PAO's
Solar Filter Construction
All of my solar images were made through a filter constructed
from a thin foil called Astrosolar Film. It is available from the
Baader
Planetarium in Germany as well as some US retailers.
*NEVER look at the Sun without a proper solar filter!*
The filter material arrives as a thin sheet. It must then be
cut to size and mounted in an enclosure that will fit securely over the
end of your optical tube. I found that the overflow tray of a 6"
plastic flower pot was the perfect size for my NexStar5 telescope.
The foil was cut to size and the outer edge sandwitched between two
rings of 3mm thick closed cell foam (any semi-rigid material will work).
I cut a circle slightly smaller than the foil from the center of the tray
using metal snips.
I glued the foil to the inside lip of the tray using contact cement.
The finished solar filter.