Quote:
Originally Posted by OzStarGazer
Do you mean something like this?
http://www.ozhut.com.au/skywatcher-1...elescopes.html
It is not really an "eyepiece" solar filter though, as you place it in front of your scope. Are there also really small ones you use like other filters? I wouldn't trust them either.
I was thinking of buying one one day, but not before I have everything I need for night viewing.
The only problem is that all the other accessories can also be used with a bigger scope (and I will buy one one day), but this obviously cannot.  |
Oz
That is a full aperture filter and is perfectly OK (as long as it has no holes in it!) The eyepiece filters are ones that screw into the eyepiece similar to normal filters. These are very dangerous. They were designed to be used with a mask that only left a small hole for sunlight to enter the scope but if you left that off the amount of light and heat would be enough to shatter the filter and the eyepiece resulting in a burnt retina and shards of glass entering the eye.
One other point of confusion for beginners contemplating solar observing is that solar scopes are sometimes described as Ha scopes. It is possible to buy a Ha filter for night time use but these cannot and must not be used for solar use for exactly the same reasons as an eyepiece filter.
Malcolm