BAADER PLANETARIUM AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Solar Eclipse Glasses 2459294
AstroSolar® Silver/Gold eclipse glasses
Solar viewers / eclipse glasses with an optical density of 5.0
Solar Viewers from Baader Planetarium are a high quality product well suited for naked eye solar observation. The most common use case for them is solar eclipses.
When the moon slowly passes in front of the sun, you can easily observe how the sun disappears behind it through the Solar Viewer. The spectacular event of a total solar eclipse itself, which usually lasts only a few minutes, should then be enjoyed without the glasses and safely with the naked eye.
However, the SolarViewer cannot only be used to observe solar eclipses. You can also view larger sunspots through it, or simply discover the sun.
Safety Instructions and Information on AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Film
Notes and Specifications on Baader AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Film OD = 5.0
AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Film has been specially developed for visual observation of the sun at zero magnification for use with SolarViewers. This film is only used for the production of our Solar Viewers.
The optical density of the AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Solar Viewer is OD 5.0. Our solar visors are CE certified and comply with EN ISO 12312-2:2015, so they are certified for safe and direct viewing of the sun.
AstroSolar® Silver/Gold has no added treatments to achieve the fine optical properties needed to work at high magnifications. It is not suitable for use in combination with telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes or camera lenses.
We have been producing Baader AstroSolar® Silver Film for more than 25 years. In 1999, during the great total eclipse over Europe, more than 20 million solar viewers equipped with this film were used. For the great American solar eclipse in the USA 2017 we are now introducing the successor on the market: The AstroSolar® Silver/Gold solar viewer with glare-free material for an excellent viewing experience.
Unlike black, soot-filled, light-absorbing films from other manufacturers, the reflective metallic layers of our AstroSolar® Silver/Gold film are much more efficient at blocking red (and especially invisible infrared) light, and therefore achieve a better safety rating with the required optical density of OD 5.0.
Why we do not use this film for telescopes - a simple answer
When using AstroSolar® precision safety film (pictured right) for telescopes, the most important thing is perfect optical quality. However, this foil must be treated with great care, as the metallic and protective coatings applied on both sides of the foil are very similar in their technical properties to the reflective surface applied on astronomical mirrors.
Since the AstroSolar® Silver/Gold solar viewer is used visually at zero magnification, the optical grade of the foil is not the most important thing. Instead, it is more desirable to apply protective coatings of the highest degree of durability, to end up with a protective film of much higher resistance against improper handling. This is what is achieved with AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Film with its hard metallic coating layers applied on both sides of the film, making it scratch resistant without sacrificing sharpness and without creating a double image of the Sun due to the addition of several layers of dark and/or reflective film on top of each other.
A single layer of AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Film provides a perfectly sharp and energetically balanced solar image, including the ability to identify large sunspots and without transmitting irresponsible amounts of infrared radiation (heat) as with other simpler energy absorbing films that do not provide added IR blocking through reflective metallic coatings.
Because of the double-sided metallization process designed for AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Film, the film remains safe for direct sun gazing, even in the event that the front of the visor suffers a scratch or mild abuse. However, each solar viewfinder should always be inspected by the user for damage due to mishandling and should be discarded if a defect is visible.
Never attempt to take an image of the sun through a Solar Viewfinder, either through a camera or by mounting it in front of, for example, binoculars, as the larger lenses will not be completely covered by the Solar Viewfinder. The AstroSolar® Silver/Gold Solar Viewfinder should never be used in conjunction with any optics pointing at the sun without a solar filter.
Never look at the sun with the naked eye without a Solar Viewer: danger!
Only and exclusively during the few seconds or minutes of totality (when the sun is completely eclipsed by the moon) can you safely look at the solar corona with the naked eye (see image below). However, the full eclipse, which lasts for hours - from the beginning, when the moon first touches the sun's disk, to the end, when it becomes fully visible again - should only be viewed through a safe, certified solar filter: the Baader Solar Viewer AstroSolar® Silver/Gold.
You should also use a suitable filter at any time for any other type of solar viewing - no matter whether during a partial eclipse, an annular eclipse, or just your daily check for large sunspots. Even if the sun is 99% eclipsed, the remaining sickle is still bright enough that you should use a good filter.
Never try to look at the sun with the naked eye, with ordinary sunglasses or with insufficient filters. Any carelessness in choosing the right type of protection can cause permanent eye damage or blindness.
AstroSolar® Silver/Gold eclipse glasses
The design of the Solar Viewers already gives you a first impression of the beauty of our nearest star and the various types of solar observation. The central part shows a view of the horizon during a total eclipse: The sun is surrounded by a dark and partly cloudy sky, while the entire horizon is still illuminated by the near-shadow light of the moon.
The left temple (front view) shows a giant sunspot of white light on the right, as can be visible on the sun through a Solar Viewer. Near it is a large prominence in the red light of H-Alpha.To its left is a tiny earth - it is on the same scale as the sunspot on the right. At the end of the temple and in front of a star field is an image of the sun that was taken during the transit of Venus on June 6, 2012. Here you can see how small the planet Venus appears in front of the sun.
The templet on the right shows a real photo of our Earth with the shadow of the moon on it, and above it the eclipsed sun in front of a star field to explain the origin of a solar eclipse. The end of the templet shows a large coronal mass ejection moving from the Sun toward Earth, depicted in red H-Alpha light.
BAADER PLANETARIUM AstroSolar® Solar Eclipse Glasses Silver/Gold 2459294
