DO NOT use a BAADER BBHS 2" diagonal with H-alpha

this is the main message area for anything solar :)
Post Reply
RKBerta
Ohhhhhh My!
Ohhhhhh My!
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2018 7:08 pm
Location: Michigan USA
Has thanked: 54 times
Been thanked: 73 times

DO NOT use a BAADER BBHS 2" diagonal with H-alpha

Post by RKBerta »

I own a three different 2" diagonals one of which is a BAADER BBHS. That diagonal is excellent for DSO and planetary viewing BUT is unsafe for Ha per BAADER. The note below was taken from a BAADER post at their website. I use my Astro Physics or Hutech diagonals for Ha. As I recall this was NOT mentioned in the literature that came with my BAADER BBHS diagonal so I wanted to get the word out.

Bob Berta

=============================================================================================================================
Can I use a UV / IR blocking filter and / or the BBHS mirror before an H-alpha or calcium approach? Do you recommend the 2 "BBHS or the 2" ClickLock star diagonal?
-74
Question by: Enrique V. on 10/14/2016 9:41:00 AM | 1 answer (s)
For observing the sun in H-alpha in combination with a suitable filter combination, we recommend the normal, dielectric Clicklock mirror, because below 380nm and above 740nm it conveys significantly less radiation into the eyepiece than the BBHS star diagonal. The star diagonal thus significantly reduces the load on downstream filters. Please always use a suitable energy protection filter in front of the lens in order to keep the strain on the filter as low as possible.

We strongly advise against visual observation of the sun through a calcium filter - the 397nm of the calcium line are in the UV; It is known that UV radiation can trigger photoxic reactions in the eye and lead to eye damage. In addition, even young people have only a low sensitivity to these wavelengths, which decreases even further with age. Therefore, the eye does not notice that the intensity is far too high. If you want to increase the intensity (for example with a different zenith mirror) in order to see a brighter picture, the risk of eye damage increases. According to the latest standards for eye safety and ophthalmological findings, the sun must not be visually observed at 397 nm.

We urgently recommend observing the sun in calcium only photographically, then no zenith mirror is necessary. We cannot understand why some manufacturers offer calcium filters for visual solar observation.

We also advise against placing a filter close to the focal point - an energy protection filter should be placed in front of the lens, even if high demands are placed on the optical quality of a large filter. A filter close to the focus saves money because it can be made much smaller, but we absolutely cannot recommend it - both because of our own conscience and because of EU regulations. The filter absorbs all of the energy that the lens collects - and could break at any time. For technical as well as ethical reasons, we can only recommend a dielectric energy protection filter in front of the lens.
Answer by: Baader Web Team (Admin) on 10/14/2016 9:43:00 AM


80mm f6 Officina Stellare APO triplet, 152mm Officina Stellare f8 APO triplet, TV 85mm f7 ED APO, 8" SCT HD, 11" SCT.
Astro Physics 900 and 1100 mounts, Ioptron MINI Tower Pro ALT/AZ mount, ZWO AM5 mount,
Lunt 60mm Ha single stack, Coronado 60mm Ha single stack with BF 30
Day Star Quark Chromosphere
Player One Neptune mono with 178 chip, 256mm DDR, tilt plane for solar imaging
ASI 071 Pro cooled color for DS imaging
ATIK 490 EX OSC for DS imaging
SBIG STL 6303e mono with RGBL and Ha, SII, OIII filters for DS imaging
ASI AIR Plus

JPL/NASA Solar System Ambassador
Michigan Scout observatory manager
Post Reply