Who's going to take a picture of Venus??

[Ultra Magnus]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5138018?GT1=3584

Not that I even have the equipment for it but I'm also 100% left out being on the west half of the US..

[Sebastian]

We have another eight years before it does it again, I should have money for a soalr filter by then.

Seriously, if I can find the money, this will be the justification for getting the stupid thing, and the camera adapter for my celestron.

SPEEDO, chime in with any thoughts!! BTW, who makes a reasonably priced GOOD solar filter?

[Sebastian]

Hehe, it's tomorrow, guess I'll have to wait until 2012.

[Kokopeli]

Hehe, it's tomorrow, guess I'll have to wait until 2012.

This only happens every 122 years so you'll have to wait a few years more than you expected.. More like the year 2126.

Correct me if I'm wrong Speedo-san.. Errr... Speed-san. ;)
~Brian

[Sebastian]

This only happens every 122 years so you'll have to wait a few years more than you expected.. More like the year 2126.

Correct me if I'm wrong Speedo-san.. Errr... Speed-san. ;)
~Brian

Every 122 years it happens twice, and the occurences are 8 years apart. 2012!!!! :P

[Kokopeli]

Bite me! ;)

~B

[Sebastian]

Bite me! ;)

~B

When we meet, I'll remember you said that...you better get in shape in the meantime, I HATE greasy food. ;P

[Speed]

We have another eight years before it does it again, I should have money for a soalr filter by then.

Seriously, if I can find the money, this will be the justification for getting the stupid thing, and the camera adapter for my celestron.

SPEEDO, chime in with any thoughts!! BTW, who makes a reasonably priced GOOD solar filter?

For solar filters, check out www.telescope.com. That is Orion Telescopes, and I've bought gear from them, including my solar filter for my Celestron.

Also, Hoya, Nikon, and I'm sure others, make a ND400 filter for solar photography. You can also stack ND filters and your CPL to drop the light. Just remember to drop the light by at least 7 stops to make it safe.

BTW, a good solar filter is nice to have for things like sunspots and solar eclipses as well. So don't think of it as a purchase just for the transit in 2012.

[Speed]

This only happens every 122 years so you'll have to wait a few years more than you expected.. More like the year 2126.

Correct me if I'm wrong Speedo-san.. Errr... Speed-san. ;)
~Brian

Actually, the last time it happened was 122 years ago. There is another transit in 2012 (they come in pairs, eight years apart). However, the next transit after 2012 doesn't occur for another 200 years!!!!!

Moral of the story, don't miss the 2012 transit! If the next one is visible in the U.S. I will be observing it!!!

[Chunk]

For solar filters, check out www.telescope.com. That is Orion Telescopes, and I've bought gear from them, including my solar filter for my Celestron.

Also, Hoya, Nikon, and I'm sure others, make a ND400 filter for solar photography. You can also stack ND filters and your CPL to drop the light. Just remember to drop the light by at least 7 stops to make it safe.

BTW, a good solar filter is nice to have for things like sunspots and solar eclipses as well. So don't think of it as a purchase just for the transit in 2012.

An extra thick ND filter can also be used for some interesting time exposures in bright light.

[another view]

For solar filters, check out www.telescope.com. That is Orion Telescopes, and I've bought gear from them, including my solar filter for my Celestron.

Also, Hoya, Nikon, and I'm sure others, make a ND400 filter for solar photography. You can also stack ND filters and your CPL to drop the light. Just remember to drop the light by at least 7 stops to make it safe.

BTW, a good solar filter is nice to have for things like sunspots and solar eclipses as well. So don't think of it as a purchase just for the transit in 2012.

ND400? I've seen them come up on ebay from time to time. Like Chunk says, it could be interesting for daylight shots - along the lines of a pinhole except different (very different, OK). How many stops does that work out to?

So with an ND400, it's safe to look thru the camera at the sun with a long lens?

[Speed]

ND400? I've seen them come up on ebay from time to time. Like Chunk says, it could be interesting for daylight shots - along the lines of a pinhole except different (very different, OK). How many stops does that work out to?

So with an ND400, it's safe to look thru the camera at the sun with a long lens?

Yes, it is safe to look at the sun with a ND400. That's why they make them. The ND400 drops the light by 9 stops. That works out to about 1/500th the light level. You have to drop the sunlight to at least 1/100th of it's intensity to make it safe. That works out to about 7 stops. I think 7 stops actually works out to 1/125th. I guess they'd rather be safe than sorry with their ND400.

A good solar filter (ND400 or other) is a nice thing to have. You can use it to take photo's of sunspots, solar eclipses, and transits of Mercury and Venus. I've got a solar filter for my Celestron C-8, and I've used it to take photo's of the large sunspot group we had last year. It was the largest sunspot group in many years, and the sunspots were larger than the Earth!