The Quark comes in two flavours, both priced £899 at time of writing: ‘Chromosphere’ and ‘Prominence.’ The Chromosphere version (the one I am reviewing) is specified to have a bandpass of 0.3 to 0.5 Angstroms, while the Prominence is 0.6 to 0.8 Angstroms. Daystar now also sells a Combo Quark for off-axis use with SCTs. The Quark unit I am reviewing is designed for use with refactors in the range F4- F9.
#Daystar quark chromosphere manual
See the Quark manual for more information and check with Daystar if you’re not sure what you need. However, a front ERF must be used instead of the UV/IR cut for telescopes with an integrated rear field flattener or Petzval lens or if over about 120mm. The manual states that if your scope is under about 120mm of aperture, you can use a compatible UV/IR cut filter in front of the diagonal instead of using a front ERF.
This is because the tuning of the Quark’s etalon is controlled by the heating of an internal cavity.įor energy refection, many refractors can be used without the need for an expensive front energy rejection filter (ERF). The Quark requires power and about ten minutes or so to warm up. This helps to ensure that light passing though the Quark is reasonably parallel, which is required for good performance. Inside the Quark is a 4.3x telecentric Barlow. I prefer to use a USB battery pack and longer cable.
#Daystar quark chromosphere professional
The Quark has a professional look and feel with an aluminium housing. Typically, you place it between the diagonal and your actual eyepiece or camera. Daystar refers to the Quark as being the world’s first h-alpha “eyepiece.” It’s not really an eyepiece.
The Quark works in a different way to the regular dedicated h-alpha telescope. Costing less than £1,000, this new type of device can be used with many refractors, turning them into h-alpha solar telescopes. Daystar Instruments, who have over 40 years of experience in solar filters, released a new product, the Quark. For example, a Lunt 100 dedicated h-alpha scope with B1800 blocking filter and Feathertouch focuser is likely to cost in excess of £7,000. Until recently, it’s been very expensive if you want to view or image the Sun in the hydrogen-alpha wavelength using a relatively large aperture such as 100mm. Daystar Quark Chromosphere Review – A New Era in Amateur Solar Astronomy?