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Solar Photography
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First off, a word of CAUTION: Solar viewing can be dangerous and can cause instant blindness if proper precautions are not used. This website is not entended to be a complete set of instructions for solar viewing, you are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO VISIT OTHER WEBSITES AND READ ABOUT SOLAR VIEWING. Do not atempt to view the sun unless/until you are sure you understand all the dangers and the precautions needed to do it safely.
Another CAUTION: If you get an eye piece filter with an older scope like this one:
DO NOT USE IT. These filters are no longer being sold. They have been know to crack from the heat being focused on them, blinding the observer. Again, do NOT use a filter like this, better yet throw it away so you will not be tempted.
The cheapest method of taking pictures of the sun is the pojection method. It is simply using your telescope (or even binoculars) as a projector to shine an image of the sun onto a white surface so you can take a picture of it, like this:
Before you get started, several things to keep in mind. First, always take caution to not get your face anywhere near the eye piece. Don't do this with small children around, they are not going to understand the dangers involved. Second, chose an eye piece carefully, heat is generated when you do this and an eye piece that is contains plastic could melt. While you are doing it, check the eye piece often for heat, if it starts getting to hot (I've never noticed one get more than a little warm, but I check often), aim the scope away from the sun and let it cool down. Third, most finder scopes are made of plastic, so cover the end of it with a cap or something simular while doing this.
So, how do you aim a telescope at the sun without looking through it? Simple, just look at the ground. When the scope is aimed at the sun, the shadow will be the smallest and will be round.
All you need to do is place a white paper (or what ever you want to use for a screen) in the path of the eye piece and focus. The further away the screen is, the larger an image you get, but anytime you change the distance you will need to refocus.
Shots like this are easy to take (notice the 2 sunspots in the upper right):
Late last year we had a partial solar eclipse that was viewable here in Florida, I took a series of shots from the time it started until the sun was behind the trees; such as this one:
I can not post AVI (movie) files on this site, but I have an animated movie of this eclipse posted at my Luna City Forums in This Thread.
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