Binoculars for solar viewing ?

[Buckethead 2.0]

Is it possible to use binoculars for solar viewing, e.g., Baader film or something of the sort? I probably wouldn't be able to see much, even if it was, huh?

[Thefatkitty]

It's certainly doable, though I'd recommend a tripod to go with that. You won't see much at the moment as we're in Solar Minimum, but when that's over you can see quite a bit.

A sheet of Baader will easily do two binocular lenses with lots left over

All the best,

[Buckethead 2.0]

It's certainly doable, though I'd recommend a tripod to go with that. You won't see much at the moment as we're in Solar Minimum, but when that's over you can see quite a bit.

A sheet of Baader will easily do two binocular lenses with lots left over

All the best,

Thanks Mark! That is awesome to hear. How does the Baader film attach to the lenses? Just wrap it on the ends with rubber bands, or some other way?

[aae0130]

These have cells already.

https://oberwerk.com/product/seymour-solar-filters/

[Voyageur]

It's certainly doable, though I'd recommend a tripod to go with that. You won't see much at the moment as we're in Solar Minimum, but when that's over you can see quite a bit.

A sheet of Baader will easily do two binocular lenses with lots left over

All the best,

Thanks Mark! That is awesome to hear. How does the Baader film attach to the lenses? Just wrap it on the ends with rubber bands, or some other way?

Some instructions here: https://astrosolar.com/en/information/h ... telescope/

(Rubber bands not a good plan; you don't want to take any chances with your eyes.)

[Thefatkitty]

Thanks Mark! That is awesome to hear. How does the Baader film attach to the lenses? Just wrap it on the ends with rubber bands, or some other way?

No worries Eric . Mary is right; you don't want them falling off; not good! The link aae0130 provided is a good deal as well.

Notice that the linked pre-made filters will put up a yellow image, whereas Baader is pretty white. Depends on your preference.

This is what I did for my 80mm; cardboard and duct tape and still going after 3 years. Sorry for the huge pics....






And as I said, Baader puts up a white sun:



Depends on your color preference I guess If you run into problems, shoot me a PM. Trust me brother, I got the time

All the best Eric,

[Buckethead 2.0]

Thanks Mark! That is awesome to hear. How does the Baader film attach to the lenses? Just wrap it on the ends with rubber bands, or some other way?

No worries Eric . Mary is right; you don't want them falling off; not good! The link aae0130 provided is a good deal as well.

Notice that the linked pre-made filters will put up a yellow image, whereas Baader is pretty white. Depends on your preference.

This is what I did for my 80mm; cardboard and duct tape and still going after 3 years. Sorry for the huge pics....






And as I said, Baader puts up a white sun:



Depends on your color preference I guess If you run into problems, shoot me a PM. Trust me brother, I got the time

All the best Eric,

Very helpful, thank you Mark! And I don't want to assume, but could I look at eclipses with the same filters?

[Buckethead 2.0]

It's certainly doable, though I'd recommend a tripod to go with that. You won't see much at the moment as we're in Solar Minimum, but when that's over you can see quite a bit.

A sheet of Baader will easily do two binocular lenses with lots left over

All the best,

Thanks Mark! That is awesome to hear. How does the Baader film attach to the lenses? Just wrap it on the ends with rubber bands, or some other way?

Some instructions here: https://astrosolar.com/en/information/h ... telescope/

(Rubber bands not a good plan; you don't want to take any chances with your eyes.)

Thank you Voyageur! Bookmarked it, very much appreciated.

[Buckethead 2.0]

These have cells already.

https://oberwerk.com/product/seymour-solar-filters/

Thanks for the link! Question though, I have 10x50 binoculars, and there are three different models available. The Sport HD and Deluxe come in 2.5", and the Ultra is 3.0". Why the larger size for Ultra? I am guessing the Ultra means a larger aperture? I thought 50 meant 50mm.

[Lady Fraktor]

Get the Baader film, much better resolution than the Seymor film.

[Ruud]

Yes the solar film work very well.

Unfortunately I have dozens of Tilia trees nearby. On sunny days these trees perspire sweet droplets. Most of them end up under the trees where they make the street sticky. The smallest droplets float around and end up on everything else.

I've discovered that cleaning a solar film from sugar droplets does not work. You just create a bigger mess. So I got four or five times use of my solar film and that was it.

I went back to using my old Thousand Oaks steel-on-glass filter. The front surface is glass and that is easy to keep clean.

[Buckethead 2.0]

Yes the solar film work very well.

Unfortunately I have dozens of Tilia trees nearby. On sunny days these trees perspire sweet droplets. Most of them end up under the trees where they make the street sticky. The smallest droplets float around and end up on everything else.

I've discovered that cleaning a solar film from sugar droplets does not work. You just create a bigger mess. So I got four or five times use of my solar film and that was it.

I went back to using my old Thousand Oaks steel-on-glass filter. The front surface is glass and that is easy to keep clean.

I don't blame you at all. I don't have that problem here, but that is good to know.

[Thefatkitty]

Very helpful, thank you Mark! And I don't want to assume, but could I look at eclipses with the same filters?

Yup, you sure can! Hopefully you will do a better job than me...

My 80mm C80-HD... I brought it out for the Aug 21 2017 Eclipse.... Set it up, and my neighborhood came alive My neighbors think I'm eclectic, but they're always interested in what I'm up to. Problem with that, between all the questions and milling about, I was never able to achieve a perfect focus







All that to say, you will have no problem. Just avoid conversation and people walking in front of your scope

All the best to you and yours Eric,

[Buckethead 2.0]

Very helpful, thank you Mark! And I don't want to assume, but could I look at eclipses with the same filters?

Yup, you sure can! Hopefully you will do a better job than me...

My 80mm C80-HD... I brought it out for the Aug 21 2017 Eclipse.... Set it up, and my neighborhood came alive My neighbors think I'm eclectic, but they're always interested in what I'm up to. Problem with that, between all the questions and milling about, I was never able to achieve a perfect focus







All that to say, you will have no problem. Just avoid conversation and people walking in front of your scope

All the best to you and yours Eric,

I don't have a scope yet, so it shouldn't be to much of a problem. Thanks, Mark! I'm excited about getting set up.

[notFritzArgelander]

https://agenaastro.com/solar-astronomy/ ... ulars.html

There's also dedicated solar binoculars. :shrug: Baader film is best if you want to roll your own.

[Buckethead 2.0]

https://agenaastro.com/solar-astronomy/ ... ulars.html

There's also dedicated solar binoculars. :shrug: Baader film is best if you want to roll your own.

Thanks buddy. this is definitely going to happen! Very affordable.

[AntennaGuy]

I have a pair of the EclipSMART 10x42, (see nFA's link.) I bought them back before the last solar eclipse. They work fine for eclipses or for noticing large sunspots.

[Buckethead 2.0]

I have a pair of the EclipSMART 10x42, (see nFA's link.) I bought them back before the last solar eclipse. They work fine for eclipses or for noticing large sunspots.

Yep, between the two of you, and the price - and reading the product description, I'm sold on them. I never just hang out in the sun, but with these, I can work on my raccoon tan.

[aae0130]

These have cells already.

https://oberwerk.com/product/seymour-solar-filters/

Thanks for the link! Question though, I have 10x50 binoculars, and there are three different models available. The Sport HD and Deluxe come in 2.5", and the Ultra is 3.0". Why the larger size for Ultra? I am guessing the Ultra means a larger aperture? I thought 50 meant 50mm.

Sorry, I don’t really know the answer to that. I don’t have any sun filters. The only reason I knew they existed was because I recently perused the accessories page of the Oberwerk web sight seeking stuff for my BT-100. However I’m glad I happened apon your original post because it sparked an interest for me.

I too vote for the white as it looks more pleasing.

[Baurice]

I've been using Baader filters since 2001. I replace them every few years, due to wear. As others have said, the Sun is very quiet at the moment, so there are only sunspots every few months.

I have used my 15x70 bins for checking sunspots whenever any are around. However, I have even seen them in a 5x24 finderscope when they are large enough. I make computer-based drawings using Powerpoint.

You can see my drawings in my solar gallery, along with some hydrogen alpha photos.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/philippug ... 6438967194