, so you will have to manually find it then the mount should track (assuming it is set up correctly). May be wrong on the above, it has been a few years since I last used / looked at a GOTO mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Don't watch if you squimish! DeRealDeano 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Fantastic find Andy, a video says a thousand words, that should hit home to anybody who may have had doubts about the dangers of solar observing unless using the proper equipment. I must add though, is it sad that I noticed his EP first and not the pigs eye? Good lad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 (edited) What a demonstration! That should really make people think. I reckon he should have also stressed that any exposure of the eye, even for a tiny fraction of a second, to that intensity of focused sunlight is all that would be needed to cause permanent blindness. 20 seconds is the time for complete incineration and total destruction of the eye! Good find Andy I too studied the EP before noticing the eye Daz Edited April 24, 2016 by Tweedledee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Ugh! Ewwww! but yeah - point very well made! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 I like this idea http://www.davidreneke.com/build-a-sun-funnel/ Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Nothing like a video to get the message across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Quite an eye opener........scary stuff really. I too was distracted by the eyepiece (and scope) I've been a bit stumped by what he was using....... He said an 80mm scope giving 50x mag. So what could it be.....? I thought at first it was a 35mm Panoptic, but no..... After deliberation, i think its an 80mm doublet refractor working at f/5, and the eyepiece is in fact an 8mm Ethos. Thats no way to treat an Ethos !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 1 hour ago, Bino-viewer said: Quite an eye opener........scary stuff really. I too was distracted by the eyepiece (and scope) I've been a bit stumped by what he was using....... He said an 80mm scope giving 50x mag. So what could it be.....? I thought at first it was a 35mm Panoptic, but no..... After deliberation, i think its an 80mm doublet refractor working at f/5, and the eyepiece is in fact an 8mm Ethos. Thats no way to treat an Ethos !!! I reckon it is a Meade Polaris 80mm F11.3 refractor with a 17mm Ethos giving 53x. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 2 hours ago, Bino-viewer said: Quite an eye opener........scary stuff really. It certainly opened up that pigs eye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 2 hours ago, Tweedledee said: I reckon it is a Meade Polaris 80mm F11.3 refractor with a 17mm Ethos giving 53x. I don't think the Meade Polaris 80 is compatible with 2" glass Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 9 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said: I don't think the Meade Polaris 80 is compatible with 2" glass Pete Yes, I think you are right Rob. The only TV eyepieces with a rubber grip exactly 7 deep in dimples as shown in the video are the following, but NOT the 8mm Ethos which has only 6. Looking closely, the only eyepiece that matches the video is the 17mm Ethos. I suppose there may be some older versions of different focal length TV eyepieces that also have the 7 dimple grip. So, it could still be an 80mm F5 as you say. To get 50x with a 17mm would need a focal length of about 900mm. Anyone else got any ideas? +Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 You got me there lol I should have payed more attention to those dimples...... Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 This would have fitted the 2" 17mm Ethos to the 1.25" focuser Rob... +Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 On a lighter note, interest in solar viewing is hard on the pocket, as one day you will want to get a hydrogen alpha set-up. When you have one (as I do) you want a bigger and better one, especially at a solar minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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