Baader AstroSolar ND5 Safety Film - A4 Sheet, 8" x 12" - ASOLV-S

So, you've got a telescope, binoculars, or a camera lens, and you're itching to point it at the sun without, you know, frying your eyeballs or your precious equipment. Enter the Baader AstroSolar White-Light Safety Film 5.0. This handy 7.9x11.8" sheet isn't just a piece of film; it's your ticket to safely marveling at the sun and its jaw-dropping eclipses.

Why is this little marvel a game-changer? Well, it tones down the sun's Broadway-worthy spotlight to levels your gear (and eyes) can handle, all while playing bouncer against the UV and IR radiation trying to crash the party. And the view? Oh, the view! Prepare to be wowed by the sun's surface in all its glory—penumbral shadows, those tiny solar granules, and the lighter faculae that look like someone spilled a bit of milk across the surface. The best part? It does all this while keeping the sun looking as it should, in proper white, not dressed up in those odd orange/red or blue tints you get from other filters that can't quite capture the full spectrum of solar fashion.

This film is like that one accessory you didn't know your telescope or camera needed but now can't live without. Just remember, it's made for the business end of your optical devices, not for freestyling your way into direct solar observation without any gear. (Seriously, don't try it.) And for those feeling crafty, there are tips on how to whip up custom filter mounts directly on the manufacturer's website.

In short, the Baader AstroSolar Film is here to elevate your solar viewing game, ensuring you capture those celestial moments in all their fiery glory—safely, of course. Because who said observing the sun had to be a perilous affair? Certainly not us!

Make your own visual or photographic solar filter with this sheet of eye-safe solar filter material from Baader Planetarium and made in  Germany!

You will receive a sheet of film that is 20cm x 29cm (8" x 12").

Included in this package are instructions on how to make a simple frame for your filter as well as information on your AstroSolar Film and how to care for it.

• Safe for Solar Observation at High Magnification
• Safe for Solar Photography at High Magnification
• Ideal for Telescopes, Binoculars, Photo- and Video- Cameras
• Construct your own high quality objective filters

• AstroSolar^® Safety Film 5.0 for solar observation and photography at high magnification, telescope quality, Optical Density (OD) = 5.0
• Safe for visual solar observation (with additional optics) and imaging
• This highest precision film consistently produces strehl ratios of 94 to 96 percent at interferometric tests – thus it performs optically like a Fluorite Triplet Lens by Carl Zeiss or Astro Physics
• AstroSolar Safety Film is best suited for precision work with all astronomical telescopes and binoculars – just as well as for all photographic camera- and tele-lenses
• For more than 25 years on the market, the only film-material made to not deteriorate the optical wavefront, it does allow to attain high magnification with any long-range optics without reducing sharpness or contrast of the solar surface.

The patented Baader AstroSolar® Safety Film 5.0 is produced for visual and photographic solar observation at high magnification (with additional optics). AstroSolar® Safety Film is best suited for precision work with all astronomical telescopes and binoculars – just as well as for all photographic camera- and tele-lenses (Patent pending in all European States - voted for "Astro-Product of the Decade" in the USA, and Sky and Telescope's Sept 2000 Review "A New Standard in Solar Filters") Baader Planetarium's AstroSolar®Safety Film delivers white light views of the Sun that are unmatched by any other objective solar filter or material. The views through AstroSolar display fine solar details, including fine penumbral detail, solar granulation, and lighter colored faculae. The disk is set against a dark background, free of the haze and scatter that is common in typical 'mylar' films or inexpensive glass filters. The performance of AstroSolar is even more remarkable when considering its very low cost - only $36 for telescopes up to 8". We even have sizes large enough for producing full-aperture filters for very large telescopes (see the huge 40" filter as shown above!). When combined with Baader's tips for a simple do-it-yourself filter mount, anyone can construct a complete low cost - High Quality - white light solar filter for any telescope.

It is possible to further improve the stability and sharpness of the solar image through the use of the Baader Solar Continuum Filter. Views of granulation and faculae are particularly enhanced through the use of this filter, in combination with AstroSolar®. Users of achromatic refractors will be particularly pleased with the performance using this additional filter.

NEW - AstroSolar® Eco size. This smaller 140x155mm size is ideal for smaller refractors (<4.5"), Camera Lenses, Spotting Scopes and Binoculars. Included is a DIY cell that enables you to create a functional hi-resolution filter with simple materials.

History and goal of AstroSolar™:

Baader Planetarium delivered solar safety film for 19 million eclipse viewers that were used throughout Europe for the August 11 Eclipse. Not one user of their films suffered from eye damage. Baader has produced solar safety films for over 17 years and has reason to claim a high degree of competence for all aspects of solar observation. With Baader AstroSolar™ we are set out to show you the Sun' s hidden grandeur at a fraction of the cost for comparable equipment. Real professional solar work has typically been restricted to a few die hard amateurs who would put up the $1000,- or more for a real precision 1/20 wave glass filter. Now you can get an equally precise AstroSolar™ filter to fit an 8" aperture for $36 (or much less even, if a whole group of people share a larger roll of film). No longer will solar observation be a "ho hum" experience, where you look into your telescope through an "economy priced" glass or mylar filter and wonder what this kind of amateur activity is all about. Many of our customers have pushed out the glass or mylar from their older filters only to use their filter cell for AstroSolar™ - and experience a completely new, crisp, and incredibly esthetic sun. All of a sudden, the telescope has the same performance during the day that it has at night, and now they realize that the consistently 'poor seeing' at their site was really just a consistently poor solar filter.. We are always amazed how easily some amateurs accept mediocre sharpness during observation of our nearest star, while they can be extremely critical if their telescope does not perform perfect on other stars (or planets).

Production secrets / products:

The development of AstroSolar® was only possible due to the incredible demand during the 1999 eclipse. Dozens of miles of film were destroyed during tests to produce the tooling and process techniques to produce an absolutely uniform molecular structure for the substrate. Not to speak of the related treatments, annealing and dual side coating that the film undergoes until it has attained the desired properties. AstroSolar® for solar observation and photography,

Please Note: Before mounting the AstroSolar, be sure to peel off the removable clear protective film that is present on one side of the film.

Safety Information

Safety Warning - How to Protect Your Eyes (link to Safety Information)

Safety Precautions -  How to Prevent Accidents (link to Safety Precautions)