dweller25

I really do not want to hijack the OP’s thread and understand the issues you have with a large aperture Scope like your 18” My experience in the UK is that my 5” Tak ALWAYS shows more planetary detail than my 4” Tak and a 10” Newtonian USUALLY outperforms both on the planets, unless the seeing is poor - then the smaller refactors will show a steadier image than the Newt but the level of planetary detail will still be very low in both types of scope. There have been several constructive replies to the question asked by the OP and alternatives have been discussed too, but in the end it’s up to the OP to decide what he/she would like to do, but I think we all agree that you cannot go far wrong with a 4” Tak 👍🙂

Here are the thoughts of a world famous refractor manufacturer....... https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/articles/how-to/what-is-the-best-planetary-telescope-r402

All the 4” Taks are probably very similar in performance - but honestly a cheaper 10” Newtonian will be better on the planets.

I suspect there is very little difference, perhaps you may be better considering the new FC100DZ ?

It is worth spending the extra money on the Bresser and First Light Optics are great to buy from. An 8” Dobsonian will give serious performance for a very long time. Dobsonians are very easy to setup - the base and scope can be carried outside separately if required in two trips at the most. Collimation is just ensuring the mirrors all line up with each other - there are loads of guides on the net which take longer to read than the actual process takes 😀 The Bresser is supplied with a 25mm eyepiece giving x49 which is good for deep sky and the Moon, perhaps a barlow first then another eyepiece later would be a good first step.

Hello @AliP80 and welcome to SGL. The 8” Dobsonian is an excellent scope for beginners and experienced users too and can be upgraded in the future to a fully motorised/ tracking telescope as it suits you. It will easily show a wealth of detail on the Moon and planets and as you have dark skies will perform well on the deep sky objects too.

Good suggestion 👍

The Skymax 127 is a good 5” scope - how about buying a 32mm eyepiece for it to give x47 and an exit pupil size of 2.7mm ? https://www.365astronomy.com/32mm-GSO-Plossl-Eyepiece.html https://www.telescopehouse.com/televue-32mm-plossl-eyepiece-1-25.html

Hello @Plissken and welcome to SGL For deep sky objects you may be better with more aperture than 72mm. Have you thought about a Dobsonian ?

See this thread on Cloudynights - I suspect it is the same guy ? Sounds like there was a problem with the visual back. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/695985-i-tried-to-collimate-my-sct-after-2-hrs-i-didnt-do-much/

I think it’s too late for that as the OP has been tinkering 😩 I must have been unlucky as my C6 and C9.25 needed collimating, however my C8 was spot on 🙂

Sorry - but don’t expect miracles

That is exactly what I did - it worked well 👍

How do slightly out of focus star images look ? When well collimated you should see several perfect concentric circles like this....

@Captain Magenta I suspect your primary is not pointing directly at your secondary so would suggest you focus (pun intended) on that first. Looking at the scope from the front in daylight and examining the hall of mirrors may help you to get reasonably good collimation.

Here is a little info...... https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/429506-diamond-z/

Not really, just wait for a clear night and use the Moon to align the finder

Lots of factors can give an unsteady image..... Target at a low altitude Scope not cooled properly - a scope stored outside in a garage/shed will still need a little time to reach true ambient temperature. Observing over the roofs of houses giving off heat Scope set up on concrete giving off heat - grass is best High wind speeds The Jet stream Your video is quite good given it was windy 👍

I also had the VX8L. To align the finder during the day on a church spire around 1/4 mile away I had to use all the extension tubes in the focuser. Once under the stars I had to remove one extension tube to get focus. I also moved the primary to it’s furthest setting from the secondary.

@Neil H You will not need the extension tube when you focus on astronomical targets

Good advice from Stu 👍

Moon & Venus taken with an iPad 19:20UT

Unexpectedly I am enjoying ST Picard. It’s pitched just right for Patrick Stewarts age and the storyline is intriguing. It’s good 🙂

No,no @Vicky050373, I think your scope is the most interesting 👍

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