Alkaid

I like mine as it sits on a parcel shelf very comfortably when travelling. Big enough aperture for travel to dark skies. They are also very good for terrestrial use if you stop them down using the small end cap hole so as to virtually eliminate the false colour. My 102mm F5 becomes a 50mm F10 spotting scope, great for daytime use.

I would also consider the mount / tripod when the feet are 'splayed', my EQ5 is well over 90cm across the floor when the legs are out so wouldn't fit.... What will you mount the scope on?

I once owned a 6" F8 newt, it wasn't actually the SW model but it did have the same CO.....the physical design of the scope is good for Lunar and Planets. Collimating is easy too due to F8. Enjoy!

In two minds.... I once had GOTO but it got poorly, lost all accuracy and I kind of lost faith (plus I didn’t want to shell out for a new mount). Now use simple tracking, perfect for the brighter targets, I am mainly lunar & planetary. Bombproof, nothing to go wrong.... However on a recent DSO evening in relatively light polluted skies, I couldn’t find anything. I remember muttering ‘wish I had GOTO’!

Fantastic image! 😃

The outdoors is actually my other hobby and wildcamping forms a good part of it, been a walker / camper since teenage years. It is very true that there has been an explosion of people venturing into the hills, mostly since the relaxation of Covid rules some time back. During Covid, I think that many people stuck at home re-evaluated their lives and 'found' the outdoors as soon as it became openly available once more. I am hugely supportive of this, as walking, camping etc is tremendously good for you. The issue was that as soon as people started venturing into the hills again (or even for the first time) they inevitably wanted to share their experiences on social media. Many "Wild Camping" forums sprang up on Facebook. The outdoors became the new thing on Instagram. Drone sales increased from You-Tubers wanting to increase their views and likes. Now this is all very well and the majority of people who do all this are good responsible people who follow the Leave No Trace code accepted by many wildcampers. But the social media explosion, plus the sudden restriction free movement after Covid unfortunately attracts the small percentage of people who do not know how to behave themselves. Litter. Fires. Alcohol. Large groups. The above is not what wildcamping is about and is exactly the reason the landowner wanted it to stop. Even as a wild-camper myself, I actually find myself in favour if it protects the countryside from abuse It's happened before. The camping restrictions on the banks of Loch Lomond are another good example and that area is now much better off than it was before in terms of litter and fire scars.

Not sure that the OP stated imaging?? Visually it will do pretty well. The mount might shake a little at higher powers around x150-x200. But there's nothing to stop you achieving focus. You will easily pick out detail on Jupiter with a 6" aperture. If you like Lunar viewing, there will be a host of detail visible. At F10, the scope is 'geared' for higher powers, so well suited to what you want. I'll add that it also looks quite portable, another bonus.

You want a CAT. Short, portable.... I wouldn't take my C8 on a trip, I find it just a little too big for that. So if I were you, I would go with the 127 Mak at the lower price point, or a 4" APO refractor at the higher price point. Both do well on lunar / planetary.

I had one and found the quality to be a little 'off'....the focuser drawtube was hugely off centre (read that as pointing at the very edge of the lens, rather than anywhere near the centre) and this caused many issues with image quality. In the end I sent it off to Steve Collingwood who kindly straightened it out...after that it was fine. It's an F10 achro and yes, CA is there...

Interesting...I'd not heard of this application. I can't answer your question, but am interested to hear more...so you are converting the telescope into a night vision device? How is it done? Thanks,

Good news is that as well as the curved base, it has slots rather than holes so that the screw separation can be allowed to vary. Clever design.

Yes, I bought one for my C8, it’s a baader model. Got it from Flo if I recall. Just took these images quickly, but I will try and dig out more info if required...just let me know.

Great image! Looking forward to more from the C11.

So sorry to hear this. I often enjoyed reading about the modifications that John engineered with his scopes. He would take a stock telescope and make proper engineered additions to improve it. A really skilled man. RIP John.

Sadly no...at least not new anyway. You’d be better off buying a complete scope, 2nd hand.

Ah so it’s already been re-coated then...I see. At least that’s been tried then...

Strip and re-coat a 9” mirror is not that bad really... https://www.galvoptics.co.uk/optical-components/telescope-products-andamp-services/telescope-mirror-coating---primary/ I was thinking that the current condition would knock a lot off the resale price. Paying to have it done would of course be an expense, but would increase resale value back up to where it would normally sit at, more than what it is currently worth.

Hmm...I know people do it but I’m personally against cleaning mirrors, so, so easy to scratch the thin coating. You could have it done professionally and then re-coated? Or, you could offer it up at suitable price with a return policy, whereby a buyer pays for it and then has the option of returning it if not happy. If the in-focus view is fine, this could work. If you did get it returned you could then go down the other routes for mirror cleaning afterwards. Annoying position...but you can get around it.

The 150 mak will be better on planets (and the moon). Firstly, aperture is almost double (we won't quibble about exact mirror size for now). You should see an increase in resolution by almost a factor of 2. Planetary detail will be greatly increased. The other thing is the 'gearing' - the mak has a long focal length so many eyepieces will get you to a decent image size quite easily. Barlows not required... Two trade-off's - you need to plan the session in advance and put / store the mak in a cold place beforehand. The field of view is narrower (but that's what you want for planets).

Good stuff! I noticed myself that the sphinx (bottom right hand of Sinus Iridum) was extremely prominent that evening.

Big fan here...other than planets, it’s the main target for me. I like the challenge of resolving the smaller features. 😃

I forgot to look for the Hadley Rille! I had a good session also, seeing was really good (best I've seen for a while). I don't normally go silly with the power, but was able to. I was able to spend considerable time on Plato, with the big 4 craterlets showing themselves. A&B fine....C&D spotted fine but splitting them was a bit more challenging, even in excellent seeing. Probably the mechanics of the scope (large central obstruction) at work there. but even so, the viewing was very, very good. Copernicus was magnificent and very sharply defined, slumped terracing, three clear peaks, plus lots of ejecta and pock-marked holes around the crater limb. Interestingly, Eratosthenes is only a 'stones throw' from Copernicus but the shadowing there was just past the limit and the crater appeared flat and soft. I found it interesting to learn how just a few 10's of km's can affect the view where the terminator limits are concerned. If I was standing in Eratosthenes the sun would have been high in the sky.

Sorry to hear 🙄 I only wish it was cloudy at full and new moon.

Lunar seeing is very good tonight in Yorkshire (and hopefully everywhere else friends). I was observing Copernicus at x220 in the C8. Just for amusement I then popped in a 5mm for x400(!). Image held up nicely and I have just spent an excellent session touring the highlights at very high power, which I never really do. I’ve come in for a warm up, back out in half an hour...

Plenty of other CATs in here I see. Here’s my C8 with complimentary Moon phase clock.