Sensational Sensors!

The WeatherSTEM USCO has two different telescopes: a solar scope and a traditional celestial telescope. The solar scope (the smaller scope in the picture) is known as a hydrogen alpha or H-alpha telescope. This telescope is special in that it does not use a white light filter. Instead, it uses hydrogen to observe the sun by transmitting only one specific wavelength of light. This wavelength is a deep red color of light emitted by hydrogen atoms, which make up the bulk of the sun. The second, and larger scope, is a celestial telescope that is used to view the night sky. It’s extremely sensitive to sunlight, therefore the cap must remain on the lens during the daylight hours. This telescope is able to capture amazing images of the moon, planets, nebulas and other interesting features in space.