2
Do not use Acetone or strong degreaser type products, household cleaning agents, paper towels, tissues with
added scent or color (plain tissues only), or bleach or acidic products which will damage the anodized surfaces.
What am I looking at?
The Sun is active on a daily basis. During solar maximum the Sun will put on awe inspiring displays that include
x-class flares, prominences, surface filaments, etc…
Prominences:
These look like eruptions from the disk (edge) of the Sun. Prominences can be small spiky
looking details, or large cloud like detail with fine feather like internal features. They are, in fact, ionized
hydrogen emissions being projected from the limb. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the
mesosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun's troposphere.
Filaments:
These are string like features on the surface of the Sun. At high resolution they take on a 3D effect
due to the cooler aspect of the filament contrasted against the bright, hotter, Sun. They are actually prominences
being viewed against the surface.
Spicules:
A spicule is a dynamic jet of about 500km diameter on the Sun. It moves upwards at about 20 km/s
from the photosphere. Father Angelo Secchi of the Vatican Observatory in Rome discovered them in 1877. The
chromosphere is entirely composed of spicules. These features can be seen as "fur" around the edge of the
disk.
Plage:
This is a bright region in the chromosphere of the Sun, typically found in regions of the chromosphere
near sunspots. The plage regions map closely to the faculae in the photosphere below, but the latter have much
smaller spatial scales. Faculae have a strong influence on the solar constant, and the more readily detectable
because chromospheric plage areas traditionally are used to monitor this influence.
Solar Flares:
A solar flare is a violent explosion in the Sun's atmosphere. Solar flares take place in the solar
corona and chromospheres, heating plasma to tens of millions of Kelvin and accelerating electron, protons, and
heavier ions to near the speed of light. They produce electromagnetic radiation across the electromagnetic
spectrum at all wavelengths from long-wave radio to the shortest wavelength gamma rays. Most flares occur in
active regions around sunspots, where intense magnetic fields emerge from the Sun's surface into the corona.
Flares are powered by the sudden (timescales of minutes to tens of minutes) release of magnetic energy stored
in the corona.
Chromosphere:
The chromosphere is a thin layer of the Sun's atmosphere just above the photosphere, roughly
10,000 kilometers deep (approximating to, if a little less than, the diameter of the Earth). The chromosphere is
more visually transparent than the photosphere. The name comes from the fact that it has a reddish color, as the
visual spectrum of the chromosphere is dominated by the deep red H-alpha spectral line of hydrogen.
The LS60TH
α
Telescope with Pressure Tuner
Complete Solar Telescope with 60mm aperture and 500mm focal length. An internal etalon with new air-
pressure tuning adjustment allows for a <0.7 Angstrom bandwidth. The “Pressure Tuner” system adapted the
Etalon to varying altitudes and atmospheric pressures for always optimal performance. With the matched
collimation lens set, the LS60THa is fully corrected for on axis coma, astigmatism and de-centering aberrations
and provides a full spherically corrected flat-field Solar-Telescope. Blocking filter is the B600 or the B1200, the
B1200 is better for imaging. The star diagonal in which the blocking filter is installed, is equipped as standard for
1.25" eyepieces and with a T2 camera connection. Fine adjustment is achieved with a Crayford style focuser or
with a Starlight Instruments Feather Touch focuser, both with 10:1 reduction.
What is delivered with the system?
- H-alpha telescope with 60mm aperture
- Internal Etalon with Pressure Tuner
- Blocking filter B600 or B1200 (not included at the OTA version)
- 2” Crayford style focuser or Starlight Instruments Feather Touch focuser
- Tube ring with 1/4”-20 connection for photo tripods
- Transport case with die cut foam insert
- Instruction manual
What accessories are recommended?
- Eyepieces:
Simple eyepieces with narrow field of view are recommended. (25mm thru 8mm)
- Sol Searcher:
This attaches to the clamshell assembly and makes finding the Sun a lot easier.
- Dovetail plate:
For using the scope on astronomical mounts.
