How not to capture images of the Transit

[Cleon_Wells]

I thought some of you may get a hoot out of my crude setup to capture some of the Transit. My set up used a C8 a 32mm Eyepiece an old projector screen and my T2i_3200_iso100_F 4.5.
I couldn’t get the screen square to the eyepiece because the sun would shine on the screen.
Cleon

[oldwexi]

Hi Cleon!
A very interesting and brave approach in the first view.
I did this kind of sun projection without filters already with a Newton Telescope.
I was never brave enough to use a SCT for this kind of projection.
Didnt the secondary, the eypiece or the zenithprism get hot or burned?
Or did you use some device to reduce the meltingpower of the sun?
Would like to use my C14 the same way or with a Herschelprism but i am afraid it will die away in flames...

Aloha
Gerald

[Cleon_Wells]

Gerald, If the C8 was an EdgeHD I wouldn’t pull this stunt.  Back in 2007 I did some experimenting with C8 parts, see attached image, this image is from my SCT-User Photo, CVW album. The C8 I used for the Transit image was built from the parts of two used C8s.
Needless to say I agree this could  cause a problem with the optics .  I would think your C14 could melt steel, the light coming out of the C8 eyepiece will burn a hole in a piece of paper in a couple of seconds.
I did not notice that the prism or eyepiece got hot, from my 2007 experiment I don't think the secondary got hot, the total time pointing at the Sun was around 70 minutes.
Cleon

[astropixel]

Very resourceful Cleon.

[Cleon_Wells]

Rowland
 Thanks, next time I'll get a large box to set a screen in to reduce the sun light from the screen and get the screen square to the eyepiece . The next Venus Transit is in 2117, but I think the box idea may work for Mercury in 2016.
Cleon

[oldwexi]

Hi Cleon!
Thanks for the informations about using your SCT
for imaging the sun. Also thanks for endangering your older C8`s for this
kind of tests - good that they survived...

Aloha
Gerald