A Half Hour in Hydrogen Alpha
The sun was shining this morning so, on my way to the bathroom for my morning cleanup and visit, I immediately turned on my new Ha (hydrogen alpha) solar filter so it could warm up. This particular filter requires power to keep the etalon (interference filter) at the optimal temperature so I can see the most details. The wavelength band varies very slightly by controlling the temperature of the etalon. The more finely tuned the temperature setting, the more details you will see. The filter requires about 10 minutes to warm up so I turned it on before washing up and brushing my teeth so it would be ready when I was ready for the day. I then headed out into the frigid single digit temperatures (just like the other morning) with the battery pack in my pocket and the telescope and mount in my hands. I carefully made my way down to the end of the icy driveway where I have an unobstructed view of the sun quite low in the southeastern sky. I had far more success at pointing the telescope