Vaonis Vespera - Observations of the Sun

Introduction | First Experiences with the Solar Mode | First Conclusions | Links

On this page, I describe my first experiences with my electronic 2" refractor telescope Vaonis Vespera 50 mm/200 mm (f/4) when observing the sun. This was made possible through the release of a sun filter as an accessory for the Vespera in October 2022.

Notes:

See also page Vaonis Vespera - Information.
See also page Vaonis Vespera - FAQ.

Introduction

Photos: My Vaonis Vespera (end of July 2022)

Solar Filter


Solar Filter in its outer box...		... and taken out of the boxes

Since there is a solar filter for the Vespera available and the Singularity app was extended with a "solar mode" in time, you can also observe the sun in a simple way with the Vespera. In the article "Solar Mode with Vespera" of the Vaonis Knowledge Base (support.vaonis.com/portal/en/kb/articles/solar-mode-with-stellina) the procedure for observing the sun is described, so I do not want to repeat this here. In principle, sunspots are the easiest to photograph. Flares require post-processing of the photos, and further investigations make more work (see the article Observing the Sun with Vespera and Stellina). I myself have only observed sunspots so far.

First Experiences with the Solar Mode

A few weeks before the partial solar eclipse on October 25, 2022, the solar filter for the Vespera became available, and I quickly ordered one, hoping to be able to observe the eclipse with the Vespera. Unfortunately, a close call is a close call: The filter arrived one day after the eclipse. And since I did not have time for a first test until later in the evening, it nearly was a close call here, as well! From the terrace, the sun had already disappeared behind leaves of trees, as the first photo shows. Upstairs from the balcony, I managed to take some photos, even if I am not particularly pleased with their quality - they are simply not sharp enough for me.


Telescope alignment for the sun*	Vespera with solar filter	Vespera targeted at the sun

Vespera with solar filter	Vespera observing the sun	Photo of the sun on my iPad

*) The Vespera is correctly aligned when you see the slit in the shadow.

In the following, I present some of the photos that I took (it was a little cloudy).


Sun behind a tree - original		original

original		original

First Conclusions

Observations of the sun are easily conducted with the Vaonis Vespera and its solar filter. So far, I am, however, somewhat disappointed of the low sharpness of the photos/sunspots. And up to now, I observed only small sunspors...