Glossary | Telescopes | Optics | Double Stack

Many solar telescopes are also available with a Double Stack. This means that two Etalon filters are installed, one behind the other. This reduces FWHM of the transmitted H-alpha line light to less than 0.5 Angstroms. Without a double stack, the FWHM is below 0.7 angstroms.

The smaller FWHM means noticeably higher contrast. The structures on the sun appear three-dimensional. The narrower FWHM of the filter also means the image is darker and requires fine readjustment using with the systems tuning system.