
As a member of the B&H team going on the road trip to Oregon to cover the eclipse (plus the resident uber-nerd amateur astronomer and the guy who’s been writing a lot of articles about the solar eclipse), I’m here with a reminder to grab your kit for the big show on August 21st early, before supplies run out (you don’t want to be waiting for the delivery truck on the day of the eclipse hoping it comes to your door before you miss it). If you need some recommendations, here you go…
Let’s start with one of the items I’m bringing to the Eclipse: The iOptron Solar 60. This 60mm f/6 scope has a removeable white-light solar filter that makes it useful day or night, and the Cube GoTo mount is a full-featured compact little unit with a database of over 14,000 objects (including the sun, thankfully). All versions of it come with an eyepiece, diagonal, and an adjustable height tripod.
There are four iterations: The 8806 comes with an integrated GPS module to assist in setup and alignment, and an eyepiece imager (we’ll be using this one to stream live images, but beware: it’s formatted for Windows computers only); the 8807 has the GPS but no imager. If you don’t need GPS, but want an imager, then the 8506 is the one for you; and the 8507 has neither the GPS or imager – just the standard equipment (but still with full GoTo functionality). If you have a reliable mount already and want a handy little OTA for the eclipse, you can pick up just the Solar 60 optical tube (including the solar filter) by itself. Just make sure your mount has a Vixen-style dovetail saddle and can handle an OTA of four pounds.
Sticking with the motorized theme, there’s the SkyWatcher Virtuoso. If you’ve heard the podcast episode I was on, or saw the Event Space presentation that I participated in, then you’ll know that this is what I use at home. With its space-saving table-top mount, compact 90mm f/14 Maksutov-Cassegrain optical tube, and automatic tracking, it’s a great daily-driver. The reason it makes this list is that it comes with a removeable white-light solar filter; plus DSLR, camcorder, and smartphone mounts for added versatility.
If you’re a more casual observer and want to move away from the GoTo/motorized models (but appreciate the tabletop form-factor and removeable solar filters), then you can look at these Meade offerings. Available in 82mm and 114mm reflector versions, these EclipseView telescopes have manual alt-az mounts with the removeable solar filters that allow them to be used at night as well, and come with two eyepieces that offer you high and mid-range magnifications.
Rounding out the EclipseView telescope line is a 60mm f/14 refractor version. This one has a full-sized tripod and comes with the high and medium-power eyepieces, but also includes an erect-image diagonal to allow its use as a terrestrial spotting scope and a 2x Barlow lens that doubles the magnification of each eyepiece – adding to its usability.
Now we come to a handy little portable scope from Celestron. The EclipSmart 50mm f/7 refractor weighs under five pounds, including the accessories and full-size adjustable tripod. Everything fits in the backpack that comes with it.
If you want to view the partial eclipse in Hydrogen-alpha, you can get the perennial favorites from Coronado, like the PST or the larger SolarMax. Lunt Solar Systems offers a full line of H-alpha OTAs that will also provide great views. In most cases, you’ll need to have a mount and tripod to put them on unless you get a kit. These scopes are useful just for the partial eclipse, and won’t do much during totality.
For many of us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so make sure you get your gear early and practice setting it up and aligning it beforehand – you don’t want to miss the eclipse because you’re fighting with your technology.
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