The sun is our local star - and provides us with all the heat and light we need.
It has been studied extensively, and there have been several devices produced to
enable you to look at it safely.
There 3 way the amateur astronomer can look at our local star.
- In Hydrogen Alpha with your very own dedicated hydrogen alpha telescope from
Solarscope Ltd and view prominences and surface
detail - quick to set up and very safe to use and now you can have a
filter to fit all Tele Vue Telescopes and many other scopes
Alternatively for a much more
modest budget the Coronado PSTs will enable you to see prominences very well
- Use a white light filter, such as those made by Kendrick
which will enable you to look through your telescope at the sun in white light
- Project the sun through a telescope onto a white card or sheet.
You can see sunspots in this way and as you are viewing the sun indirectly,
it is by far the safest!
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* * * DANGER * * *
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The sun is so powerful you will damage your eyes if you look at it without protection (and
sunglasses are NOT adequate) and you will risk losing your eyesight all together if you use
any sort of binocular, monoculars, magnifier or telescope to look at the sun with your naked eye.
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Image courtesy of H J P Arnold - Sol Invictus. Taken in the UK in
December 2002 through a Solarview 50 Telescope from Solarscope Ltd.
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