Details through a standard PST...

[Craig.a.c (Craig)]

I am looking at buying a Coronado PST, thinking of a normal (cheapest of the options) version. What type of details will I be able to see through it? I know it will show detail in and around sun spots along with flares, but what else can I expect to see through it?

[Craig.a.c (Craig)]

Anyone????

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9178472...20075/sizes/m/

pretty much what you will see
the orange peel on the surface, the active regions and the proms most clearly..but 40mm f/10 scope so it is all tiny

my pst has a marked sweet spot where details snap into focus, others may or may not behave similarly

problem is the next step up is big $$$$$, so for the money it is great value

[sheeny (Al)]

Yep, as Narayan said, you'll be able to see the "orange peel", spots, filaments, plague, active regions and prominences.

There's a couple of things that you should be warned about though, if you haven't looked through one before... it does take a little while to do learn to do 2 things:

1. train your eye to see the detail in Ha
2. learn how to adjust the etalon

In your early views you might tend to be bit disappointed with the lack of contrast and difficulty in seeing the details, but with practice at adjusting the etalon, focussing and once your eye gets used to the view, you will enjoy it much more! They are a great scope for the money!

To learn to focus I started off by using the limb to focus. Get that sharp first so the focus is right/close. Then adjust the etalon to bring out the detail. Typically the etalon will be in a different place to see surface detail than it will be to view prominences.

Al.

[dpastern (Dave Pastern)]

For a relative solar newbie, can you explain what the Etalon is Al?

Dave

[sheeny (Al)]

Dave,

Have a look here:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/41-320-0-0-1-0.html

The etalon is the first part of the Ha solar filter system, the second part is called a blocking filter. The etalon on the PST is the adjustable ring just in front of the rectangular body of the scope... I have no idea how it actually works but it adjusts the frequency of light allowed through the filter.

When adjusted to true Ha wavelength, detail like prominences are easiest to see (no blueshift). To see filaments and detail that is coming out of the sun towards the observer to best effect, the etalon has to be adjusted to allow slightly shorter wavelength through due to the blueshift of the light coming from the filament as it approaches the observer.

Al.

[casstony]

In a nutshell, the pst alone will give good detail at the edge of the solar disk (prominences) while the double stack will give good detail across the disk as well.

A novice observer will find the solar disk uninspiring through the pst alone, though with practice you'll be able to tease out most of the detail that's visible through a double stacked instrument. The double stack boosts contrast making features across the disk visible at a glance.

Lunt also sells an introductory 35mm scope but finding one in stock could be a problem. The Lunt 35mm has a front mounted, full apeture etalon which should result in no sweet spot.

[Craig.a.c (Craig)]

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

The PST is an ideal way of getting started in Halpha observations of the sun. The 0.7A bandwidth is probably a good compromise for starters.
Have a look at Jan Timmermans site to see what can be achieved with a stock PST, Barlow and webcam.
http://www.thefirmament.nl/astro/main_screen.html