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Which Solar Scope


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I have tried a bit of white light solar observing using the Baader foil on my Meade ETX 125.  I am intrigued by the idea of getting a Ha solar scope.  

The Coronado PST is affordable, I see also that there are also affordable products from Lunt (a 35 and a 50).  I note, however, that very quickly one appears to get into nosebleed territory.

I would like to say that I am primarily interested in visual.  However, I said this about the night-time stuff, and I now find myself doing more imaging than anything else at night.

Are these less expensive scopes useful for visual and imaging, or do I really need to spend big money to get something worthwhile?  Of the affordable scopes, is there an outstanding pick?  Are there other scopes that I should consider?

Thanks in anticipation.

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I deal fairly widely with the general public, many of whom are not used to telescopes. For this reason I didn't go for the PST because, to tease out the detail, some effort and observing experience is needed. (Those asserting otherwise may be underestimating their own expertise!)  I went instead for a Lunt LS60 which gives a significantly bolder and more instantly satisfying image. The instrument was a great success with everyone from beginners to veterans. It really is very good. Alas, mine was damaged in an accident and I'm now torn between the 50 and the 60. The 50 is a lot cheaper and would ease the pain of the accident!! It also has a shorter focal length meaning that making whole disk images would be much easier, needing fewer panels. I think I'm going to take a chance on the 50 this time...

Olly

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I deal fairly widely with the general public, many of whom are not used to telescopes. For this reason I didn't go for the PST because, to tease out the detail, some effort and observing experience is needed. (Those asserting otherwise may be underestimating their own expertise!)  I went instead for a Lunt LS60 which gives a significantly bolder and more instantly satisfying image. The instrument was a great success with everyone from beginners to veterans. It really is very good. Alas, mine was damaged in an accident and I'm now torn between the 50 and the 60. The 50 is a lot cheaper and would ease the pain of the accident!! It also has a shorter focal length meaning that making whole disk images would be much easier, needing fewer panels. I think I'm going to take a chance on the 50 this time...

Olly

Thanks for the response. I see that there are 2 versions of the 50. I assume that you are looking at the one with the B600 blocking filter.

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Have you looked at the quark?. Hell of a lot cheaper(well about same as lunt50) and the added bonus of using in a few scopes. Not used one myself but im sure the quark owners will be along to give their oppinion between a dedicated ha scope and the quark eyepiece

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Have you looked at the quark?. Hell of a lot cheaper(well about same as lunt50) and the added bonus of using in a few scopes. Not used one myself but im sure the quark owners will be along to give their oppinion between a dedicated ha scope and the quark eyepiece

This looks very interesting.  So I could use this with my ED80?  Does it work?  (I can see I'll have to do more research). 

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If you are starting out in Ha from scratch then the Quark is a good option specially in conjunction with a ED80. I do not own these but have had access to them and the results are excellent for visual and photography, the larger aperture would provide more detail than the Lunt50.   :smiley: 

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As far as I can see, all I need to do is put the Quark either into or in front of my diagonal.  At 80mm, I am right on the edge of whether or not I need a UV/IR cut filter.  (It's probably safer to go for one.)

And I use my regular eyepieces and imaging equipment.  (For imaging I will put the Quark straight into the focuser, right?)

Have I understood correctly?  Is that really all there is to it?

What happens to all the light/heat coming into the scope?  I am a little 'paranoid' about pointing telescopes at the sun and I don't want to do anything unsafe.  

Thanks again to everyone for their advice.

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I'm learning from this, as ever.

The SolarMax 40 was my entry into Ha and remains my only means of viewing in that medium, if that's the right terminology. I love it; I'm hooked. It probably represents the majority of my observing time over the last several months.

I have not been able to carry out any comparisons - apart from a very short session through a PST (which didn't better my SM40) at my local club - so I can't comment on any other equipment. I'm intrigued by the Quark and those who use one both rave about them and produce some astonishing images with them. I'm switched off because of the necessity for power, though.

But I can say this: get into Ha, gnomus, you won't regret it.

I have Baader filters for my three 'conventional' scopes and enjoy white light viewing. I've also just taken delivery of a Herschel Wedge and am looking forward to first light with it and comparing the film/wedge views.

But unless the wedge takes my breath away, Ha viewing is likely to remain my favourite.

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+1 for the Quark.

There are a few small cons compared with a regular h-alpha scope:

- it needs power. It comes with a power supply that you plug into the mains. I use a portable battery instead. This is quite handy so you don't need to reel out a mains connection and also so that you can start warming up the Quark indoors and then carry it out while it is still charging. The power requirement sounded like a bit of a pain but in practice I have got used to it and it's not really much of an issue. I use a long cable and run it down the scope so it's tucked out of the way. For imaging I am already powering up a laptop and goto mount, sometimes a dew heater, so one more thing is not that huge of a deal.

- it needs about 10 mins to warm up (I tend to either switch it on 10 mins before I want to use it or if I am setting up my goto mount to switch it on while I set up, so it's normally ready to use when I am good to go)

- it has an integrated 4.3x Barlow so you need long focal length eyepieces - Daystar recommends Tele Vue 25, 32 and 40mm Plossls. I was okay about this as I fancied some longer focal length EP's anyway to use for the night time stuff. I use the 32mm most of the time, I could get by with just that, in all my scopes.

- it takes some minutes when you change the tuning to reach the new tuning. I find though that once I have got the setting I like, I just use the same setting all the time. In fact, my second Quark I have not even changed the tuning other than a test to verify that it does change and is working. Also you can carry on observing while it changes, it's a very gradual smooth change, I can't tell anything is changing in real time.

- in the larger scopes (roughly above 450mm or so focal length) you won't be able to see the full disc. In practice I don't find I want to see the whole disc particularly when using a larger scope anyway, I want to see the finer details. Not quite the same, but if I was using a 14 inch SCT on the moon, I would not worry about seeing the whole lunar disc. Give me the close-ups!! In my case I use a 60mm scope and Quark as my grab and go, so I see plenty of full disc overall anyway. 60 or 66mm scopes are not that expensive so you can always add one to the setup if you feel the need.

- there is less contrast than with a double-stacked Lunt/SolarMax. However, it's a lot cheaper than those, and especially in the larger scopes (about 80mm+) I find there is so much detail for the eye to lock onto that I don't find contrast a problem. But this is a nice bonus for the dedicated h-alpha scopes. The problem for me: a double stacked 100mm solar scope is over my budget.

- the integrated 4.3x Barlow gives a long focal length for imaging. However, you can use a 0.5x reducer to bring it down closer to 2x.

The huge pro: the (relatively) cheap cost for the aperture.With extra aperture, proms are more detailed and have more character, fine prom loops can be seen clearly, there are more swirls and whirls visible around active regions, spicules (the hairy bits at the edge) are clearer to see.

Other pro's for the Quark:

- can switch between scopes to suit the needs of the day. For me that works out as: Grab and go: Tele Vue 60. Observing at home: ED100. Imaging at home: ED120. Fall-back if conditions are too ropey for the ED120, or if I want a wider shot of a very large area, or if it's too windy for the bigger scope, or I only have a short time: Tele Vue 85.

- you can also do white light or regular astro with the same scope (not at the same time, of course!!)

- the Quark has no obvious sweet spot. With my SolarMax 60, proms are not as detailed at the edge of the field of view so I normally move them closer to the centre to get a better look. WIth the Quark the proms look just as good at the edge.

Hope that's of some help.

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Luke

Thank you very much for this detailed response. I already have some long focal-length plossls (though not Televues, I'm afraid). Imaging wise, I have been using a ZWO 120 for lunar work. I assume that will work with the proposed Skywatcher ED80 and Quark combination.

Would you recommend getting the battery pack to go with it? Also, do you think I need to use a UV/IR blocker with the ED80?

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Excellent reply Luke :smiley: most informative.

Gnomus,  I took delivery of a Quark yesterday to use in my Equinox 80mm, as soon as the weather changes I will be able to let you know what to expect from an ED80, I believe the 2 scopes have very similar specifications. I will also compare it to my Lunt60mm as this may be useful should you decide to go down the solar path

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Excellent reply Luke :smiley: most informative.

Gnomus,  I took delivery of a Quark yesterday to use in my Equinox 80mm, as soon as the weather changes I will be able to let you know what to expect from an ED80, I believe the 2 scopes have very similar specifications. I will also compare it to my Lunt60mm as this may be useful should you decide to go down the solar path

That would be helpful. Do you mind telling me where you got your Quark?

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Not at all, I bought it from SCS astro who are based in the UK. I cant paste links in the forum for some reason but I am sure someone else who reads this can.

Thank you. No need for a link - I've already found them.

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Great write up, Luke and thank you.

Just a question: with the 4.3x built in Barlow, most Quark + frac observing with, say, the 32mm Plossl, is working around a 1mm exit pupil. Not significantly high, but does anyone experience any problems with this in terms of age, floaters, eye fatigue, atmospheric and seeing conditions etc?  

I ask, because at night, in my own experience I'm not particularly keen on working for too long under 1mm, for I then find seeing conditions and floaters to become irritating issues. Would the same kind of thing be worth taking into account before one looked into purchasing the Quark for visual work?

Gnomus, the Quark Chromosphere appears to be the more popular purchase.

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