Observing the Sun with Coronado™ Telescopes (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series)

If you are interested in observing the sun other than in white light, ie, hydrogen alpha or CaK, I would recommend this book as a reference. Hydrogen alpha observing allows you to see more of the sun than sunspots. Prominences, solar flares and much more. The hydrogen alpha telescopes and filters block out all the wavelengths of light except the one emitted by the alpha emission line from the hydrogen spectrum. In addition to the etalon (part that filters wavelength), there is also a blocking filter to block dangerous ultraviolet and infrared light.This book deals mostly with the Coronado PST (Personal Solar Telescope). However it also discusses other larger aperture Coronado solar telescopes plus filters that can be used with a regular "nighttime" telescope. There is a wealth of information about solar viewing and many nice photos. A few other brands of solar telescope and filters are also discussed. There is a lot of information about ways of observing the sun, how the sun "works", what you are seeing. The book also has a chapter on imaging the sun.The book was published before Lunt Solar Systems was founded so there is no information on their solar equipment.Recommended as a good reference for solar observing and imaging.

Umm, where do I start. If you know absolutely nothing about Coronado scopes and solar imaging, this IS the book for you. It sums up everything over and over and over again in about 300 pages! Very repetitive!This is great if you're thinking of buying PST and know NOTHING about it. It's also great if you are thinking of buying the Coronado Solarmax 90mm. I say this because all he mostly focuses on in the book are the PST's and 90mm.I purchased the Solarmax II 60mm. I was hoping to get some great information on it that I didn't already know about. All it had was three pages of information: pages 259-261. If you don't believe me, click on the book image where it says, "look inside" and look through the table of contents. So I spent $30 plus shipping on 3 pages of information that I already knew about. That's $10 a page plus shipping! He also rates the PST which only has a 40mm aperture as "very good" and the 60mm as only "good". Don't get me wrong, I've seen the images of the PST and yes I agree that they're very good but a 60mm should be better. I guess he's referring to the price?Pros:1. the pages of book are great quality, thick, glossy pages2. There are many colorful, large-sized images of the sun throughout the entire book. The book is loaded with pictures of accessories, and all the types of Coronado (NOT Lunt) scopes.3. There are comparison images of the sun between scopes of different apertures, blocking filters and bandpasses4. There is a glossary at the back of the book if you're unfamiliar with the terminologies of accessories and the sun5. Nice concise easy to understand explanations on background information of the sun6. Easy to read font7. The author writes this book using a casual tone, therefore easy to follow.What can I say? Three stars!

I recently acquired a used Coronado Personal Solar Telescope. The pamphlet that came with it was not much help in getting started with the telescope, so I looked for some online reference, found this book and purchased the Kindle edition. The book was immediately helpful in successfully beginning to get real use and enjoyment from the PST, including knowing what options not to buy, for example that the 12mm Cemax eyepiece is the only one of the three Cemax eyepieces that is truly useful with the PST. Other eyepieces and options are also well covered.The book would in fact be great to buy before making a purchase, as it discusses the entire line of Coronado products and what to expect from them, as well as covering a number of other manufacturers offerings. Given the time the book was issued, however, Lunt Solar Systems had not come into existence so there is no comparative information for that line of products. That noted, whether you are looking to purchase new or via the used market, this book can help you make the choice from among the Coronado line that will best suit your purposes for getting into solar observing or imaging.Besides the primary author, several collaborators have contributed sections to the book for equipment they were experienced with and techniques in which they are expert, so the information provided does provide several points of view and a sense of more depth than a single author might have provided, even with consultation. All sections are well-written, with all explanations even of the most technical aspects in clear and understandable language. How to successfully observe and image with this line of telescopes, including the PST which is marketed as being only for visual observing, is covered well for the interested amateur astronomer.The only quibble I have is with the Kindle edition itself, in that while many of the Kindle books I've gotten were converted in full color, this one was not, and from the samples provided for the print edition this has a lot of great color imagery. That may make it worthwhile to get both the print and the Kindle editions.In any case, highly recommended.

This is a book that desperately needs a new edition. The basic information on the sun and the techniques used to observe and image it are ok and worth the £2.50 I paid for it. But the more than half the pages dedicated to technology specific (be that telescopes, cameras or software) the information is little more than a historic curiosity. For example according to the book the latest and greatest image software is Photoshop CS2, and the only the PST is still a common scope. That Springer continue to sell the 2007 edition new is just a joke!

Rather sadly I have to agree very largely with the comments of the reviewer, Kevin Kilburn.The two things that irked me most were the fairly large amount of repetition and rather poor photographs used.I've had the PST for a about 12 months and made it DS about 6 months back. It takes a LOT of practice to get good photographs. After struggling for a few months to get decent pictures I can now do it regularly and they are all better than many shown in this book. Many in this book I would not keep or show to other people.Tony Smith

I own both Coronado PST and the PST CaK. So you may ask yourself why I would buy this book. When I saw it I thought I would buy it for the background history and to see what someone else throught and how they used the Coronado scopes.Its a corker. Read from the beginning to end it introduces the wonderful sun based astronomy. If you think all this astro happen at night, think again. The beauty of observing the sun is that its warm, light and there is always something going on.The writing style is good throughout. The infomation and prices are pretty up to date, although with all things, the prices have decreased slightly recently.From the initial thoughts on white light, hydrogen alpha and Calcium K viewing, the book leads you to the technology(s) used, the differences, pros and cons. The reader is shown the most popular brands with a well thought out summary of each product.Some may well disagree (as always) with the end results. However - it should be kept in mind we all like different coloured cars! The photographs are all of an excellent quality and help the reader see the differences and understand if spending a small fortune or small amount will get them the results they want.Unfortunately - unless the decision has been reversed, the CaK scopes are not being made any longer (PST at least). So - if you want one be quick. The authors view that the PST is extremely good value for money will likely be echoed by every single owner. Fro 450GBP - its unbeatable unless you want to spend 1000+.Ill leave it there. If you are interested or own the scope(s) I think youll find the book useful and informative.

Reads like a Coronado rep's sales pitch.

What a disappointment. It's poorly written, full of grammatical sloppiness and comes across as though written by a 10yr old in a far too personalized style that suggesting it was written as an advert for UK suppliers of Coronado instruments rather than for serious solar observers wanting more information on how to get the best from their instruments.Pugh obviously knows little about white light solar observing, even less about the sun itself judging by the lack of technical information in his early chapters, and HIS pictures are terrible (Fig 1.2 is appalling). Within the first two chapters I was insulted by his condescending style and put off buying an `entry level` PST only good for `financially challenged' observers; except that I've owned a Coronado PST for 5 yrs and can see far more detail on the sun than he gives it credit for.Only the contributions by the other more experienced observers saves Pugh's book. They deserved a better platform than this.The Coronado PST is a cracking little `scope, the other instruments in the range no doubt better. That cannot be said about the book. Had I known before I bought it, I would have saved my money towards a double-stacking filter for the PST.Kevin Kilburn