If i bought solar filters for binoculars, would I be able to

[solidsnake]

see all of the flames shooting all around the sun? Or would it just look like a boring orange globe?

 

[billslugg]

Solar filters will allow you to see sunspots and granulations on the surface of the sun. They cost $50 to $100.<br /><br />Hydrogen alpha filters will allow you to see prominences at the edge of the sun. They cannot be used on binoculars. Only on telescopes above f10. They cost $500-$1000. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[solidsnake]

Thanks!<br />For sunspots and granulations, can you notice them moving or changing second by second? Or is the change only noticable on a longer time scale?

 

[CalliArcale]

The changes are not noticable on a small timescale, at least not at the magnification available to binoculars. But you will see definite changes over a period of days -- sometimes even over a period of hours if the Sun is really active.<br /><br />I don't think you'll be able to see granulation without a filter of some kind. H-alpha is not available for binoculars but I believe that there are other, cheaper filters that will do the trick. I have no idea if there are any that can be adapted to binoculars, though. Most that I see in catalogs are designed to thread onto standard telescope eyepieces. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>