New Solar filter

[Darryl]

Hi Stephen,

I notice a few of your images are quite orange. Why did those turn out orange and not the rest. What was the configuration of your equipment vs. the images that look pinkish. It could be a white balance issue with the camera you are using when taking pictures through the PST. The auto white balance won't necessarily work all the great when trying to do imaging through the PST. It might be worth looking into.

If you have the time please feel free to upload some of your solar images or other astrophotography images you have taken to the gallery.

[dmill1220]

Originally Posted by dpab

This glass filter that you are talking about ,what brand was it again and do you buy the plate and make your own.
Have you looked thru a Baader solar film type ?, and with the glass is the resolution better than the film and what color is the image ?
Ive got a 11 inch schmidt and I was thinking of makin a filter.
Just wondering?
Dave

Hi Dave,

Its the thousand Oaks Glass full aperture filter which produces a nice amber color and not blue or white like the baader film.
The Baader film is susceptible to finger print degradation and pin holes

I have the 4inch filter that I place on the cap with the 4 inch aperture stop that came with my 6 inch refractor, the resolution is very good.
if your 11 inch Schmidt has a lens cap with an off center aperture mask, I would purchase the smaller filter for the aperture stop, You either purchase such a lens cap if you dont already have one, or just make your own.

Dennis

[dmill1220]

Originally Posted by stephenramsden

Dennis,
I most certainly do not see the beautiful orangish image that you posted through my eyepiece. I have the Barlow and all of the Cemax eyepieces and used them all in my photos. Are you telling me that I should be seeing that highly detailed orange image through my little ole' PST with the optional PSM 40 stacker added on? If so, I have been screwed.
The images at SOLARASTROPHOTOGRAPHY.COM are the best I can get with my Nikon Coolpix 5100 and my Stacked PST. One is pictured below.
please reply here and copy to ramsden@mindspring.com

This looks like more of a camera settings problem its not your PST!
Dennis

[AstroTasmania]

Hi from "Down Under",

Solar observing/photography has been a lifelong interest for me and maybe I can answer a few questions for those just starting out.

I have read through your posts and see that there are many questions I could answer from personal experience.

I have a wide range of solar observing equipment, telescopes & cameras:
Look for the solar imaging albums:

Picasa Web Albums - Shevill - AstroTa...

Regards

Shevill Mathers
Southern Cross Observatory 42 South Tasmania
Shevill Mathers

[AstroTasmania]

Originally Posted by dmill1220

This looks like more of a camera settings problem its not your PST!
Dennis

Hi,

This image is the typical colour through a narrow band H-alpha filter, the nice yellow orange that I also prefer is through a glass white light filter such as the thousand oaks, which are coated with chromium as well as aluminium.

An aluminium coated filter either glass or the Baader Solar film has a bluish cast to a white image.

Regards

Shevill
Southern Cross Observatory-42 South Tasmania
Picasa Web Albums - Shevill - AstroTa...
Shevill Mathers

[AstroTasmania]

Originally Posted by dmill1220

Hi Dave,

Its the thousand Oaks Glass full aperture filter which produces a nice amber color and not blue or white like the Baader film.
The Baader film is susceptible to finger print degradation and pin holes

I have the 4inch filter that I place on the cap with the 4 inch aperture stop that came with my 6 inch refractor, the resolution is very good.
if your 11 inch Schmidt has a lens cap with an off center aperture mask, I would purchase the smaller filter for the aperture stop, You either purchase such a lens cap if you dont already have one, or just make your own.

Dennis

My experience with the Baader film over many years has been excellent, used almost daily. It is double coated both sides and pinholes are rare and even if they exist, are no cause for concern.

If you have a large aperture telescope, the most cost effective way of making a solar filter is to use an off centre mask, i.e a a disc covering the entire front of the scope, cutting a 4" or 5" hole to one side between the edge of the scope & the secondary mirror holder, then cover the hole with Baader solar film or a glass filter of that size. Do NOT stretch it tight, it works best left with a few natural wrinkles in it.

Keep in mind that, the Baader film offers the best resolution, the glass filters are NOT optical flats, so will degrade the image on a good scope, but not that noticeable unless using an APO for photography. More often than not, the seeing conditions during the day is your worst enemy.

In which case the Baader Herschel Solar Wedge is the go.

Regards

Shevill
Southern Cross Observatory-42 South Tasmania
Picasa Web Albums - Shevill - AstroTa...
Shevill Mathers

[Darryl]

Originally Posted by AstroTasmania

Hi from "Down Under",

Solar observing/photography has been a lifelong interest for me and maybe I can answer a few questions for those just starting out.

I have read through your posts and see that there are many questions I could answer from personal experience.

I have a wide range of solar observing equipment, telescopes & cameras:
Look for the solar imaging albums:

Picasa Web Albums - Shevill - AstroTa...

Regards

Shevill Mathers
Southern Cross Observatory 42 South Tasmania
Shevill Mathers

Hi Shevill,

Welcome to the site!

I look forward to reading more of your comments on solar observing. My white light views of the sun through Baader film have always been the best. So for glass you think the Thousand Oaks solar filters are one of the better brands?

Regards,

[AstroTasmania]

Hi Daryl,

Thank you for the welcome - I hope that I can share some of my solar experiences with you.

I started making full aperture (5") aluminised glass solar filters in the 1960's (published in the BAA Journal 1966), long before they came on the market commercially. I had access to a war time optical works nearby, who were very helpful in developing my ideas, using plane optical glass flats. They had aluminising facilities and checked the flatness of the blanks I was using. I still have three which need re-aluminising & quartz coating

Commercial glass filters of the Thousand Oaks type are excellent value for the price, I have been using several for the past 20 years. Like anything else in optics, the more you pay - the better it gets.

Interferometer tests show the Baader film to be superior to glass filters, but in practical terms for visual use I prefer the orange colour of the chromium on glass filters.

Regards