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Sounds like an 8” F/5, mirrors look reasonable but hard to tell. Do you have any eyepieces with it like this

Haha, should I understand that I guessed properly (2600MC, not 6200MC) ?

Diffraction spikes on Jupiter really annoy me. Too much brightness also washes out planetary feature and colour detail to my eyes. I also think events like Galilean moon eclipses and transits particularly ingress and egress appear much better in refractors.

Thanks Mike.

Better planetary definition. Never seen an 8" Newtonian give sharper views than a good 5" refractor.

Right, so here is how the final version looks like with 1.2mm spacer. Before and after BlurXterminator, just 'Correct only' selected. I'm not going to kill myself, I think it's much better than an average 40mm lens.

Different flange distance in simple optical design lenses should make a difference only in infinity focus position. But with complex design lenses as the Sigma it will introduce aberrations. So my guess is that you need some spacers / washers so your focus (when focusing at stars) mark is similar as when you had the lens on the DSLR.

It's Alchemy, I tell ya!

Glad, that so many members were lucky enough weather-wise to spot the ray! Was out with the 5.1" Heritage early enough to confirm, that the phenomenon had not started at 20.45 CEST. Fifteen minutes later, the clouds had left the moon invisible, and rain was starting. Ok.; I have seen the ray three times up to now, and will wait patiently for the June 15th occasion. I didn't manage the reverse phenomenon, the Pitatus ray, up to now. The times for observing are less convenient, during the morning hours (waning moon!), but it seems worthwhile to get up early; have a look: (c) Frank Mc Cabe; https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/554510-craters-pitatus-and-hesodius-during-lunar-sunset/ http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/animation/Pitatus.gif Next occasion will be May, 2nd, 03h 26min; the moon will be very low, so you'll need a free horizon to the SE. More data here: http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/pitatusp.htm Stephan

…images free from spikes.

Interestingly, I found myself liking one more than the other then vice versa. I think the 200p was sharper, as one might expect with stacking, but in terms of light and dark areas, both were nice. I'd be happy with either. The refractor did very well considering the aperture difference.

I use the ES68 24mm with my LX90 12, works very nicely. Very pleased with the views it provides. Also transforms the views through my ST80 as well.

Mine is the same. I use a Reego for the secondary and star test for the primary. Cheshire or Laser is well off. In theory once you have the collimation spot on you could add a tilt corrector to get the secondary on the same axis as the primary. You could then use a Cheshire. However, I only collimate about once per year so it is not that critical.

From my view I think it's clear the newt shows more detail (IE resolution). Another thing to note, my Z61 is tiny but I can comfortably look at the moon unfiltered, when I tried it in my 130pds the light was blinding, so a testament to the difference of light gathering capability as aperture goes up. Note the camera capture will have had short exposures so that surface detail and contrast is well controlled, visually it will be much brighter.

The poster of those is a long standing member here. Perhaps he can chip in personally ? 🙂 Maybe he actually looked through the scopes as well ?

Thats interesting. I'm not an imager of any sort but when I look at the stills of the moon in the side by side comparison, from the perspective of a visual observer, I see pretty equal resolution and sharpness but the contrast between the lighter and darker areas on the surface seems more enhanced in the refractor. Whether that would be replicated in purely visual use, I don't know though.

Much as I like imaging small, little known galaxy targets, I can't let the season go by without having a go at one of the blockbusters. Inspired by @ONIKKINEN's wonderfully deep and detailed M101, I have collected 102 x 2 mins Lum and 94x 2 mins RGB over the last couple of nights to add to 352 x 2 mins RGB from Feb 2022, all captured with the Esprit 150/IMX571 dual rig, captured at 0.74" per pixel. So at 18.25 hrs integration I might have thought that was enough, but if you compare it to Oskari's 25 hr image, it's found wanting. For a start the lack of Ha data is a big minus, I don't have a Ha filter for the mono camera but I could try and get some hours with the OSC and the NBZ dual band. Also, the faint outer spiral arms are less distinct and small objects are lacking in detail. For example, the tiny barred spiral galaxy that I admired is a just a mangled blob in my image. Now some of this may be due to the different OTAs used to gather the data, and my heavy handed processing, or my sky conditions are inferior, but I'm hoping that 18 hrs is just not enough.

That's the issue with the video feed, the exposure duration will have been lowered so that surface detail can be captured in better detail. Take it with a pinch of salt. Visually it should be much brighter in both scopes than the video shows, but you can ascertain the resolution capacity a little.

Hi IB20, Yes, that would be interesting. 👍

Yes, good idea The SM looks a little better than the Tak in the live videos but to me that’s mostly as the SM image is brighter.

@Carbon Brush that is really useful information and has helped me understand a bit more how I could make what I want to do work. I do not have any experience in building so thanks. @Naughty Neal I have started to understand there is no exact answer that I was hoping to get but the answers I have had have definitely given me a lot to think about. It is going to be interesting and hard work to build and hopefully it will work out.

Within around half an hour... Original image: Also, reduced stars and smoothed background:

Hi all, some nice activity again today. Loving solar maximum. I used the Lunt 60mm DS, the Bresser 100mm stopped down to 80mm with the Zwo Asi 178mm cameras.

Great video and lovely images Paul. I love the peace and tranquillity of the night when there is no wind and you only hear the sounds of Nature. So peaceful and serene it is a tonic to the soul. Sometimes Dawn comes too soon! I especially like the lake with reflections of the trees and stars. The cool blues and pale yellow horizon also makes the shot stand out. Hats off to you for getting out there when you have work next day. I struggle to do this admittedly and need a good forecast to venture forth. I had opportunity for early MW core a few days ago but had just returned from Tenerife having already got a great shot of it so I stayed in bed!! 😂 Keep up the excellent work and am looking forward to your next adventure and astrophotography. Geraint.

The 2" filter holder that I ordered from Oak Astro just arrived ! It works well, fits a little snug so I will sand it a bit, works well when the SS retracts as designed. I can hardly wait to try it with several of my 2" scope filters, even if they don't work it wll be fun experimenting. The filter shown is a Burgess XC - 4, may he RIP, a great astro builder !