Saturday, July 4, 2015

astronomy - Can any telescope be used for solar observing?


Can any telescope, such as a 8" reflector, that is normally used at night to look at planets be used or adapted for solar observing?


What kind of adapters or filters are required or is it better to get a dedicated solar telescope?


I'd like to look at sunspots, flares, prominences, eclipses, etc.



Answer




Yes, with a relatively inexpensive solar filter in front of the telescope almost any telescope can be used. The solar filter can be based on BoPET (trade name "Mylar").


To view flares and prominences a much more expensive (on the order of USD 1000 for a 8" reflector) hydrogen-alpha filter is needed.


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