Solar prominences, active sunspots, plage patches, surface granulation, wispy plasma filaments—these fascinating features and more await your gaze through the Heliostar 76mm H-Alpha Solar Telescope with SolarQuest Mount Kit from Sky-Watcher. The telescope and the mount-and-tripod kit are purpose-built for safe solar viewing: the mount finds and tracks the sun automatically, and the telescope singles out the hydrogen-alpha wavelength from the light spectrum for the richly detailed view it provides of our home star.
The Sky-Watcher Heliostar 76mm f/8.3 H-Alpha Solar Telescope is a dedicated optic for solar viewing only. This is no general-use refractor with a solar filter over the aperture—the Heliostar is built with a highly precise Solis etalon bandpass filter, refined by a Trifid tuner, to block all but a 0.55-angstrom sliver of hydrogen-alpha light. That light, in the 656.3nm wavelength, permits observation of solar phenomena in rich detail, including prominences, filaments, sunspots, and solar flares.
The Heliostar also features a blocking filter in the eyepiece diagonal and meets ISO 12312 safety standards. It comes with a 20mm 1.25" eyepiece with a 70° angle of view that provides 32x magnification and a smartphone adapter so you can capture and share the remarkable sights you see.
- 76mm objective lens
- 630mm focal length
- Focal ratio: f/8.3
- Achromatic doublet lens design, H-alpha fully multicoated design
- Integrated Solis etalon filter technology with Trifid tuning system
- Passes only hydrogen-alpha 656.3nm bandwidth, which enables detailed observation of prominences on the limb of the sun, active sunspot regions, bright plage patches, surface granulation, snake-like plasma filaments, and more
- 11.5mm, 1.25" diagonal format blocking filter
- Meets ISO 12312 safety standards
- 2" diameter focuser
- Dual-speed Crayford-style
- Crayford focusers use a toothless friction system that allows for super-fine precision focusing without backlash
- 20mm 70° 1.25" eyepiece, 32x magnification with this telesxcope
- Integrated Heliostar solar finder
- Tube rings and carry handle
- Vixen-style dovetail bar
- Clip-on sunshade
- Hard-shell carry case
Take your solar observations to the next level with the Sky-Watcher SolarQuest Motorized Alt-Azimuth Solar Telescope Mount. This purpose-built mount is uniquely designed to make solar viewing fast and easy—without the need to align your gear the night before.
Sky-Watcher's HelioFind system has an auto-level function and utilizes an internal GPS receiver to determine your location, date, and time, then calculate the precise position of the sun. This is all done with a single push of a button. Once aligned, the mounts tracks the sun automatically. An eight-way control pad allows you to precisely center the sun. This is specifically designed for solar viewing and photography and is not a traditional GoTo system.
The SolarQuest has a standard Vixen-style dovetail plate and a payload capacity of 11 pounds so it can easily handle most solar scopes plus accessories. Its DC servo motors are powered by an included 12 VDC power adapter or eight user-supplied AA batteries. Supporting the mount is an adjustable-height aluminum tripod that comes with an extension to raise the mount head higher without sacrificing stability and an accessory tray.