Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

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DeepSolar64
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Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

Post by DeepSolar64 »

All,
I plan to buy a new solar wedge soon to use on my Celestron 102mm refractor. Do I need an ERF with it or will it work fine by itself? Obviously I hope it'll work stand alone as it will save on cost. But it's gotta be safe and not damage my eyes or the scope. I will also use it with my Astro-Tech 72EDII refractor as well. I plan to get the 2" size. I am looking at the Altair, Lunt and APM wedges. I know I will need a polarizing filter with it.

James


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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marktownley
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Re: Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

Post by marktownley »

I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them, they're all good.


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DeepSolar64
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Re: Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

Post by DeepSolar64 »

The Baader wedges are very nice too, but pricey.


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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MapleRidge
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Re: Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

Post by MapleRidge »

HI James...

The Lunt wedge is safe to use up to 150mm aperture and there is no need for any ERF since the optical design prevents much to the light from making it to the eyepiece. There is a built in ND3 filter in the Lunt unit and you can add a continuum or other filter if you like to enhance the contrast more. Lunt recommends adding additional polarizer for visual use (from their tech sheets).

I have a UV/IR Cut+Baader continuum mounted before the eyepiece in mine and it works very nicely.

From what I read the APM is very similar, with a twit lock on the eyepiece holder which is a nice bonus.

One thing to watch is that they do take up a lot of focus travel, and reaching focus may be a problem on some scope with limited focuser in -travel.

Brian


Brian Colville

Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums

10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM

2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
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Re: Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Brian,
I think the Altair wedge has the twist lock feature too. Not sure.

Could you use extension tubes like used to connect a DSLR to bring it to focus if you lacked focus travel? Put a T adaptor at each end. One to fit into the drawtube and the other to fit into the wedge?

James


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

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MapleRidge
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Re: Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

Post by MapleRidge »

James...

If you need to move the wedge back to reach focus you could use any form of extension before the wedge or between the wedge body and camera/eyepiece. The body of the wedge seems to be physically larger than a typical diagonal so this is what makes in-travel more limiting.

My C102 had the tube shortened long before the solar wedge arrived, so I can't honestly say how much focus room there is with my Lunt wedge.

Brian


Brian Colville

Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums

10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM

2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
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DeepSolar64
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Re: Solar Wedge and Celestron 102 Refractor

Post by DeepSolar64 »

Thank you Mark and Brian for your replies. Most informative they are.

James


Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces

Image Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
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