Observing the Sun with Coronado Telescopes (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)

The Sun provides amateur astronomers with one of the few opportunities for daytime astronomy.

In order to see the major features of our nearest star, special telescopes that have a very narrow visible bandwidth are essential. The bandwidth has to be as narrow as 1 × 10^-10 m (1 Angstrom) and centred on the absorption line of neutral hydrogen. This makes many major features of the Sun’s chromosphere visible to the observer. Such narrow-band "Fabry-Perot etalon filters" are high technology, and until the introduction of the Coronado range of solar telescopes, were too expensive for amateur use. The entry-level Coronado telescope, the PST (Personal Solar Telescope) costs under $500.

Solar prominences (vast columns of plasma, best seen at the edge of the solar disk), filaments, flares, sunspots, plage and active regions are all visible and can be imaged to produce spectacular solar photographs. Philip Pugh has assembled a team of contributors who show just how much solar work can be done with Coronado telescopes, and explain how to get the best from these marvellous instruments.