Lunt Solar Wedge 2" and ed80

[h0ughy]

I was wondering if i could use the Lunt Solar Wedge 2" with a ed80? is is safe to use pointing the ed80 at the sun?:shrug::help:

[Paul Haese]

As I understand it the wedge is only suitable for refractors. So at a guess I would say yes.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new wedge too. So I will be using a refractor to image with.

[Merlin66]

David,
Yes is the answer!
I have the Baader wedge, similar to the Lunt and they are safely rated to be used on simple refractors (ie achromats or refractors with front lens elements only) up to 150mm and beyond.
You will have no problems with the ED80.
I'm going to use both a 100mm and 150mm achromats with the wedge for white light imaging.
Just don't forget to add the ND3.8 and the Continuum filter for maximum safety and best results.

[h0ughy]

does anything go onto the front to protect the lens?

[h0ughy]

is the baader any better than the Lunt?

[Derek Klepp]

Dave I think they are much of a muchness.One thing I cannot get enough inward focus on my Meade 80mm APO unless I use the Meade UWA eyepieces I have. Otherwise I use a 2x Barlow.If you get a wedge I would recommend a Baader Solar continuum Filter. Although I can never replicate what I see through the eyepiece photographically the view is amazing.Another note I put a Variable Polarising filter(Lumnicon) in front of the Lunt Wedge on a 127mm refractor and cooked the coatings clear.

[h0ughy]

is there an example somewhere of some setup like that?;)

it wont really damage the coatings?:question:

[Merlin66]

The intensity of the solar radiation on the front of the objective is very low, 98% of the energy goes straight through the lens and there is very little, if any, heat build-up on the front.
All the heat and most of the light also goes through the Herschel wedge, hence the heat trap/ deflector/ diffuser on the rear of the wedge. About 4% is reflected towards the eyepiece/ CCD.
An ND3.8, as a minimum, MUST be used between the wedge and the eyepiece/ CCD. I also add a variable ND filter and the Continuum to get the most comfortable view.
In normal use there is NO heat build-up at the eyepiece/ CCD - it's very safe.
I initially built my own Herschel wedge using a 60mm, 30 degree prism from Surplus Shed - worked 100% and gave much better results than either of my objective filters (JMB, Baader Solar film).
The "Cool" ceramic heat sink on the Baader design is very effective, and there is no hot exit beam. All the other designs, Lunt, Intes etc dump the excess energy out the side of the wedge housing.
HTH

[Miaplacidus]

I've been looking at these also.
Does anyone have them available in Oz at the moment?

[frolinmod]

I'm using a Lunt 2" Herschel wedge with an Explore Scientific ED102 triplet. The Lunt wedge has an ND3 filter permanently installed. Even when pointed at the sun all day, the wedge doesn't even get hot. Just a little bit warm. The result is just a tad bright, so I add either a polarizer filter or a Baader Continuum filter. Because of the way the wedge works, the polarizer can be rotated to adjust the brightness. I've been using a Lunt zoom eyepiece.

However, when I use this set up for public outreach, a certain percentage of the population doesn't show as much respect for my equipment as I'd like. They grab and yank. For that reason I've had to replace the stock focuser on the ED102 with a 3-inch Feather Touch. They can grab and yank that until the cows come home and it won't budge.

And no, you don't add any filter over the front of the OTA. All the light and heat goes straight through the OTA and into the wedge. 95.4% of that goes straight out the back of the wedge and into a ceramic heat sink. The rest is attenuated by the ND3 filter to a safe level.

[h0ughy]

thanks guys - i lashed out and got the photo version of the Baader - comes wit han inbuild finder ;)

[pvelez]

Emma Chisset?

Pete

[h0ughy]

????????????:question:

[h0ughy]

after goofgling - ahh you want the price - not cheap at 795

[Poita]

I went with the Lunt mostly because I found looking at a lime-green sun through the Baader a trifle odd.

Both are the same for imaging though.

[pvelez]

If you read it aloud it makes sense.

Thanks for the price - certainly not cheap. I'd like to see your pics

Pete

[Merlin66]

Peter,
Remove the Continuum filter from the Baader and replace with a variable ND and you'll get "white" views....
(The Continuum does give better contrast)

[gbeal]

Could be wrong, but I recall reading that a plain vanilla photographic green is "almost" as good as the Baader Continuum as well. Merlin?
Gary

[Merlin66]

Yeah, if you want to improve the contrast on the cheap...a light green filter will do the job well...almost, but not as good as the Continuum....

[Paul Haese]

MIne is waiting at Bintel for a shipment of other goodies to arrive. Next week is going to be a very expensive week. Once I get the chance to use the wedge I will be putting up images.

[frolinmod]

In addition to the finder, the Badder photo version also comes with a selection of removable ND filters so that you can mix and match. Too bad it costs so much.

Note that when using the solar continuum filter for photography, for best results also add a UV/IR blocking filter.

I have noticed when using the continuum filter during solar outreach that many people ask why the sun appears green in the white light telescope. I tell them the sun is made of green cheese (just kidding). The same people ask why the sun appears red in the Ha telescope. After my first solar outreach I changed over to doing all further solar outreach using the polarizing filter instead. That meets more people's expectations. Some people expect the sun to appear yellow so I still have to explain to them why it's white rather than yellow.