Conclusion

A telescope with a drive motor will keep the sun focused on the same spot over time. Without one you'll need to tweak the telescope from time to time to track it. This will be even more important with higher magnification levels. Remember, more magnification means less projected light and a blurry/shaky image. You might also need to move the foam board further away in order to focus the image.

The photos were taken with a Canon A70 digital camera. I touch them up in Photoshop, changing to grayscale (projected images are mostly black and white), adjust brightness and contrast a bit, scale and then sharpen the image. Even with a good camera and photoshop the images aren't as good as the real thing.

I can't wait for the next solar eclipse.

UPDATE:

On Tuesday morning, June 8th, for the first time since 1882, Venus will pass directly between Earth and the Sun. For six hours the planet's black silhouette will crawl across the face of our star. It might be a pretty sight, or not. No one can say for sure because no one alive today has seen a transit of Venus.

For the occassion I've added a couple more pages detailing a new shading setup and sending the Sun around a corner.

«Sun Photos

Page 5 of 7

Solar Shading»