hi Guys

What do I need and how can I make a home made temporary solar filter
All the photo/telescope stores in NYC are closed for passover and I can not get one for this weekend and I need one
I need to make one that is very safe and effective for solar photography so I wont ruin my eyes or my cameras sensor. I was all set to go buy one tommorow and all the stores are closed until Monday
Also what type of stores sells these materials that I would require

Thanks

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“There's no denying the public's appetite for cosmic discovery.” ~ Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

Many years ago, when I was a stupid kid, I used to hold a candle to a piece of glass and once enough soot deposited on the glass, the homemade filter was ready. Luckily, holding the filter up to the occular and scraping off the soot in the process, I did not allow any direct sunlight to enter my eye. Otherwise, try going to a store that sells welding supplies. You should be able to purchase lenses for a welding hat that have the right opaqueness for your needs. I did this and although the image is greenish, it worked out fine for observing the sun through a telescope or binoculars (holding the lense over the objective in binoculars to protect the optics from image-generating heat and over the occular in a scope but be careful of heat build up within the occular). This method also works fine for viewing solar eclipses - just hold the lens up to your eyes or store it in your shirt pocket. One warning - these lenses are VERY brittle and break easy with any kind of stress on them. Mr Q

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What goes around, comes around, eventually.

Meade DS-10 (10" newt)
10x50, 10x70 binos

Welders filters are okay for naked eye, but there is too much light collected through binoculars or telescopes. It is not perfectly safe.

I would just wait. Since the camera stores are closed, you probably won't be able to find any Baader solar film.

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Thanks Guys

I guess I will wait, it is going to be cloudy anyway so I am not going to go crazy with this for in the end to be covered with clouds. I guess I will just go buy a proper one on Monday

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“There's no denying the public's appetite for cosmic discovery.” ~ Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

Use a simple eyepiece and project the image onto a card. By simple I mean one without cemented elements. Ramsden is a good choice. Of if you only have cemented eyepieces stop down the scope to about 2" off axis and the heat shouldn't hurt a cemented eyepiece like a Kellner.

Don't risk anything more expensive however. With your f/12 scope such cheap eyepieces perform very well, just that they have a narrow field of view. Image quality is virtually the same as their expensive cousins.

Rick

Hi StarChild615, At this site you would fine the Baarder stock filter you will need. At scopestuff.com

StarChild hej!

Rick and JAICOA give you excellent advice. not that Siguy and Mr Q don't.....
i remember...as a child, we used to hold unexposed 35 mm Kodak to our eyes! ha! watching solar eclipses, amongst other things...those were the days....

As JAICOA says...get a couple of sheets of Baader paper / film. comes in A4 sizes. here in the Uk costs approx gbp 15 per. in the US i expect, half that...

It's like kitchen foil, wonderful silky feel to it.....you can perhaps buy it from your local equipment dealer(s). and from your neighbourhood art shop get some heavy paper, heavy grammage. may be like thickness of a paperback cover.

size it, cut it ...like a tube to fit your 'scope's objective. and not forgetting the finderscope's objective too, wrap the requisite size of Baader over it, sellotape it ...voila...one, hopefully, long-lasting solar filter. ....and you could shoot some pics too....not forgetting to share

you could make a couple of them for your binoculars too! and for you camera lenses as well.....

that's my tuppence worth done....

have a nice weekend

best regards

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clear skies