Post by patrickm on Mar 3, 2012 16:36:29 GMT -6
Lunt 60mm f/8.33 dbl etalon H-alpha <0.50Å solar refractor + cat toy.
I have always been fascinated by our star, and have even been accused of staring at it for way too long. I have been considering things solar since the day I got my surprise 114SLT Christmas present from Mom and ran across "Solar" in its manual. I even tracked down and ordered the last known copy of the discontinued Celestron Mylar solar filter for it only to get a call a few days later saying that they couldn't track it down in the warehouse. :-( I considered making my own with Baader film but never pulled the trigger. Being the only person I have ever known to fail a six weeks period of shop class, my success at making things has been limited. Later, I looked at options for my SCT but decided against the risk of overheating the closed system of my beloved 9.25" baby. I then started pondering dedicated solar scope options.
Not one to rush into anything, first I procrastinated. Then I dove into hours of research before deftly putting off my decision even further. I've been sick at home for the last two weeks and finally early this week was feeling well enough to begin thinking about looking into making a decision and trying to obtain one. Finding an "affordable" solar scope to buy has always been a challenge of demand drastically outstripping limited supply. Backorders continue to range from 60-120 days. Some of you here may have heard about the upcoming solar transit of Venus. This event has pushed wait times even further out.
What I've learned:
*Lunt & Coronado make highly portable, affordable Personal Solar Telescopes (PST) that finally put solar observing into the hands of many amateur astronomers.
*While affordable at ~$600, these low power, 35mm scopes have a limited resolution and contrast.
*Of these PSTs, the highest rated is the Lunt 35T Deluxe package which allows imaging.
*You cannot find one.
*Etalons are expensive to make.
*Solar observing is highly addictive.
*Most people who have purchased these affordable (but not cheap!) scopes inevitably trade up to higher resolution & magnification.
*The build quality is about equal, but the customer service at Lunt is rated as vastly superior to Coronado.
Knowing my obsessive nature, I think it's now safe to assume that I am not likely to bail on astronomy anytime soon. So while my initial impulse was to put in a backorder for a Lunt 35mmD, I allowed myself to consider the next step up, which is a 60mm refractor. These come in either single or dual etalon/blocking filter. The B1200 blocking filter is really expensive and would add about $500 to the price tag per etalon. While I do want to do imaging, the B600 "Visual" etalon can pump out more than adequate photos at a much lower price. Adding a second blocking filter to the front lowers overall brightness but greatly enhances contrast. By going with B600, I could now kind of afford the extra front blocking filter for higher contrast, or as Lunt call it, "virtual 3D."
The other option is the style of focuser. I opted for the cheaper 10:1 Crayford style over the sweet, but much more expensive, Feathertouch Focuser for a savings of $500.
So that was my dream set up at the high end of affordability. I take great pride in tracking down the untrackable on the internets. I then started a methodical search and found exactly one affordable solar scope in stock, new or used, at Astronomics, so I pounced. It just happened to be the dream scope setup from above. And here it is. The additional free shipping & Cloudy Nights discount were both nice bonuses!
Of course I forgot to order the dovetail mount. That will be here on Wed or Thurs.
Apologies for clouds.
I have always been fascinated by our star, and have even been accused of staring at it for way too long. I have been considering things solar since the day I got my surprise 114SLT Christmas present from Mom and ran across "Solar" in its manual. I even tracked down and ordered the last known copy of the discontinued Celestron Mylar solar filter for it only to get a call a few days later saying that they couldn't track it down in the warehouse. :-( I considered making my own with Baader film but never pulled the trigger. Being the only person I have ever known to fail a six weeks period of shop class, my success at making things has been limited. Later, I looked at options for my SCT but decided against the risk of overheating the closed system of my beloved 9.25" baby. I then started pondering dedicated solar scope options.
Not one to rush into anything, first I procrastinated. Then I dove into hours of research before deftly putting off my decision even further. I've been sick at home for the last two weeks and finally early this week was feeling well enough to begin thinking about looking into making a decision and trying to obtain one. Finding an "affordable" solar scope to buy has always been a challenge of demand drastically outstripping limited supply. Backorders continue to range from 60-120 days. Some of you here may have heard about the upcoming solar transit of Venus. This event has pushed wait times even further out.
What I've learned:
*Lunt & Coronado make highly portable, affordable Personal Solar Telescopes (PST) that finally put solar observing into the hands of many amateur astronomers.
*While affordable at ~$600, these low power, 35mm scopes have a limited resolution and contrast.
*Of these PSTs, the highest rated is the Lunt 35T Deluxe package which allows imaging.
*You cannot find one.
*Etalons are expensive to make.
*Solar observing is highly addictive.
*Most people who have purchased these affordable (but not cheap!) scopes inevitably trade up to higher resolution & magnification.
*The build quality is about equal, but the customer service at Lunt is rated as vastly superior to Coronado.
Knowing my obsessive nature, I think it's now safe to assume that I am not likely to bail on astronomy anytime soon. So while my initial impulse was to put in a backorder for a Lunt 35mmD, I allowed myself to consider the next step up, which is a 60mm refractor. These come in either single or dual etalon/blocking filter. The B1200 blocking filter is really expensive and would add about $500 to the price tag per etalon. While I do want to do imaging, the B600 "Visual" etalon can pump out more than adequate photos at a much lower price. Adding a second blocking filter to the front lowers overall brightness but greatly enhances contrast. By going with B600, I could now kind of afford the extra front blocking filter for higher contrast, or as Lunt call it, "virtual 3D."
The other option is the style of focuser. I opted for the cheaper 10:1 Crayford style over the sweet, but much more expensive, Feathertouch Focuser for a savings of $500.
So that was my dream set up at the high end of affordability. I take great pride in tracking down the untrackable on the internets. I then started a methodical search and found exactly one affordable solar scope in stock, new or used, at Astronomics, so I pounced. It just happened to be the dream scope setup from above. And here it is. The additional free shipping & Cloudy Nights discount were both nice bonuses!
Of course I forgot to order the dovetail mount. That will be here on Wed or Thurs.
Apologies for clouds.
Attachments:
But it still looks kinda cool in an arty way.