Solar telescopes and filters are created, assembled, and tested by Lunt Solar Systems, a world-renowned manufacturing and sales centre located in Tucson, Arizona. Protective eyewear and optics are Lunt‘s specialties, and the company has been making these products for 20 years with ISO certification.
Numerous educational institutions and US government bodies, such as NASA and the US Air Force, have worked with them for a long time. Their product testers have the expertise to discern if an item truly meets or fails quality control standards, and they prioritise safety above all else. Furthermore, Lunt has extensive experience as a supply chain distributor and has successfully managed the distribution and sale of more than 5 million solar protective glasses that NASA approved for use during the 2017 US Solar Eclipse.
Viewing with Calcium K Telescopes
View the magnetism of the sun via the lens of the calcium K wavelength.
In order to focus on the wavelength of 393.4 nm, an interference filter is used for calcium K (Ca-K) vision. Calcium produces two emission lines at the visible spectrum’s periphery; this one is one of them. This is in a somewhat lower and cooler chromosphere layer compared to the one seen in Hydrogen- Alpha.
Areas of high magnetic fields, including sunspot activity and active zones, are where the emission line shows the brightest and strongest supergranulation cells. The sun’s magnetic structure may be seen in this, with the brightest regions indicating the areas with the strongest magnetic fields.
The Lunt Calcium K Module
Connect a Lunt Calcium K Module to the focuser of your Lunt Universal Telescope after removing the H-alpha module and blocking filter. This will allow you to observe the sun through calcium K. Understanding the structure, strength, and depth of these active zones can be greatly enhanced by studying the calcium-K and hydrogen-alpha lines. Whether you’re using a regular nighttime refractor or the nighttime configuration of Lunt‘s new Universal Telescopes, you may use Calcium K modules from Lunt Solar Systems!
All solar telescopes must have a blocking filter
Viewing the sun is made safe by the Lunt Calcium K Module’s inbuilt filters. At 393.4 nm, it has its bandpass line centred. On the ultraviolet (UV) end of the spectrum, this wavelength is thought to be marginally beyond the visible range. The use of internal narrowband filters enables a bandpass of less than 2.4 Angstroms.
While the majority of people can perceive the violet wavelength, some may have trouble resolving the contrast because of age-related corneal yellowing. Many people report a considerable improvement in their visual acuity after having cataract surgery. Cameras, which can capture incredibly detailed images, are usually used to study the Ca-K line because many individuals have trouble seeing at this wavelength.
Viewing calcium K was always reserved for a select few, but now even those with smaller telescopes, like the Lunt Universal, can do it.
Three Ways to View the Sun
Industry-Leading Quality and Safety
High Safety Standards
No one’s safety is more important to Lunt Solar. Ensuring the protection of the eyes was their top priority when designing solar telescopes and filters at Lunt Solar. A senior ophthalmologist professor at a top Canadian university of ophthalmology gave his stamp of approval to their ideas. For both infrared and ultraviolet light transmission, a safety threshold was established. In essence, this standard establishes that any potentially harmful radiation must be below 1×10-5 (T).
This requirement is satisfied by a number of Lunt products’ standalone filters when used together. But Lunt makes sure the user is completely secured even if one filter fails by setting double or even triple criteria for this criterion.
Standing in direct sunlight exposes the eye to more ambient UV and IR radiation than looking through one of their solar telescopes, due to the inclusion of various filters and safety mechanisms.
Lens Coating:
An American firm on the East Coast that is ISO-qualified is where Lunt gets its raw etalon glass ingredients. Here in Tucson, AZ, they handle all of the glass work for the filter and etalon systems in-house, including grinding, edging, beveling, and polishing. A facility that caters to their needs in terms of coatings is contracted to handle some of their coatings.
They can manufacture anti-reflective coatings at a reflectivity (R) of less than 0.1% (usually in the 0.06%R range) at their coating facility. The high reflectivity coatings are likewise held to a standard of better than +/-1%. They were able to precisely alter the coating formulations by controlling the coating processes to a finer degree, which increased contrast by reducing background noise.
Quality Assurance:
They ensure that every batch of coatings satisfies all safety standards by providing comprehensive scans of the coatings applied. A company that is qualified by the US military and gives full military certifications with every filter supplies them with some of their precision-coated filters.
When used as intended, every Lunt Solar product is completely risk-free, and they leave the factory in pristine condition. Send your Lunt instrument back to the manufacturer for re-certification and testing if it gets dropped or otherwise damaged.
