Not so many years ago, having experienced the splendid solar views through several scopes at NEAF, I resisted the draw no longer and came back with one of Jim Kendrick's Baader filters. Alas, I had gotten one that was just a few mm too small, but Jim and company promptly sent the correct size (Thanks for the great service guys!). My first images were taken quite literally moments after the UPS delivery truck drove off, and the results were very gratifying!
I was also awestruck with the Coronado Hydrogen-alpha (H-a) filter that was set up outside at NEAF, and felt the "gotta' get me one of those" pangs, though the higher cost than white-light filters gave me pause to reconsider. I didn't hesitate too long though, as imaging friends kept taunting me with the splendid H-a shots they were gathering. Soon, I called the friendly people at Coronado and my own H-a setup was on order.
My solar observing/imaging equipment consists of the full-aperture Kendrick/Baader white light filter which is used on an 8" f5.9 Mak-Newt, a Baader Herschel wedge used with an AP160 and AP Traveler, a "double-stacked" Coronado 90/90/30 setup for the Astro-Physics Traveler, and a pair of PSTs (Ha and CaK). My earliest Ha images were taken with a 90/30 (single stack) Tak FS128 setup and Nikon CoolPix digital camera mounted to the eyepiece via a TeleVue direct coupler. The camera I am currently using is an SBIG11K. For visual observations, I use the specialized H-a optimized eyepieces and barlow developed by Coronado (CEMAX), which preserve a high level of contrast in both white-light and H-alpha and a DenkMeier II setup w/power switch & matched pair of Denk 21 EPs.
Both the Kendick/Baader white-light and Coronado H-a systems are a joy to use, and complement each other very well. Though I am quite the neophyte in this genre, the patience and guidance of others has been a great help. Herewith are a few examples of the images gleaned from each setup... I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed taking them! |
