Coronado SolarMax II 60mm Doublestack Solar Telescope Richview w/10mm Filter
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Coronado SolarMax II 60mm Doublestack Solar Telescope with Richview System and 10mm Blocking Filter

SKU: CDSMT60DS10

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Richard D : What will I see through the telescope?ANDREA R : You'll see solar flares, sun spots, and some granulation on the surface if you adjust it just right. I prefer to uses my telescope eyepieces because the one that comes with it seems sub-par.LINO B : This scope is strictly used for solar viewing. You will observe Mass Coronal Ejections, (Flares), and sun spots and can be used during a solar eclipse. MCE's can not be seen with White Light filters. I check the sun regularly and keep a log of time and a sketch of what I see. You may want to attend some local astronomy club and find someone who has one and compare to a white light filter. This will help in making your decision!KLAUS W : Hi Richard! Recently I bought an external double stack unit for my Coronado PST. So answering your question I mainly refer to my experience with the PST with double stack unit. Basically you can see surface details and prominences of the sun in hydrogen alpha (HA) light, which has a deep red color. The observation of the sun becomes much more detailed than in white light. Prominences can only be seen in HA. On other hand smaller sunspots are hardly visible in HA. Comparing the PST with/without double stack unit there is a noticable difference. Without double stack unit the prominences on the limb are brighter but surface details have less contrast. When using the double stack unit the surface details appear much clearer, but prominences on the limb get quite dim. So I use the PST in both modes. To get the best out of such a scope there is some practice needed, when using the tuning rings. Tuning is more imortant, when double stack is in action. I really love observing the sun in HA because it shows the dynamics of the sun´s gases. Within a few hours e.g. you can follow the development of a prominence. Solarmax 60 shows more detail of the sun than PST because of 1.5 x better optical resolution. The solarmax HA filters have a smaller bandwidth (0.5A) than PST (0.7A), which means you are getting purer HA light. This is important for details and contrast. Hope this statement helps, best regardsPATRICK L : You will see the sun in light at 656.28 nanometers which will appear bright red. The sun observed at this light shows filaments, flares (which look whitish) and prominences (which look like streamers extending from the solar limb (edge). The wavelength range of a double stacked H-alpha filter is generally 0.3 to 0.6 Angstrom units (0.03 to 0.06 nanometers, and the tuning feature allows you to better observe the face-on filaments by allowing you to correct the filter for Doppler effects. Because the telescope is extremely filtered for safe solar observation, it can only be used to observe the sun. You can't see anything else through the telescope. Otherwise, there are a lot of features to observe on the sun which change over the period of as short as 30 minutes.ANDREI P : You will be able to observe sun spots and corona. Search on youtube, there are plenty of videos there that should give you some idea.GEORGE E : This telescope is only suitable for viewing the sun. Since the double stack filter is fabricated to pass only the light from hydrogen gas, you can see features not visible in an ordinary white light image such as prominences extending outward around the limb of the sun. Portions of the solar surface that appear nearly blank in a white light image are festooned with considerable detail.DAVID W : You can only observe the sun with this type of telescope, BUT you will be able to see ALL the surface details that a white light filter on a typical telescope cannot show.MICHAEL S : I got the 40mm PST with the double stacking assembly but they operate pretty much the same. The Wikipedia article on etalons and interferometers explains how the various images are produced pretty clearly. By adjusting the double stacking filter you not only enhance the many now visible surface features, the sun also appears more "spherical" rather than flat. Adjusting the various components is surprisingly simple and quickly becomes routine. Begin by adjusting things in the order recommended by the user manual to get the hand of things. Different features pop out better depend on how the assembly is adjusted. As it states in the manual the human eye isn't that sensitive to the red end of the spectrum so your views will improve with experience. I should state that I couldn't be happier with the scope. I hesitated for quite a while investing that much on a scope whose sole purpose was viewing only the sun. However the sun is visible on any clear day of the year and it's easily the most dynamic object in the sky. There is always something going on...prominences, flares, storms...etc. Just protect yourself from excess UV exposure. I actually cover myself with a black cloth covered with a old white sheet. Blackening out surrounding light improves the view substantially while the white sheet reflects most of the thermal radiation. I have it mounted on a small equatorial mount, so I normally set up the scope and grab every ten or so minutes. It minimizes solar exposure (I live in Miami) and it takes about that long for a visible change to occur. It's like watching the minute hand of a clock in that respect. One more thing...I picked up the Coronado 12 mm solar eyepiece and their 2X Barlow. By screwing the lower (optical) part of the Barlow directly to the eyepiece the power is increased by less (1.5) but the entire sun fits nicely within the field of view. Besides it's also pretty much the magnification limit for a clear crisp image.

Reviews about this item

Review Summary

2017-06-19T11:05:18

Rated 5 out of 5

Very happy!

I own the 60mm BF5 version. I am quite pleased with it's performance. I use a William Optics binoviewer with a 2x barlow screwed on the end and if the seeing is decent, it works great. You would want to use low power eyepieces of course. I use two 32mm plossl's. Viewing the sun with both eyes is awesome! Finn

Finn L.

About Coronado SolarMax II

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Very happy!

By Finn L.

I own the 60mm BF5 version. I am quite pleased with it's performance. I use a William Optics binoviewer with a 2x barlow screwed on the end and if the seeing is decent, it works great. You would want to use low power eyepieces of course. I use two 32mm plossl's. Viewing the sun with both eyes is awesome! Finn

Coronado by Meade SolarMax II 60mm Solar Telescope with RichView system. Includes 10mm Blocking Filter. Features double stacked H-alpha etalon filters, one internal and one external, .5A bandpass, for outstanding surface detail.

Used around the world by serious solar enthusiasts and professional research facilities alike for observation of surface detail and prominences on the Sun in hydrogen-alpha (Ha) light. Powerful but very portable, this high resolution Solar Telescope offers dedicated visual observation of the Sun as well as high quality imaging.

The new Meade Coronado II represents a breakthrough in solar observing with the new and revolutionary RichView tuning assembly. This patented system allows direct tuning of the primary filter etalon. No other commercially available Ha telescope can provide the tuning range and accuracy of the SolarMax II. Now you can tune for the highest contrast views of active regions, flares, filaments, and other surface detail, or quickly and easily re-tune for prominences on the solar limb.

This fully integrated double stack system has the added advantage of being able to operate at a less restrictive < .7A bandwidth by simply removing the external etalon. In this way image brightness is increased, enhancing the visibility of fainter limb detail.

The stunning bright red views through a Coronado Ha telescope display astounding surface and limb detail especially when the Sun is in an active phase. The sun is now heading for Solar Maximum, when activity will be at it's best. Don't miss out!!

This very high quality 60mm personal solar observatory features an 400mm focal length, f/6.6 focal ratio. Includes mounting rings, Cemax 25mm eyepiece, Sol Ranger solar finder and carry case. Weight is 6 pounds.

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What's in the box:

  • Coronado SolarMax II 60 Double Stack RichView Tuning Telescope
  • Mounting Rings
  • Cemax 25mm Eyepiece
  • Sol Ranger Solar Finder
  • Carry Case
  • Coronado Warranty