Although white light viewing of the Sun can be accomplished easily and safely by eyepiece projection from a refractor or by using inexpensive filters (see Solar Filters), to view prominences and surface detail in the chromosphere (the active surface just above the bright photosphere) it is necessary to filter the sunlight in a small section of the light emitted by Hydrogen Alpha activity at the 656.3 nanometre wavelength. The very narrow (around 0.7 Ångstrom) slice of the spectrum required to obtain reasonable contrast necessitates the use of specially manufactured filters which are expensive.

Although I have always been very impressed by the images produced, I did not feel the result justified the cost for occasional viewing. But fortunately a gentleman who through ill health was no longer able to use his telescope offered it to me at a very reasonable price. Thank you very much, John. The Coronado Helios 1 telescope was originally manufactured in the Isle of Man, and mine is one of these. A forerunner of the MaxScope 70, it is a self contained telescope with a 70 mm objective, and the bandwidth of 0.8 Ångstrom produces good viewing with a 'sweet spot' around the central area of the field of view.

The results are thrilling, and my first good photograph of a substantial prominence was taken at the Scarborough Starfest, August 14th. 2004. See here.

But eventually I realised that although the Helios 1 gave good images, the more recent developments gave a better viewing experience. The Helios had a 'sweet spot' for visual, although the whole disc was resolved in CCD images.

So having now got the Hydrogen Alpha 'bug', I took the plunge and in June 2005 bought new a Solarview 50 from Solarscope. This was also manufactured in the Isle of Man, but uses a different optical system with a full aperture filter, giving superb views of the entire disc. It has a slightly narrower bandpass of 0.7 Ångstrom which gives better definition of surface features.

 It also has matched well with my Artemis CCD camera, and images can be seen on my Solar page.

Unfortunately in January 2021 the Solarview50 was badly damaged in a fall from the Observatory mount. It had been clamped on a side clamp next to my main telescope for a couple of days, and when I next moved the mount it fell off onto the floor. I can only surmise that due to temperature changes the clamp had slackened very slightly.

The etalon was decontacted and the telescope had to be returned to the Isle of Man for repair. Helmut Kessler, the present owner, had great difficulty in recontacting the two etalon plates, eventually discovering that the little spacers which separate the plates were damaged although the plates themselves were fine. Duly repaired and returned, but not tuning quite correctly. A saga ensued with a number of returns. Eventually it was decided that repair was going to be unworkable and I was able to claim on my insurance.

We decided to try a 60mm filter on my TSQuad telescope with its excellent optics, and Helmut was able to re use the blocking filter from my Solarview50 and keep the rest of the telescope, the total cost roughly matching the insurance payout. Unfortunately that setup also gave tuning problems, and eventually we decided to call it a day in January 2025. The progress or lack of it can be seen if followed on my Solar page. I must say the Helmut had been most attentive at all times, but fate was not on our side.

Fortunately around that time a new small Solar scope had been announced - the Acuter Elite Phoenix 40. Only a 40mm etalon, but very favourably reviewed, costing a fair bit less than the insurance payout, and I soon ordered one from First Light Optics. As you will see from my Solar page it is very good indeed, fighting well above its weight, and hopefully will stand me in good stead for several years.