Sun Mosaic

James

James

November 20, 2011 · 1 min read

I bought a very simple white light solar filter for my WO Megrez72.

A white light solar filter works by drastically reducing the intensity of the Sun's light across the entire visible spectrum. When fitted to the front aperture of a telescope it allows you to safely observe the Sun's lower atmosphere - the photosphere.

The filter reflects and absorbs an immense amount of energy, typically with an Optical Density (OD) of 5.0, meaning it blocks 99.999% of the Sun's visible light. Only 0.001% of the light is allowed to pass through, reducing the blinding glare to a comfortable brightness.

Unlike narrowband filters (such as Hydrogen-Alpha filters, which only let a specific red wavelength emitted by hydrogen gas pass through), a white light filter attenuates all wavelengths of visible light relatively evenly. Because it lets a fraction of the full spectrum through, the Sun appears in its natural "white" state.

Thumbnail of mosaic image

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