Solar Viewing - Tips/Advice (very cautious)

[legoman_iac (Daniel)]

Hey all,

Still relatively new to this all, starting to setup and guide now with some successful-ish imaging but wanting to get into some solar viewing and imaging but very scared and cautious of using my scope during daytime. Have read a few things online and just purchased an 'Orion Solar Filter' for my scope but thought it wise to ask a few questions before I go outside with it as I'm a little nervous about it all.

I've read this is safe but just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Things I know so far:

- check the filter before use, if it has pinholes of light, use a permanent black marker to fill it in (should not have more than 20)
- never have the scope outside without the solar filter
- always have it well secured, should not fall off with wind or gravity
- always supervise the scope and not let anyone astro-clueless near it
- ONLY look through it if the solar filter is securely ON
- allow 10-15mins for the scope to adjust to the temperature before using it

Some questions ...

Q- Can I use my normal eye pieces, for 30x and 120x magnification?

Q- Can I just attach my camera as per normal astro imaging or will my DSLR suffer from over heating?

Q- Can I use this filter safely on normal telephoto lenses with my DSLR?

What am I missing? Want to be doubly sure as I'm very cautious with this all, any feedback/other tips greatly appreciated?!?

Many thanks,
Daniel

p.s. And of course lots of sunscreen, hahaha.

[sheeny (Al)]

Yes, all good stuff.

Some answers:

1. Yes.

2. Yes and no (it will not overheat).

3. Yes if you can safely and securely attach it.

What are you missing?

Make sure your finderscope ands guidescope have the front lens caps on or a suitable solar filter as well.

Al.

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

If these full aperture filters are fitted securely to the telescope...then they are 100% safe both for visual and imaging.
The solar activity continues to increase; now's a great time to start observations..

[Dennis]

Hi Daniel

I have full aperture Baader astro film solar filters fitted to my optical tube (main telescope) and the smaller finder scope.

Even when they are fitted and after testing that they are secure, the first part of my anatomy that I place at the finder or telescope eyepiece is the back of my hand, just to make sure.

Cheers

Dennis

[The_bluester (Paul)]

Given that lining up on the sun would be relatively easy (Just align the scope by watching the OTA's shadow on the ground) I would be very tempted to remove any finders or guidescopes for the duration. I think a right angle diagonal is also a good thing as that way you are not facing towards the sun while observing.

I would love to do some solar observing myself but I have 3 year old son to worry about, he has a little tabletop dob that he is actually beginning to use (Bought so I can hopefully observe in relative peace) and I do not want him to even think about pointing it at the sun!

[legoman_iac (Daniel)]

Hey Guys ... thanks for your comments.

Al, thanks for the reminder about finderscopes/guidescopes. Removed everything when I went out to test out the filter, very good tip!

Even though it is 100% ... feel very cautious about putting my eyes to the scope. Maybe it's that darn message on my hand controller which always says "Do not use it in Daylight, etc", I'm no good with subliminal messages, haha.

The 'back of hand' trick is also a good one. Though at the moment the only part of my anatomy I'm putting there is my DLSR.

3 year old with his own Dob??! Awesome! Wish my parents got me interested when I was younger ... feel like I've lost 30 years of astronomy, could have been star gazing instead of watching TV! Good point about not wanting to solar observe around kids!

In that case, here's one of the pics I grabbed from my first Solar outing ... image taken 1041am 20/11/2011.

http://www.sketchdigital.com.au/astropics/IMG_8023.jpg

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Great first image!
Well done.

[legoman_iac (Daniel)]

Thanks Merlin!