Daytime Astronomy

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Disclaimer: Never look directly at the sun - or for that matter, through a viewfinder. You can and quite possibly will go blind. Use the brains the good Lord (or other deity of your choice) gave you. Seriously, it's bad juju on your eyes.

Just because it's daytime doesn't mean there's nothing to watch in the sky. The sun and moon have been known to show up in the day. Daylight doesn't make great viewing for the moon, but it can be done. Remember when I caught the International Space Station transit of the moon? Daytime.

Daytime lunar transit of the ISS.

I have a white-light filter for my telescope that allows me to view and photograph the sun safely. But sometimes it's a real drag hauling out all the equipment just to see if there are sunspots. Sure, I could look that up on the internet, but where's the fun in that?

My trusty Nikon D5300, 55-300mm zoom and a 1/100,000 neutral density filter.

For me, it's often easier to grab the Nikon and snap a couple of quick shots of Sol. So how does that work?

First, you'll need a long lens. I'm using the 55-300mm kit zoom that came with my D5300. You probably won't have good results with shorter focal lengths. In fact, 300mm might be pushing the limits. Next, you'll need some kind of filter rated for solar. For my quick camera shots, I use a neutral density filter that only lets in 1/100,000 of the light. Polymer "white light" filters can also be used - in fact, that's what I use on the telescope for more serious solar photography. Like the time I took a time lapse of the partial eclipse from my driveway during the Great American Eclipse.

Here's the hard part: you can't use the viewfinder. Use a tripod or steady the camera against a wall, etc. and use the live view display. Again, do not use the viewfinder. 

300mm, f29, ISO 100 at 1/125 sec exposure. Two small sunspots are visible.

This method won't allow you to see solar prominences or flares. They make telescopes with special filtering that will show those things. But it will allow you to see sunspot activity.