Solar Telescopes

Looking for a new solar telescope to observe the Sun or see the 2024 total solar eclipse up close, but need help finding the right one for your needs and budget? Start here!

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Types of Solar Telescopes

When shopping for a solar telescope, it's important to understand the main differences between them. If terms like hydrogen alpha vs. white light or single stack vs. double stack confuse you, you've come to the right place!

Types of Solar Telescopes: White Light vs Hydrogen AlphaTypes of Solar Telescopes: White Light vs Hydrogen Alpha

White Light vs. Hydrogen Alpha Solar Telescopes

White Light Solar Telescopes

There are two main types of solar filters found in solar telescopes: white light and hydrogen alpha. White light solar filters are broadband filters, meaning they let in a large range of the spectrum of light. This results in the image of the Sun appearing its natural white color, hence the name white light. You can see in the image above that a white light solar telescope allows you to see and photograph simple details on the surface of the Sun like sunspots.

If you're familiar with photography or videography filters, you may have heard of a neutral density filter. Neutral density filters use dark-tinted glass to cut down the incoming light. White light solar telescopes feature a powerful neutral density filter that reduces the incoming sunlight by a factor of about 100,000x which makes it safe to view and image the Sun.

Because these filters are relatively inexpensive to produce, white light solar telescopes are not that expensive. It's also very easy to add a white light solar filter to a telescope, camera lens, or pair of binoculars you already own! This is an excellent option because you can add or remove the filter, allowing you to use the telescope normally at night as well as safely during the day. You can buy solar film sheets and build your own filter. Another option is to buy a ready-to-use solar filter, which is a premade version of a white light filter. For this, you'll need to measure the outside diameter (or OD for short) of your telescope's dew shield, camera lens hood, or binoculars.

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Hydrogen Alpha Solar Telescopes

For those with more budget looking for more detailed views of the Sun, a hydrogen alpha (also known as H-alpha or simply Ha) solar telescope is the way to go. Unlike white light, h-alpha solar telescopes feature a narrowband filter. This only allows an extremely small part of the spectrum of light to come through. The bandpass of hydrogen alpha is 656.3 nanometers.

Why hydrogen alpha? As it turns out, much of the Sun's activity is abundantly seen in hydrogen alpha. Not only can you see sunspots, but you can see the solar surface (chromosphere) in rich detail, and arguably the best part — details like prominences, which are arches extending away from the edge of the Sun. (Notehydrogen alpha filters are also commonly used for nighttime imaging of nebulae. These are not safe for solar viewing, as they feature a much larger bandpass)

As hydrogen alpha is in the red part of the spectrum of light, the Sun appears red through h-alpha telescopes. Many solar imagers prefer to photograph the Sun in hydrogen alpha as it shows significantly more detail than white light. Hydrogen alpha solar telescopes come with two major tradeoffs: first, they are much more expensive than white light solar telescopes. Second, they are usually a one trick pony — most hydrogen alpha solar telescopes cannot be used for nighttime viewing or anything else. (The exception to this is the Day & Night Modular Solar Telescope series from Lunt Solar)

Single Stack vs. Double Stack

When shopping for a hydrogen alpha solar telescope, you may see terms like single stack or double stack. In a nutshell, a double stack hydrogen alpha telescope allows for better detail and higher contrast views/images. You can still get fantastic views & images of the Sun with a single stack H-alpha telescope, though, and they are often much less expensive than double stacks. Fortunately, you can often swap out this component in an H-alpha solar telescope, so if you choose to upgrade to double stack later, you can usually do so.

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