Coronado 0.5 Angstrom Personal Solar Telescope

Coronado’s iconic Personal Solar Telescope (or PST for short) is an incredibly portable way to view the sun in hydrogen-alpha light. This 0.5 Angstrom (Å) version of the PST produces an even higher contrast view compared with the standard PST, revealing even more details on the solar disk. By zeroing in on the far end of the Sun’s visible light spectrum — the hydrogen-alpha line — the PST reveals our closest star churning with violent, ever-changing activity. Best of all, the PST’s innovative design allows H-alpha solar viewing at an incredibly affordable price.

Designed and Manufactured in North America.

This compact 40mm f/10 refractor (400mm focal length) houses a special 30mm internal ultra-narrowband filter called an etalon, which transmits the light emitted by hydrogen-alpha in the solar chromosphere, where all the action occurs. Also included is a removable external etalon threaded over the front lens which narrows the bandpass even further, from the standard <1.0 Å PST in single stack configuration, down to an incredible <0.5 Å bandpass. This significantly boosts the contrast of surface features and activity that get washed out with wider-bandpass systems. In fact, the bandpass of <0.5 Å is the same as achieved on much more expensive double stack telescopes, but in a much more affordable and compact package!

The <0.5 Å bandpass is ideal for surface features such as granulation, filaments and plages, but it can also see prominence in beautiful detail as well. In the two-etalon configuration, prominences will show up slightly dimmer than with the standard single etalon configuration, but the beauty of the 0.5 Å PST is that you can unthread the external etalon and use it either way — at <1 Å (single internal etalon) or down to <0.5 Å (double stack), for the ultimate views of both edge prominence and surface features.

The Sun in hydrogen-alpha light showing some of the different features visible around the solar disk.

The telescope is just 17.7″ long and weighs only 3.2 lbs., so it needs only a small telescope mount or a sturdy camera tripod for support. Two ¼”-20 threaded mounting holes under the scope’s rear housing provide the attachment point and are ideal for use with Meade’s 07932 V-style (Vixen) dovetail rail.

Incorporated into the body of the PST is Coronado’s RichView tuning mechanism, which allows the user to adjust the filter performance and boost the contrast of solar features. Doppler shifting due to energetic solar features moving toward the observer, or even the rotation of the sun, can cause the hydrogen-alpha lights observed wavelength to shift. Additionally, barometric pressure and temperature at the observing location can affect the etalons bandpass and shift the observed wavelength outside the etalons viewing window. Simply turn the RichView tuning knob on the PST while observing through the eyepiece to adjust this viewing window and find the “sweet spot” to make the contrast pop. The double stack external etalon includes a second Richview tuning mechanism, along with Coronado’s T-Max tilt tuner designed to get rid of any unwanted reflections in the image. Together, the tuning of the internal and external etalons allows for the ultimate in brightness and contrast when viewing different features of the sun’s surface.

A built in Sol Ranger viewfinder makes locating the sun quick and easy by projecting a small image of the solar disk onto the viewing port located on the body of the PST, right next to the eyepiece. Note that the use of the larger external etalon (double stack configuration) may block the viewfinder, and you might find it advantageous to locate the sun in single stack mode before attaching the external etalon. Simply center that small disk in the viewfinder window, and the sun will be visible in the included 18mm CEMAX eyepiece. Focus is achieved by simply turning the small focusing knob located on the rear of the telescope, within easy reach below the eyepiece.

The PST will show you how dynamic our nearest star really is, with some phenomena changing over several minutes time! Get a Coronado <0.5 Å Personal Solar Telescope today and get in on the action!

Coronado assures that all solar filters and solar telescopes are tested at specialized labs that are accredited to verify compliance with the ISO 12312-2 safety specifications for solar viewing.

Download or view our Solar Glossary.

Specifications

• Coronado 0.5 Angstrom Personal Solar Telescope (PST)