Alkaid

I think that the reason is contrast. Saturn's rigs appear sharp(ish) as they are contrasted against the dark sky. Cassini division is also contrasted well in a large scope. But try looking for banding on Saturn's globe - far, far harder.....differing shades of yellow next to one another....hard to distinguish. Same thing happens with Jupiter, reds and browns mix well and are hard to distinguish. Altitude of the planet also contributes.....Jupiter and Saturn are low right now. Mars is much higher up, less atmosphere for the scope to penetrate.....sharper views.

Get a small F10 Achromatic refractor, something like a Skywatcher Evostar, it will get you going and is inexpensive. I still point my Evostar 90 at the Moon and get a nice wow factor. There is a lot of detail to see, short cool down time, takes reasonably high powers well and it cost around £150.00. It's also very light, easy to pick up and put outside. I reviewed mine once when I got it, I'll message you the link so you can see what it's like.

Yes, unfortunately the choice of scope can lead to ‘paralysis by analysis’. There really are just too many to choose between and many of us get hung up on that. There was a time when I used to analyse all the options, which one is better etc, being irrrated that some models were totally out of my price range etc. Trouble is, you just end up going mad with it all instead of actually doing what matters, getting out there and relaxing with a scope. My honest advice would be: Just buy a scope, something from Skywatcher or Celestron, either new or used. Have fun with it! The interest will naturally grow from there and when you’re ready, you sell that scope and get another to try out. It’s all part of the journey.

No probs. I struggled with Europa’s shadow, I couldn’t see it at first. Then using the moons app I found that I was looking at the wrong side of J’s disc. I saw it very very weakly / fleetingly. Terrible seeing tonight doh!

The seeing in Leeds is terrible. GRS seen easily, but very watery viewing tonight.

According to some web calculators, GRS 21:30 and also transit of Europa and subsequent shadow transit around same time. Will be out with my C8. Hope weather stays good for all!

Does look a bit smeary, definitely on the inside? (Silly question, as I know you will have double checked). I'd be hesitant to remove the corrector myself unless I'd had prior experience, you'll probably know that the orientation of the plate matters immensely when re-assembling. Plus always the worry of dropping it etc. It might be good to have it professionally cleaned.

+1 That's where we go too. The yurt is a great option, stayed in that a year ago. This year we camped, I had 2 decent nights and the rest cloudy. If you get good weather it’s a great place for Astro. Small world!

Ah...the 2” legs will have sorted the stability, now I understand, thanks.

Really? I think I’d be alright with that set-up for casual DSO hunting, but for Luna or Planetary I’m thinking a bit shaky shaky... I’ve mounted a heavy 4” (TAL) frac on an AZ4 and it was too much for detailed work.

Checked my purchase history last night, unfortunately it takes me back to the page where you then select the screw size from a drop down box....no idea what I actually ordered....I’ll check my spares draw later as the plastic bags that the screws arrived in may be labelled (and hopefully I didn’t use all the contents and then chuck the bag). Not being very helpful am I...apologies.

Don’t buy it. I’ve had one and the integral Barlow causes issues, as you can’t really collimate the scope using a cheshire or laser. The 114/500 would be much better, as that’s like any other Newtonian design. If you want a newt for imaging then perhaps consider the SW 130pds....it was specifically designed for Astrophotography, as it has an oversized secondary to fully illuminate the field when using a camera. Someone else might be able to comment further on that, but if you can stretch to it, that would probably be better for your needs.

Hmm...I replaced the bracket on my C8, I bought the screws from eBay ages ago...I might be able to track down what I bought in my order history...bear with...

Just three now. Nothing major or top end. One Evo 90, one Startravel 102 and one Celestron C8. The C8’s my main scope. I’m a moon man mainly and love my C8. I tend to use the Startravel on holiday, goes on the parcel shelf beautifully and is nicely compact.

Ha ha, you will now be known as Dob4life?? (Grin!)

Collimating is easy, just takes getting to know. Never clean the mirror. No...a 90 can’t compete with a 6” for visual use.

Okay. You definitely want the longer 1200mm fl tube. I’ve had one, it’s very good. If you might perhaps do 50:50 solar system / deep sky then get the dob. You’ll be able to swing it about the sky at leisure. But planets will move out of the view in about 10 seconds at high power. You have to keep nudging the scope to track. If it’s 100% solar system, you will want tracking...the EQ3 that comes with the mounted version is possibly also a little wobbly with that sized tube. I had mine on the EQ5 with tracking and it was just about acceptable. But no nudging...planet stays in centre of view...more detail seen.

Same here... I was wondering if the dob mentioned is a longer FL model or a short F5 type. If it’s the long one... it will be better on planets than either refractor...you do lose tracking but the view should make up for that...

What’s the focal length of the 6” dob?

I have an Evo 90, nice starting scope and reviewed it some years back, I’ll send you a pm with the link to that. Whilst the scope itself is good on the Moon, I think you’ll need more aperture for planets. The mount that comes with it is wobbly at high power and focusing precisely is tiresome due to the wobbles. For that reason I mount mine on an EQ5 when I can...with the Evo being so light, this changes the game considerably for the better. The Evo for me performs really well on the Moon as mentioned, good views (with some chromatic aberration granted). But it’s lacking slightly on planets due to the 90mm aperture, 100mm would be better... If I were you, the 102/1350 will give better views. There is more aperture, you will start to see good detail on Jupiter for example, as oppose to thinking “did I?”....the longer focal length will also make focusing easier. You will however want an EQ5 or the Bresser equivalent as a minimum, that long tube will amplify any slight breeze and shake your view otherwise. Welcome to planet observing, it’s a fascinating pastime.

Nice! What scope? Refractors, particularly good ones, can be pushed hard. Edit a few days later - just seen your signature, sorry...it was the Orion triplet...

What if you try rotating the eyepiece, or diagonal, or camera? If the aberrations rotate (especially the wispy bit at bottom right) then it’s the rotating bits at fault. If not...it’s the scope. Also look straight into the front of the scope and look for anything that is shiny but shouldn’t be. Could be light coming off an unwanted source.

So true John, yes. All aberrations drop of with focal ratio...I’d like to try one of those F15 fracs (think johninderby bought a 90mm one recently, looking forward to his report on that one.)

Looks good. Can’t wait to hear how it performs on the Moon.

You know, with the lighter nights, my review took a couple of months ha ha. Please take as much time as you like (you might want to wait for the darker nights). Absolutely no rush and only if you are able and feel comfortable with it. ATB Steve