Good beginner Solar Telescope for Video Astronomy

I have tried solar filters on my different telescopes to see sunspots ... but that is about all I could see.  Then I learned that this is called white light solar observing, and it is about all you will see this way with amateur level telescopes. If you want to see things like prominences along the edge of the Sun's disk or surface features you really need a Hydrogen Alpha telescope that is especially made for viewing the sun.

At ECVAR I saw impressive results where the SkyRaider AGc was being used on a Coronado SolarMax H-a telescope. Recently I bought a book about viewing the Sun with Coronado telescopes and learned there is a nice entry level Solar telescope called the PST (Personal Solar Telescope - $699). I already have a SkyRaider AGc, so I began thinking the PST was a way I could expand my Video Astronomy into real Solar observing.  I decided to supplement some Christmas gift money and get one. I also ordered a SkyView Pro adapter that would allow me to easily slide the PST into my SkyProdigy Mount.

 
When mounted, the eyepiece is horizontal rather than vertical.  But I realized this was fine - I could just sit in a chair next to the scope and easily look in the eyepiece.

Today I tried this out for the first time.   The PST has a built in Sol Ranger Sun spotting device that makes it easy to get the Sun in the eyepiece field of view.

I started up the SkyProdigy and did a Solar System Align using the Sun, set the telescope tracking to Solar and then learned how to focus the PST by watching the edge of the Sun’s disk.  I put a black T-shirt over my head and the eyepiece so I could see better (strange looking I know, but it really made a BIG difference).
 

I immediately found out I was going to be able to see more solar detail than I ever had been able to see before! I then learned to use the RichView tuning ring for the internal Etalon that allows you to better see different features (some features are moving toward you and others away from you). I could actually see surface features, and then with a little more tuning I saw two major prominences at the edge of the disk! I had also bought the Coronado 2x Barlow and gave it a try and could see the prominences even better.

I really only intended to visually observe today to learn how to focus and tune it to see if I could see the different features.  But I was so excited at what I could see I couldn't stop there.  I went back inside and got my SkyRaider AGc and Surface Pro laptop and took it back to the telescope.  I removed the Barlow and eyepiece and inserted the AGc and connected it to my laptop. 

After figuring out I needed very little gain and only a few ms of exposure to get a good image, I found a sunspot and further adjusted the PST focus for the best image.   I also set the AGc resolution to 1280 x 960. I realized putting a dark lightweight jacket over my head when viewing the laptop screen also helped see more detail (Yeah, this looks strange too … but it is worth it).

By adjusting the internal Etalon I could see surface features on the sun on my screen. But I was disappointed that I couldn't see any of the prominences that I saw through the eyepiece.  After a little more thinking about this, I realized our eyes have a very good automatic gain control as you move your eyes to different features … but I manually set the exposure on the camera. So I cranked up the exposure time some more, which washed out the surface detail somewhat, but then the prominences were visible on the screen!  I also gave this a try using the Coronado 2x Barlow with the AGc and had good results as well. 

Here are some screen grabs I captured on this first time trying out the PST.  And this was with some wispy clouds passing by from time to time.

 
Clouds continued to move in, so I finally had to stop. But now I am no longer just a night time Video Astronomer.  How do you see a star in the daytime?  Check out our closest star using a Coronado PST and a MallinCam AGc!