My Baader Hershel Safety Wedge and Calcium-K Line filter arrived 2 days
ago and I finally got some clear sky today. I found that the Wedge would
not focus on my Orion 152 Achromat, so I set it up on my Orion EON ED80
Semi-Apo. WOW!!!
The view was tremendous once I got accustomed
to the bright Lime green Sun. Adding an additional Neutral Density
Filter to the imaging train was for called for, and got rid of the
overwhelming lime color. I was truly impressed at the clarity. Seeing
was a solid 3.5, with distinct limb edge and surface detail and
structure in crystal clarity. This is the first time ever that the
Sunspot appeared to be floating in a pool of water. I've never seen this
through a scope before, only in video footage.
For photographic use I removed the additional filter, using just the recommended ND 3.0 and the Solar Continuim Filter.
To
use the Calcium-K Line Filter I had to remove the Solar Continuim
filter and the ND 3.0 filter. And the Sun looks totally featureless to
the eye, just as the fine folks at Baader said it would. However, when I
connected the camera and looked at the monitor the image was totally
awesome. Sunspots looked vivid and plage areas abounded.
I must
say that the Baader wedge and Ca-K Filter are an extremely good
investment. They add 2 whole new weapons to my Solar Arsenal.
The Hydrogen Alpha image was shot through my Lunt Solar Systems LS60THa w/B1200 Blocking Filter.
The Lunt and ED80 are mounted tandem on my Losmandy G-11 which is mounted in my Skyshed Pod. The observatory is located in my side yard in downtown Amherst, Ohio.