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© Baader Planetarium GmbH | 2021
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Manual: SunDancer II
Storage and Maintenance
As long as you handle the filter with care like any other precision optical instrument
and use the dust caps when not in use, it requires no special care.
Caution:
The filter must not be stored permanently below +4° C,
otherwise the filter stack will freeze out and be irreparably damaged.
Store it dry and dust-free at room temperature.
The filter should be used at an ambient temperature of 0 to +40° C;
at lower temperatures it must be additionally thermally insulated so
as not to overload the heating.
Safety information
Finally, we would like to urge you once again to observe all safety precautions when
observing the sun. This includes:
• Never leave the telescope unattended
• Always cover all viewfinders and other optics that are not in use.
• Ensure that the energy protection filter is held securely in place.
• Set the tracking of the mount to the speed of the sun instead of the star.
• Remember sunscreen for yourself when observing for long periods.
Technical Data
• Operating temperature: 0 to +40° (below 0° only with insulation).
• Storage temperature: +4 to +50°C, ideally at room temperature. Protect from frost!
• FWHM: 0.6±0.1 Ångström, shows chromosphere and prominences
• 3x telecentric with built-in block filter, optimal for refractors up to f/10, recommen-
ded up to f/8 and usable up to f/6.5
• Usable up to 80 mm aperture without additional D-ERF energy filter
• Blocking filter: 2nm Half-Bandwidth (FWHM) and 12 mm diameter
• Diameter of the etalon: 25 mm, with 23 mm free aperture and 19 mm eye-side baffle
• Ideal working distance for photography: 65 mm from the base of the T-2 thread
• Connection on telescope side: 2" and 1¼" plug-in sleeve
• Connection on eyepiece side: 1¼" with fine focusing; T-2
• With telescopes up to approx. 600 mm focal length, the entire solar disk is visible
Telecompressor
The already mentioned 0.4x telecom-
pressor 2"
(# 2459260)
can also be used
photographically. If the telecompressor
is adapted to T-2 as described before,
its ideal working distance is still 73.5
mm. A DSLR or system camera with
a standard T-ring has a flange focal
distance of 55 mm. The remaining 18.5
mm can be bridged with T-2 extensions,
e.g. as in the picture on the right with
• TQC/TCR Heavy duty T-2 Quick
Changing System
# 2456322
– 15 mm,
optionally additionally
• 3x T-2 fine-adjustment ring (1 mm – gold) made of aluminium
# 2457913
or
• T-2 adjustment/spacer-rings (set of 15)
# 2458102
The distance does not have to be kept exactly, but the compression factor changes
with the distance.
Afocal Photography
Finally, the possibility of photo-
graphing with the camera through
the eyepiece should be mentioned
– even if this option combines the
worst of both worlds: a large lens
stack and a colour camera. This
makes it more of a feasibility study,
but it may offer the chance to
photograph the entire sun even with
a smaller camera sensor without
having to buy a telecompressor. If
you see the entire sun in the eye-
piece, you can capture the image
with a camera – ideally even with
your smartphone. Better is a camera whose fixed focal length lens has a filter thread
that can be connected to the M43 thread of our Hyperion and Morpheus eyepieces
via our Hyperion-DT rings. For this you need a lens that you bring as close as possi-
ble to the objective without the lenses touching each other. The objective focal length
depends on the size of the solar image in the eyepiece.
In practice, the method has some disadvantages and is only useful with fixed focal
length lenses; however, if you already have a sufficiently short focal length lens, it can
temporarily be an alternative to buying a full-frame camera or a telecompressor.
The telecompressor delivers much better results and is much easier to use, at a com-
parable price to a fixed focal length lens.
A DSLR with 0,4x telecompressor and T-2 quick-changer
Even this possible in principle: an MFT camera with a 12mm lens
overlooks almost the entire field of view of a Hyperion 36mm
eyepiece.
