Daystar Quark Chromosphere Solar Filter

Critical Requirement: Energy Rejection (ERF)

The Quark is a rear-mounted H-alpha filter, meaning all incoming solar energy first passes through your telescope before reaching the unit. To prevent overheating of internal optics, appropriate energy rejection is mandatory.

Refractors Up to 80 mm Aperture

Requirement: Simply put the Quark into the diagonal. No other heat management is required unless you do long tracking sessions, in which case use an UV/IR cut filter.

Refractors from 80mm to 130mm Aperture

Requirement: Use a UV/IR Cut Filter.

Placement: Thread the UV/IR filter onto the diagonal’s nosepiece, positioned ahead of the Quark.

Function: Reflects ultraviolet and infrared energy, reducing thermal load so the Quark operates safely.

Refractors Larger Than 130 mm (or for long tracking sessions)

Without a front ERF on large apertures, concentrated solar energy can crack the Quark’s internal optics or damage diagonal mirrors.

Requirement: Use a Front-Mounted Energy Rejection Filter (ERF).

Placement: Installed over the telescope’s objective lens.

Function: Rejects heat before it enters the tube, preventing damaging heat concentration at focus.

Important Note for Petzval Telescopes and Scopes With Rear Lens Groups

Petzval refractors and any telescope with rear-mounted lens elements (e.g., reducers, correctors, flatteners built into the OTA) require additional caution. These designs place optics near the focal plane, where solar energy is highly concentrated.

• Risk: Rear lenses can overheat, delaminate, or crack under solar load.

• Requirement: Regardless of its aperture, contact us or do some researches to see if your specific telescope must use a front-mounted ERF instead of the rear-mounted UV/IR cut filter.

• Reason: A UV/IR Cut filter placed near the diagonal is not sufficient, because the rear lens group absorbs the concentrated heat before the filter can reject it.

What You Can See: A Guide to Solar Features

The Daystar Quark Chromosphere is tuned to the Hydrogen-Alpha line (656.3 nm), allowing you to see the "living" layer of the Sun just above the white-light surface. Below are the specific features you will observe.

A. Surface Features (On the Disk)

The primary strength of the Chromosphere model is its high contrast on the solar face.

• Filaments: These appear as long, dark, snake-like ribbons winding across the solar disk. They are actually massive clouds of cool plasma suspended above the surface by magnetic fields. (Note: When these rotate to the edge of the Sun, they become Prominences.)
• Active Regions (ARs): Areas of intense magnetic activity often surrounding sunspots. In H-Alpha, these look like bright, swirling patches of light (called Plage) that often resemble white lightning or glitter scattered on the surface.
• Sunspots: Unlike white-light filters which show simple dark spots, the Quark reveals the complex magnetic turmoil inside the spot. You can often see the vortex of magnetic fibers twisting out from the dark core (umbra).
• Solar Flares: Sudden, brilliant eruptions that appear as intensely bright white patches within active regions. These can form in minutes and are the most energetic events in the solar system.
• The "Orange Peel" Surface: The entire disk will have a textured, mottled appearance known as the Chromospheric Network or super-granulation, resembling the skin of an orange.

B. Limb Features (The Edge of the Sun)

Despite being tuned for the surface, the Chromosphere model offers spectacular views of the solar edge.

• Prominences: The "crown jewels" of solar observing. These are loops, trees, or hedges of glowing red plasma extending off the edge of the Sun against the blackness of space. They can be hundreds of thousands of kilometers high—large enough to fit dozens of Earths inside.
• Spicules: If you look closely at the limb, you will see it isn't smooth. It looks "furry" or "grassy." These are spicules—jets of plasma shooting up 10,000 km into the atmosphere, lasting only 5–10 minutes.
• Surges: Occasionally, you may see a straight jet of plasma shooting outward and then falling back down, often associated with small sub-flares.

C. 3D Dynamics (Using the Tuning Knob)

Because the Quark allows for Doppler Tuning, you can visualize motion in 3D:

• Blue Shift (Turning knob Left): Reveals material moving towards you. This is useful for seeing the base of an exploding flare or a surge headed in your direction.
• Red Shift (Turning knob Right): Reveals material moving away from you. This helps visualize cooling plasma raining back down onto the surface after an eruption.