The Solar Eclipse

[Tomo]

This was pretty much the maximum eclipse we saw here in SE Qld on the Darling Downs. Still pretty good though! Not a real good photo as it was just shot with my phone on the eye piece of one of my brothers telescopes.

 

 

 

[rgmwa]

Looks real good to me!

 

rgmwa

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Tomo: That's a pretty speccy pic. I think some astronomers would be proud of a pic like that.

 

 

[Sapphire]

of course everybody knows not to look at the sun directly, especially with a telescope. In fact even the unfoucused heat can destroy an eyepiece not to mention fry your eyeball.

 

 

[RKW]

of course everybody knows not to look at the sun directly, especially with a telescope. In fact even the unfoucused heat can destroy an eyepiece not to mention fry your eyeball.

Tomo, I can lend you a white cane!

 

 

[Herm]

of course everybody knows not to look at the sun directly, especially with a telescope. In fact even the unfoucused heat can destroy an eyepiece not to mention fry your eyeball.

I wasnt going to post anymore on this site, but this subject is something I spend lots of time doing.. Your comment is not really correct. Heat from the sun will not damage anything on a telescope at all. Most telescopes you a reflected or refracted image transfer to your eye.

 

You are able to get fantastic views of the sun using the correct filters. Baader Film of HA filters. Place a camera on the end and great pictures can be taken. It is common place to look at the Sun with a telescope and its really neat to see the sun spots and Prominence.. You can even purchase whats called a PST Telescope that is only used to view the sun.. Its really that same as looking at the sun with you naked eye... Thats what we all know NOT TO DO without special glasses (Baader Film). Same rule applies for all other viewing with Bynos or Telescopes..

 

I have posted this link before, but I have a Website that has a few sun images as well as Deep Space shots and Aurora Shots I took in Alaska last year.. http://scopepics.wordpress.com

 

Mardy

 

 

[Sapphire]

Dear Mr Herm,

 

I spent many years in another life constructing telescopes including reflecting optics. In the interest of safety, even filters at the eyepiece can crack allowing intense light through. A small magnifying lens can focus the light and start a fire. A small telescope [4" to 12"] can do a lot more damage. The only time I looked at the sun directly with a telescope was with an uncoated mirror [reflecting 4% light] and filters. With a coated mirror and while adjusting the focus the focal point of the primary can pinpoint onto your filter with enough heat to crack it if not melt it. Project the sun's image onto a white screen. [white cardboard] is the safest.

 

RKW said Tomo, I can lend you a white cane!

 

Don't worry, he would have only lost one eye. Make the same mistake twice and he would need to take up the offer.

 

 

[Herm]

Dear Mr Herm,I spent many years in another life constructing telescopes including reflecting optics. In the interest of safety, even filters at the eyepiece can crack allowing intense light through. A small magnifying lens can focus the light and start a fire. A small telescope [4" to 12"] can do a lot more damage. The only time I looked at the sun directly with a telescope was with an uncoated mirror [reflecting 4% light] and filters. With a coated mirror and while adjusting the focus the focal point of the primary can pinpoint onto your filter with enough heat to crack it if not melt it. Project the sun's image onto a white screen. [white cardboard] is the safest.

 

RKW said Tomo, I can lend you a white cane!

 

Don't worry, he would have only lost one eye. Make the same mistake twice and he would need to take up the offer.

Dear Mr Re-incarnated

 

I guess you must be correct and I have made an awfull mistake. As soon as I put out the fire in my telescope and my left eye heals I will contact Meade, Celestron, Orion and others that they must stop producing thier products as a guy on these forums thinks they may cause fires, and damage your eyes. I am sure all the folks at the Astronomical Society have no idea of the danger they are in. All those scopes setup with cameras doing Afocal photos need to be stopped. I would hate to see all those nice big 16" mirrors getting damage, and CCD's being destroyed. In fact it might also be good to advise those using solar glasses to not use those also. I know that Meade produce a PST scope (personal solar Telescope) that has HA filters for the purpose of viewing the sun with your eyes. We may need to contact them about this problem that you have brought to light... Very Bright Light.

 

but on a more serious note, yes you can use the reflecting onto a white card and that is a good safe way for those that dont have the correct gear to do the solar stuff, or use a pinhole box with a white reflector.

 

I guess if you wish to use that method to view the sun, it's sure is a safe way of doing it. However an opinion of what is safe or not, or what you think is not able to be done, should not be implicated as fact. Thier are lots of options and products these days for sun viewing and it's changing every day and some good stuff now on the market. Get on the Google and look at what you can see with your eyes with a solar scope...Amazing (getting one soon). You might even want one when you see them. You can now add these HA filters to normal scopes. Not cheap but fantastic all the same.

 

did you knopw I was a model in my past life. But trust me, you would never guess if you saw me in this life. Anyway all a bit off topic for this site. Anyway you did get me to post one more time.

 

Mardy

 

 

[Sapphire]

Warning, warning to anyone wanting to put their eyeball to a telescope eyepiece to view the sun. There are different methods of filtering the sun and some are safer than others especially if the telescope is specifically designed for that purpose. Some setups are just plain dangerous. If you were to expose your eye to the full or even partial collected light from the sun, your eye would vapourize or at best go blind. Just google "dangers of looking at the sun with telescope" Don't take my word for it.

 

 

[Tomo]

Haha, thanks guys!

 

Thanks for the concern Sapphire, but this isn't just a simple set up in the back yard type gizmo, my brother builds his own scopes and gear, including mirrors, reflectors etc... and has all the filters you can poke a stick at. He's currently working on making another mirror in the near future. So I don't think he'd be silly enough to look at the sun without the correct protection!

 

This is a shot done with the tracking and camera mounted scope -

 

 

 

[rankamateur]

Welcome back Mardy.

 

 

[Herm]

Haha, thanks guys!

Thanks for the concern Sapphire, but this isn't just a simple set up in the back yard type gizmo, my brother builds his own scopes and gear, including mirrors, reflectors etc... and has all the filters you can poke a stick at. He's currently working on making another mirror in the near future. So I don't think he'd be silly enough to look at the sun without the correct protection!

 

This is a shot done with the tracking and camera mounted scope -

 

 

In all the chatter I did not mention this is not a bad shot through the eyepiece. I had to work this morning so I was not able to setup the scope and get some shots. A flying friend of mine has a nice thousand oaks solar filter an got a nice shot. I did get to have a quick look with my solar glasses.. Pretty cool indeed. It's a great hobby, but can get a little expensive ( like flying). The gear available these days allows us to do things that even the largest research scopes could not do even 15 years ago. Thanks for sharing your image

 

Mardy

 

 

[sfGnome]

Geez Tomo, I reckon that your one on the crappy phone is miles better than the one taken with all the flash gear (unless you knobbled it to make yours look better... )

 

 

[Sapphire]

Tomo, every time you get an eclipse some one gets eye damage. Your brother would know all the lurks and perks. He would have lots of fun making a primary mirror.

 

 

[eightyknots]

Dear Mr Re-incarnated

I guess you must be correct and I have made an awfull mistake. As soon as I put out the fire in my telescope and my left eye heals I will contact Meade, Celestron, Orion and others that they must stop producing thier products as a guy on these forums thinks they may cause fires, and damage your eyes. I am sure all the folks at the Astronomical Society have no idea of the danger they are in. All those scopes setup with cameras doing Afocal photos need to be stopped. I would hate to see all those nice big 16" mirrors getting damage, and CCD's being destroyed. In fact it might also be good to advise those using solar glasses to not use those also. I know that Meade produce a PST scope (personal solar Telescope) that has HA filters for the purpose of viewing the sun with your eyes. We may need to contact them about this problem that you have brought to light... Very Bright Light.

 

but on a more serious note, yes you can use the reflecting onto a white card and that is a good safe way for those that dont have the correct gear to do the solar stuff, or use a pinhole box with a white reflector.

 

I guess if you wish to use that method to view the sun, it's sure is a safe way of doing it. However an opinion of what is safe or not, or what you think is not able to be done, should not be implicated as fact. Thier are lots of options and products these days for sun viewing and it's changing every day and some good stuff now on the market. Get on the Google and look at what you can see with your eyes with a solar scope...Amazing (getting one soon). You might even want one when you see them. You can now add these HA filters to normal scopes. Not cheap but fantastic all the same.

 

did you knopw I was a model in my past life. But trust me, you would never guess if you saw me in this life. Anyway all a bit off topic for this site. Anyway you did get me to post one more time.

 

Mardy

Hi Herm, Good to see you on the Forum. It's been a while since I last 'saw' you on here.

 

Now:

 

 

[spacesailor]

I use a welding mask.

 

With a new filter. on my cheap telescope.

 

spacesailor