Mercury Transit

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

So...can would Mercury's transit of the sun this month be worth buying a solar filter for my 8" Dob? Would I actually see anything?

[bojan]

Sadly, it won't be visible from Au.
http://eclipsewise.com/oh/tm2016.html

[OICURMT]

happens at night here in Australia

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=time+of+mercury+transit

Next one is November 11, 2019... still not visible from Australia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Mercury

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

So I need a solar filter and a plane ticket :lol

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by PSALM19.1

So I need a solar filter and a plane ticket :lol

Or live to at least November 13, 2032...

[guipago (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by OICURMT

Or live to at least November 13, 2032...

Hmmmm, Think I'm stuffed

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Plane ticket , 60mm triplet , camera tripod and Hershel wedge sounds good to me .
Brian.

[silv (Annette)]

I was lucky enough to be able to
a) put a DIY solar filter together with Baader foil ND 5 and a round tobacco box
and
b) to be on the Northern hemisphere.

Also I consider myself very lucky because my 2 left thumbs created a filter which fits alright over my Sony 18-200mm as well as my Walimex / Bower / Power-UP 500mm 6.3 fixed aperture.

The 500mm is quite new and I'm still struggeling with the manual focus which lacks image stabilisation. That's pretty hard I can tell you and dizzy spells are guaranteed when concentrating on the life viewer while focussing... and the sweet spot is always half a mm away ...

Anyway, it was a fun project for me.
In the coming months twighlight will never end at 54* N so aurorae and stars are fruits too sour - but I can now focus on the sun, instead.


Attached are
1) DIY filter
2) 500mm 6.3 at 1/800 secs, cropped
3) same with added 100% loupe feature to see the details on pixel level
4) for comparison: 100% loupe from a shot at 200mm f/13 1/400

[JB80 (Jarrod)]

Lovely Silv.

[tempestwizz (Brian)]

I viewed from Vientiane where the transit started about 20 minutes before sunset. Although I had an Orion filter for my little Tak 60CQ it was not necessary as the cloud bank near the horizon attenuated the light sufficiently enough to see first and second contacts. The cloud soonafter completely engulfed the view however.
So, you could save the cost of a filter by coming here for the next one!

[bojan]

Originally Posted by silv

....
The 500mm is quite new and I'm still struggeling with the manual focus which lacks image stabilisation. That's pretty hard I can tell you and dizzy spells are guaranteed when concentrating on the life viewer while focussing... and the sweet spot is always half a mm away ...

There is substantial focus backlash in those lenses.. see here (last post):
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...t=opteka+500mm

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by tempestwizz

Although I had an Orion filter for my little Tak 60CQ it was not necessary as the cloud bank near the horizon attenuated the light sufficiently enough to see first and second contacts.
...
So, you could save the cost of a filter by coming here for the next one!

I know that the Mercury transit is now over, but for the benefit of anyone who comes across this thread at some time in the future:

Using an unfiltered telescope to look at the Sun is a VERY hazardous exercise, no matter how "filtered" the view seems through the near-horizon atmosphere and clouds. It takes a very short amount of time to do a lot of permanent damage - and don't forget, the invisible infra-red rays are not necessarily attenuated to the same degree as the visible light, so even if the visible light is not apparently very dazzling, your telescope will still be focussing all of the infra-red (heat) that it collects onto your retina.

SERIOUSLY - PLEASE DON'T TRY IT!!!!

[silv (Annette)]

Thanks Jarrod

Bojan, your thread is a treasure trove. Thanks a lot!
And your set up with finder scope and stuff: superb luxury!
After the successful sun focus yesterday, I also shot the moon at dusk and a few random stars. Since then I am totally happy with the 500mm purchase.
Sooo clear and pinpoint! The Sony 18-200 lens is nice, too, but can not compete with the 500 once that is in focus.
Yay for the Mercury transit! It showed my what my lens can discover

[OICURMT]

Originally Posted by julianh72

Using an unfiltered telescope to look at the sun is a very hazardous exercise, no matter how "filtered" the view seems through the near-horizon atmosphere and clouds. It takes a very short amount of time to do a lot of permanent damage - and don't forget, the invisible infra-red rays are not necessarily attenuated to the same degree as the visible light, so even if the visible light is not apparently very dazzling, your telescope will still be focussing all of the infra-red (heat) that it collects onto your retina.

seriously - please don't try it!!!!

qft!