Loving the Quark - but the old git needs to be more careful!

[Chinapig]

Hi folks

Had my Quark Chromosphere a few weeks now, and although decent weather and opportunity haven't happened at the same time very often, the last couple of days have been great. Really enjoyed watching the Prominence Show - every episode has something new to offer! Quite a wealth of variety.

Ok, so I'm still in H-alpha honeymoon land, but am amazed at how much detail the Quark can convey. Have tried it in my f6 ED70 and f6.25 ED80, and both have proved pretty effective, depending on whether I fancied full disc or a tad more close-up detail. For the sake of pure experimentation, I also tried the Quark in a 102mm f11 frac, and it even kind of works, but any wobble in the atmosphere is obviously rather limiting.

Have experimented with a few different eyepieces, but a Celestron Omni 40mm plossl has proved the best option so far. Perhaps a TV 32mm plossl would be worth a punt, as the views would seem to warrant a shade more magnification from time to time. Ensuring maximum contrast really brings out the best of the Quark, and I guess that must be true of H-alpha viewing generally, but I'm rather new to this game! A hoodie works best for me, pulled in tight around my head and the eyepiece. No idea what the neighbours think, about that old git down the road in deep communication with his telescope!

And talking of old gits, this particular one needs to be more careful with his dust caps. Had one very brief outing with the Quark a few days ago, and couldn't work out why I was finding it so difficult to line up on the sun at all, and when I eventually did, why the image looked rather compromised. Cloud rolled in, so I thought no more about it. Ah, next time I took the Quark out of its case, I discovered why - there was a soft-edged hole in the lower dust cap. Oh, you silly old git - in my excitement for some grab and go solar (it's getting addictive!), I'd left the cap in place! Which was why it was hard to find the sun, and why the image appeared a little oddly, once the sun had melted a hole in the cap.... A sobering thought. I felt rather an idiot, to say the least. And now I make sure that the scope's dew-cap comes off last and goes on first, when starting or finishing a session with the Quark, having checked everything else is in the correct order.

Confessions over, I have to say that the Quark is one of the singularly most rewarding bits of astro kit that I have indulged in so far. It's opened up a whole new world of visual astronomy. And you can do it in the daytime!! Loving it...

Cheers

Simon

[Luke]

Nice write-up, Simon! Glad the Quark is rocking your world

If you want to look really stupid to the neighbours, then you have to stick a really bright coloured towel over your head to help contrast. It's probably not much better than a hoodie, but it shows without doubt that you are nuts

I actually prefer my 100mm and Quark to the smaller scopes, maybe that's just me. Mine is F9 though, maybe that helps? I find that it almost always rewards using the extra aperture. I think sometimes we imagers go on a bit about the seeing but I have had good views (if unsteady and waiting for the details to pop) in conditions that have been no good for imaging. If I was stuck on a desert island and could have one scope only and a solar rechargeable battery, I'd select the 100. That is assuming I wouldn't need super portability on the desert island.

Is/was your molten dust cap black? My wife recently got a Quark and we noticed the cap is a bright colour now. I believe you are not the first to have melted said cap in your excitement, and it was suggested to the good folks at Daystar that a bright cap might be a good idea that sticks out better.

If you have actually got the newer high visibility dust cap, then I am afraid it's back to the drawing boards for Daystar on that one   Maybe a cap with a chip that squeals when it gets hot

Have fun in the sun!

Cheers,

Luke

[Chinapig]

Luke - many thanks your comments.

To keep the neighbours properly entertained, maybe I should cover the hoodie in aluminium foil and claim it's to stop aliens reading my mind... The danger is, they might believe me!

Interesting feedback re your f9 100mm. I suspect my f11 is pushing it for the Quark (it's well outside the suggested zone), but I'll try it again on a clear and calm day. Meanwhile, the two smaller fracs are providing fair flexibility. Longer term, as my 8" SCT doesn't seem to get out much these days, might consider swapping that for a faster 100 or 120. One day...

The heat-sculpted dust cap was a black one. Not sure if a brighter coloured cap would have helped avoid the senior moment, but take your point - a few turns of red insulating tape might do the trick. Like the squealing cap idea!

Thanks again.

Cheers

Simon