1:16 who knew focusing a light with a intensity 1500w/m^2 into your head was a bad idea? If you are hell bent on doing it without a filter for some reason then your best bet is getting a good welding helmet and bolting it to your scope and using a camera. (It sounds janky but for my scope and helmet it did work, I actually had to set the helmet to a lower setting so the scope could even see the sun. But seriously make sure the helmet is bolted to the scope and only use a camera just in case something goes wrong. But to be honest this only works if you already own a good helmet, if not then just get the filter it's cheaper than a good helmet.) Know your equipment, know your procedures and use your own judgement, if you have any doubts at all then don't do it and reassess your situation. Really the only safe way to do solar viewing is with a camera, if anything goes wrong your camera takes the heat not you.
If you are using a Solar filter made from Baader film or similar, always put it on the front of the telescope or binoculars. So the sunlight will reach the filter before the telescope / binoculars. Putting it on the other end will have concentrated sunlight on the filter and it could burn a hole in it with catastrophic results for the observer. I saw this happen at the solar eclipse in Libya, luckily the man realised what had happened and didn't do it again. I was also at an event where the astronomical society was demonstrating members' telescopes. One telescope was pointing at the Sun and the image was being projected onto a piece of paper. Everything was nice and safe, then a boy came along, he removed the paper and was about to look through the telescope when a member swung the telescope out of the way. The whole thing happened in seconds. Please be careful and be on the lookout for stupidity.
I'm surprised that he didn't blind himself!I had a Japanese telescope years ago which had a solar filter that you screwed in the eyepiece not very safe but at least it was thick black glass however they can crack and nobody makes them now.But I don't know what would happen if you put solar film at the eye piece end .as a random guess I think that the focused sunlight would burn straight through like a laser beam?
When I lived in Minnesota I went to a star gazing program from the Minnesota Astronomical Society. One of those members showed me in the societies 15-inch reflecting telescope the planet Mercury. I asked him how could you see it during day time. He told me you have to know where to look. I was surprised. I saw Mercury in a blue sky during the day.
That is the same question that I asked the one who showed me Mercury. He said if you know where it is in the sky you can find it. It was not real bright, it was like how you can see the Moon in the daylight blue sky sometimes. Even though the telescope was a 15" reflector it still was not very big.
Thanks, Jason. A word about using solar projection. Never leave your scope unattended when its pointed toward the sun. Curious kids and animals might try to peer through the eyepiece. A few years ago I watched a solar eclipse using solar projection, I was alone; however, my curious cats were fascinated with my telescope so I made sure to place the scope where they couldn't get to it, and to aim the projected image to a spot they couldn't access to prevent any possibility that they might accidentally be exposed to the projected light beam.
Hello Kathy, Good point never really thought about pet's before. Your absolutely right about leaving a telescope unattended during the day time, I've have put a warning about it in the description. Thanks Kathy, take care :)
Hello John. Quite right. Something I forgot to mention. If you don't cap your finder apart from you could burn yourself or worse, if the sunlight does go through your finder it will burn through the crosshairs in a second and ruin it. So yes, ALWAYS have the finder scope capped when observing the sun with any of these methods.
Yes, your live streams are a gosh dang hoot =-) Anytime you wanna turn on the live cam and bumble around I'm pretty sure we are all for it, that last stream had us rolling, heck of a great time bubba. Thank you for all of your videos as well.
Thank you, Jason! I want to emphasize how important proper solar viewing is. I have solar film & I've used it to view the sun. I'm very fortunate that trying to observer the sun thru binoculars didn't end badly. I used solar eclipse glasses w/ 10X50 binoculars. The solar film lasted just long enough that I didn't suffer permanent harm. ANY light focusing device can burn the retinas instantly. So I second your advice AND add this; the manufacturers should put a sticker over the focuser AND on every eyepiece. I've been aware of daytime observing for some time now. It can be difficult to locate &(literally) see objects during the day. I haven't had much success, except w/ the moon. Which can produce some amazing views when in full sunlight. If I ever get an 8" or 10" Dob I'll prolly try snapping some daytime moon pics. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
Hello Jon, Wise words my friend. Yes you've got to be so careful and have your wits about you when observing the sun or any day time target. Take care pal. :)
Great video Jason, as always. One trick I like to use for viewing planet during the day is to stand in the shade. This way you can never accidentilly look at the sun. Great for finding planets with binoculars.
Good stuff! I have a solar filter made by Seymour Solar, it is rated ND5 so 99.999% of the sunlight is blocked as per the manufacturer description. I attach it to my big telephotos BEFORE even thinking of looking thru the camera. Got some amazing solar photos from it. Being a mirrorless camera, there is no actual optical path to my lil ol eyeballs, all tho, if no solar filter, the camera would explode ... :)
Something you could consider to improve the sound is using acoustical absorption panels. One on the ceiling and a couple in front of you on either side of your camera. have a positive impact on the sound quality. Or if you have a large closet full of your wife’s clothes, just film in there! :P
Ye, they need put more warning stickers about the sun viewing without filter it's quite obvious, if you have an 114...--- you have the power, the luminosity to see a faint nebula and you think puting your eye will be ok?? Mmmm🤔
I still have an old eyepeice from my first refractor that is partially melted inside. If you're dead set on using a non-metallic EP, make sure the ENTIRE optical train is in line. Being slightly off will cause part of the sunlight to be focused internally and... well...
Another way I have seen Jupiter during the day is to start auto-tracking it before sunrise with my Celestron 8se and then I leave it on. The scope continues to track it after sunrise. Though, right now, Feb of 2024 Jupiter dips below the horizon before sunrise.
as a kid a "watched" at the Sun , recklessly, many many times with my first small refractors 60 and 70 mm.... I fortunately did not have any issues with my eyes, today I'm 54 . Just luck I believe
I was setting up a new little scope the other day, setting the Finder and all during the day of course, and my wife keep telling me not to look at the Sun as I went in and out with extra parts and such. Really had to wonder if she really thought I might look at the Sun. Of course when I came in and asked her to come check out the Sun, she was pretty sure she wasn't gonna do that. I actually had to explain I was using a Solar Filter. She really thought I would, or might just use the scope to actually try and look at the sun. I was a bit, "Really, You thought I was that dumb?" Use a Filter. Hell don't even use the Red Dot Finder & look at the sun.
I don't care what filter is on the telescope: If it's pointed at the sun, I'd say never use your eye as the sensor! Buy a camera fixture that replaces the eyepiece or do the projection method. For the same reason that sunlight can melt your eyepiece (all that energy focused through a tiny region in the lens) sticking you eye into that focused region just seems way too risky in my view.
13:35 8/6/04 ??? Never thought about that view. How would I get the chance to catch this? Or could I hope to with a small scope? Venus & the Ring of Fire.
Please respond to this. I know im late but when i point my telescope up in the sky when there is No clouds or somthing in daytime all i can see is white nothing more.
Great videos as always :) And yes, be careful of the sun. Check five times to make sure you've got the right filters for sun viewing, otherwise you'll be staring into a burning laser beam!
Oh...now i know why some of my oculars became deformed...i used them to project the sun. Damn. Well, the center of the view is still clear so i can see things anyway.
Thanks for the video. As for viewing the Sun, we’ll it should be common sense to never look directly at the sun without protection. It’s telling when some have to ask if it’s ok. 🤣
@@jpaul080710 I wish I could give you advice on your solar filter, but unfortunately I have never used one. Just be wary of cheap sun filters as the sun is the most dangerous astronomical object out there!
Hello sir, I want to know is it safe to look at setting Sun without filters ? I am definitely not going to look at sun through binoculars and telescope anyways. I would like to see the images and video of sun by Nasa. Totally want to eliminate this risk. But still wanted to know this. 😀😀
Hello there, absolutely not. Even though the sun appears to be less bright when setting or rising it is just as dangerous to observe if with ANY kind of unfiltered Optics, people have been permanently blinded in the past for making this mistake.
For the Sun with modern hobby scopes...the filter method is all that will work. Most scopes and eyepieces have plastic today. One big alert is aiming your scope after you have fitted a filter. People forget the finder scope is NOT FILTERED by the aperture filter. They go to their red dot finder or aiming scope and Whoops. Either they need filters too or aim your scope by shadow: Once a scope projects a perfect circle shadow, the scope is looking at the sun.
Yes, plastic telescopes and solar projection can result in expensive smoke :) I've been there. One trick is to make a dustcap with a 20mm hole to reduce the aperture. This way the focused sunlight is never strong enough to melt plastic and can be safely projected. But it is still far too bright to look directly through the eyepiece. The usual ***warnings*** still very much apply!
You can never be too careful when doing solar astrononomy, Remove your finder scope if you use a Baader Astrosolar filter, or at least keep the finderscope objective lens covered because it is a real source of danger. I prefer to remove it for my personal safety. To line up the scope on the sun, hold a suitable white card held behind the telescope and adjust your mount for the smallest possible shadow.
Good video, thanks! I think tomorrow I'll set up the telescope in the shadow of my house and see what we can see. In the shade of the house so that even if I or my daughter did accidentally point it at the sun, for a second, the house would be a very effective shield. :)
Interestingly I've known how to view the sun through a telescope since I was a kid - No idea why but it just seems so obvious to me - Maybe we had an eclipse or something and they nagged us about it at school :)
Hi Jason targets to view duren the day now that's so interesting to know. Jupiter I didn't expect so I'll try and see Jupiter. At Mills observatory in Dundee who ran it told me that you can view an actual star duren the day when sun is high in sky. Is this actually possible? She says you need telescope and you should be able to see star. Have you heard of that? I did hear Venus can be seen in day time. Let me know if it's really possible to see an actual star in day time. Take care buddy and clear skies too!
Hey Bushcraft, yes it is surprising what you can see in the daytime, a lot of them I thought 'no way' until somebody pointed a telescope at it and showed me .. I believe it is true you can see some of the brighter stars in the daytime with a telescope but I have never seen the stars in the daytime only the planets. Take care buddy, stay safe 🙂
An interesting video Jason and of a topic seldom discussed. I saw Dylan O’ Donnell viewing Jupiter during the day on one of his videos. Looking forward to your next live video.
Hi Jason! Nice one again! Don't slap your wrist. Just take my approach: make a small checklist before you start: lightning: check!, Sound: check! I need to write everything down at age 43... ;) Also, love to see your channel growing! I can remember when you had just about 200 subs, when I first saw you!
Hello Peter, good idea.. I have a bullet list for the video subject I think I need one for the prep to, LOL.. I know right.. Can't believe it myself.. it only seems like yesterday I had 200 subs.. I really do appreciate each and every one of you for making it climb so fast.
@@smalloptics753 yea that’s what I mean. It’s sad people need to be told not to do that. Why is it not obvious to people that they’ll burn a hole thru their eyeballs?
@akacaleb oh, I see.. .. Indeed, especially this ridiculous sun gazing trend on tic toc, that is very concerning. I think I might have to make a video on that if it carries on.
Thanks Jason for another interesting video. Have viewed the moon and sun through a telescope during the day but never dreamt of viewing Venus, Jupiter or space station. Will have to have a crack at that.
The wonderful but these days not so active Astronomy & Nature TV channel described an instance of an uncovered finder scope setting fire to an unsuspecting beard during an otherwise safe solar observing session… Yikes!
Hello James, As your probably aware you can buy/make shrouds to fit around the tube to block light, but I know where your coming from it would be a bit sketchy without one.
Just thought I'd put an update, just read through the manual and it does indeed say under no circumstances even with the filter to do this due to the open tube. I suppose a shroud may make this possible but doesn't fill me with enough confidence so I think I'll just wait until I upgrade my scope! Thanks for your response!
thank you for the advice but with the first methos you said about the safe looking at sun doesnt work in reflectors because it melts the eyepiece from inside,- It happened to me
Hello Joonas. like I said in the video EVERYTHING has to be made of steel to do this method. On a lot of eyepieces today they have a metal barrel but everything else is made of plastic and the concentrated sunlight will burn through these type of eyepieces/focuses like a hot knife through butter. If you use a mylar solar filter it will block all the harmful light so you will be able to confidently observe the sun without the worry of damaging the telescope and more importantly yourself.
