Here we go again!
I've just sent this e-mail:
sales@gensel.com.au
Attn. Sales Manager: Dangerous product
Dear Gensel Sales Manager,
Dangerous product alert.
I wish to bring to your attention that the 'sun filter' sold with your "Newtonian 150 Aperture Reflector Telescope" is a dangerous accessory and should be removed from this and any other telescope product before sale.
These eyepiece filters are prone to cracking or shattering with the concentrated heat of the sun and can lead to instant, serious eye injury or permanent blindness due to the eye’s exposure to the direct, magnified light of the Sun.
I know someone who had this happen to them as a teenager some years ago: it took 3 minutes for the eyepiece sun filter to disintegrate (luckily while the observer was looking away). Heaven forbid that this should occur with one of your telescopes while a child is viewing the sun.
Advanced amateur astronomers are acutely aware of the dangers of solar viewing. Not only do they use specialised full-aperture filters, but are extremely careful to remove or cover even the small finderscopes that are attached to the main telescope. (See reference below)
The retina at the back of the eye has no nerve endings to detect damaging infra-red and ultra-violet radiation which are likely to be transmitted by these eyepiece solar filters. Thus, damage is likely to occur even if the filter manages to remain intact.
As this is a very serious issue, I intend to alert Victorian Consumer Affairs about this product, and I would also like confirmation of receipt of this e-mail.
I am sure that you and your company are keen to sell only safe products, and you will do everything possible to ensure that this filter does not get into the hands of the unsuspecting public.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Oakey
UNSW Faculty of Medicine
Prince of Wales Hospital
Barker Street, Randwick, NSW 2031
Sydney, Australia
Reference:
http://www.astrosociety.org/educatio...tnl/17/17.html extract:
“Many filters that are sometimes recommended for observing the Sun are not safe for direct-eye viewing, including a piece of glass blackened by soot from a candle, sunglasses, photographic neutral-density filters, and solar filters that operate at the eyepiece of telescopes or binoculars. Eyepiece filters are especially dangerous; they are placed at the point where the Sun's light is most concentrated and magnified. They can crack or even explode.”
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