Hi guys another nooBi question i was thinking of geting a solar filter
to view the sun iv have always wanted to do so
if i was to. do i need to do anything else other than apply the filter?
and what would i expect to see? solar flare type stuff or a flat type image?
just curious?
I have a glass filter for solar observing and the sun is a white disk with dark spots for the sun spots. It does not show flares, etc as you need to get into the Ha stuff for that.
Make sure any filter you use is one that goes over the front aperture and NOT AN EYEPIECE ONE. Also leave all finder scopes capped or, better still, remove them completely when observing the sun.
As rmcpb said, to see flares you need a H-alpha filter or specialist scope. Both are very expensive. To view surface detail you need a filter for the front of the scope as a minimum. Apparently the Baader solar film is considered the best and is the cheapest. I'm happy with it.
I'll also put in a plug for a solar continuum filter. It will sharpen up the detail on sunspots nicely, and colour the sun a pretty green (I like green ). With my 15cm achromat I can see plenty of detail in the spots (umbra and penumbra). You will also be able to see the spots change shape over a period of an hour or so, so it's quite dynamic.
All this assumes of course that we will ever see sunspots again in our lifetime.
Probably one of the cheapest ways to see surface detail, when there IS eventually any to see, is to use a Coronado "PST". These have an Ha filter system and will allow you to see flares on the edge of the disk, spots on the surface and even some other events. However, they cost around the $800 mark.
A solar filter at the moment will show nothing more than a blank disk until the activity picks a bit...later in the year. If you look at the solar disk on the side of the IIS site, this is about what you will see. Different filters will give a different coloured disk, but that is about it.
When the activity really picks up, say in a year or two, you could get a special pair of solar glasses (usually used for eclipses) which may allow you to see the biggest spots with the (semi) naked eye.
Coronado also make special solar binoculars which are designed for looking at the Sun, they are also not cheap but are another alternative.
There are also a number of other companies that have just started to sell Ha solar scopes, so you may want to have a look at some of the astro distributor sites for information.
If you have a simple refractor, you can use solar projection onto a piece of white paper which will show sunspots, however, I would not use an expensive scope to do this and the heat buildup inside the lenses may cause severe damage to them. I used my >30 year old 60mm Tasco refractor to watch the transit of Mercury recently and it performed quite well.
As everyone has said, and I will repeat, never use a scope without the proper filter. NEVER use a filter that goes over the eyepiece, only use filters that go over the front of the scope (full aperture).
What would be the best scope for such a large object so close? Would my 4" show as much as my 10", and would the saving on the filter between the sizes be cost effective?
). With my 15cm achromat I can see plenty of detail in the spots (umbra and penumbra). You will also be able to see the spots change shape over a period of an hour or so, so it's quite dynamic.
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