Solar viewing/Any telescope experts out there?

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thunderbrick

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Solar viewing/Any telescope experts out there?
« on: 1 May 2017, 01:28 am »
I want to use long lenses to take pictures of the sun.  600 to 1200mm lenses, at mid-day.   What are my filter options?

I've been able to shoot the sun at sunset or an hour before; caught Venus transiting the sun and got a few sunspots, but that's obviously been heavily filtered by the earth's grungy atmosphere.

I recall dropping a ND filter in the slot near the rear of the lens, and I remember the filter getting pretty warm.  Last thing I want is for a filter to shatter inside the lens.

Amazon and B&H are not much help, and I want excellent optical quality. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

TB

PeteG

Re: Solar viewing/Any telescope experts out there?
« Reply #1 on: 1 May 2017, 02:56 am »
I've used a welding glass to take pictures of the Sun, image quality was okay not great and not too clear. The quality of my welding glass wasn't the greatest.

*Scotty*

Re: Solar viewing/Any telescope experts out there?
« Reply #2 on: 1 May 2017, 05:13 am »
Here is a link to information on solar filters.
https://starizona.com/acb/basics/equip_filters_solar.aspx
Here is a link to the type of filter I use on my 8in. Celestron Nexstar 8 telescope for viewing the sun in white light as opposed using a dedicated Hydrogen Alpha spectrum telescope.
 http://www.baader-planetarium.de/com/sofifolie/details_e.htm
These filters can be purchased from AstroSolar.com
http://astrosolar.com/en/products/whitelight/astf-baader-solar-filter-for-high-end-telescopes/?attribute_pa_oeffnung=200-mm-en
To be honest viewing the sun in white light during a period of minimum sunspot activity is rather boring. A 90mm dedicated Hydrogen Alpha
solar telescope would be my first choice for solar viewing or photography.
Link to H-alpha Solar viewing and photography setup.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/guide-to-observing-the-sun-in-h-alpha092321050923/
White light image of sunspot via Baader Solar Film 90mm aperture telescope
H-Alpha image
Hope this information is helpful.
Scotty

Goosepond

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Re: Solar viewing/Any telescope experts out there?
« Reply #3 on: 1 May 2017, 02:24 pm »
This was some years ago but I put my small telescope solar filter on the end of my Canon 70-200 zoom and was happy with the result of a partial solar eclipse. I probably also took some sunspot photos. I'll look.

Gene

richidoo

Re: Solar viewing/Any telescope experts out there?
« Reply #4 on: 1 May 2017, 02:31 pm »
White light image of sunspot via Baader Solar Film 90mm aperture telescope

Cool!  :thumb:

electricbear

Re: Solar viewing/Any telescope experts out there?
« Reply #5 on: 1 May 2017, 04:01 pm »

call the operations center at The Soundroom in Chesterfield. Ask for Dave Sherfy. He's into astronomy big time. He even makes parts for scope mounts in his spare time. Super nice guy who'll be more than happy to advise you.