John

Excellent seeing conditions tonight enabling my 130mm refractor to tease out some pale oval features in the planets South Temperate Belt. One has been called the Oval BA by regular observers. I can see 3/4 others around it at 240x. Quite hard to spot but they pop into view when the seeing is at it's steadiest.

A couple of nice barges along the north edge of the North Equatorial Belt as well.

These image from Sky & Telescope back in August shows these pale oval features (and barges) along with moon transits happening at that time:

Good seeing tonight though, isn't it ?

7 minutes ago, Stu said:

Can I be cheeky John and mention dual mounting capability? That’s the one thing the AZ100 has that I really value and stopped me hanging out for a T-Rex. I use it frequently, especially for White solar and Ha scopes side by side.

Not something I do but valuable for those that want to !

Joking apart, are these single product threads really beneficial for the forum as a whole ?

There are a number of things discussed in this thread that would have application and relevance to many mounts but I suspect it only really attracts AZ100 owners or prospective owners.

Just a thought !

Back out to Saturn and Jupiter with the LZOS 130 / 9.2 now. 300x - 350x is holding up very well so the conditions are top notch

Pi Aquilae was very interesting at 600x earlier

16 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Just carried my fully assembled and legs extended Uni 28 + AZ100 from gge to patio. Chucked on the Tak TSA 120. No counterweight. Viewing Jupiter at high mags almost immediately (what no cool down ? 😎). Works perfectly, gentle movements of slow mo.Bliss. 👍🏻

Just like the T-Rex then

This relates to my T-Rex mount rather than the AZ100 but I was somewhat surprised to find that the GMT 128 (basically an EQ6) tripod was less prone to vibrations than the UNI 28 when I compared them both recently.

So when I post pics of my TMB/LZOS 130 F/9.2 on the mount, you will see the steel GMT 128 tripod under it rather than my nice wooden Berlebach UNI 28. Having invested in a new EQ6 head for the UNI 28 I was a little disappointed in this result to be honest but there was no mistaking the tripod that fared better with the T-Rex. 

Sorry to introduce a non-Rowan mount but the thread had veered to tripods so I thought it was relevant.

My BB UNI 28 is still a great tripod to use with my Skytee II and Giro Ercole mounts of course.

As the T-Rex + GMT 128 does such a good job with the 130mm F/9.2 triplet (< 1 second vibration damp time), I don't feel the need for a BB Planet. I do try and keep the weight of my setups to a reasonable level as well - I like to be able to move the whole rig around the garden as needed.

I have seen Triton with my 130mm refractor on a couple of occasions when the transparency was good and it's elongation from Neptune favourable.

It's relatively straightforward now with my 12 inch dob.

I've found the Uranian moons slightly harder - I've only managed to see 2 of the 4 that are theoretically visible with my 12 inch.

15 minutes ago, Stu said:

Is my LZOS as good as an AP? I don’t know, and actually I’ve reached the stage where I don’t care much. It’s going to be plenty good enough for me I know that, so often it’s much better just to enjoy the blooming things and forget about what smidge of extra performance you may (or may not) be missing out on....

 

1 hour ago, Maideneer said:

I think this is my problem now, since I still haven't had any luck viewing anything other than planets, stars and the moon.  It's been a frustrating month 🤣

Looking into the Lumicon OIII and UHC narrowband filters now, I think that will help.  Is there a handy cheat sheet that shows popular targets that each filter is best used for?

It's not really a cheat sheet and takes a little reading but this article is an often linked and excellent resource:

https://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/filter-performance-comparisons-for-some-common-nebulae/

16 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

I just packed up for the night. The seeing is meh, waited an hour but it's not improving, even at the zenith the stars are wobbly. It's very strange because otherwise is a still and clear night. Grabbed a quick view of M2 and Neptune, but at high magnification it's a lost cause ☹️

Some consolation for my cloud cover then - sounds like the seeing would have been poor anyway !

I've just bought my setup in as well

1 hour ago, CraigT82 said:

Looking good here in Bristol. Got the 300p out for a bit of visual observing... alongside the H130p. Also got a 90mm aperture mask for the 300p so will try that too. 

Solid cloud now about 12 miles SW of you - I can see the Bristol "glow" reflecting off the bottom of it. Good for you if you have found a gap !

1 hour ago, GalaxyGael said:

Drooling. Tasty optics

Thanks - we did have a " show us your lickable glass" thread at one point but I've tended to resist that temptation 

4 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Surprisingly the thin high cloud disappeared to leave Tessa under clear skies.....

 

The opposite applies here, currently. My 130 is still out but under rather heavy and unbroken cloud cover

1 hour ago, Laurieast said:

Cloud moving south and east, going to arrive here soon (NE Derbyshire). Had been looking forward to clear skies all evening, according to the MET OFFICE! 😤

Update at 6p.m. , clouded out, heavy dark clouds. 

It was clear when I set my scope up an hour ago but that cloudy stuff has crossed the Severn from Cardiff and is now covering my sky

TMB/LZOS 130 F/9.2 triplet cooling on the T-Rex mount:

6 hours ago, Dave scutt said:

Hi orange smartie I only have a uhc filter can you let me know how Saturn nebula, ring nebula, owl nebula looks for a 0III filter thinking about getting one .

Thanks dave

In my opinion, the O-III is excellent when used on the Owl Nebula of these. For the others I tend to prefer a UHC or no filter at all if the sky is reasonably dark.

Messier 27, The Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula is another where a UHC can produce very pleasing results. Plus, it's a big planetary nebula compared with the others !

The bright globular cluster Messier 15 in Pegasus is worth a look as well.

Coloured double stars such as Albireo and Gamma Andromeda can impress too !

Oh, and the triple star Iota Cassiopeia is well worth a visit.

Looks promising here until around midnight at least so I will get a scope out tonight. Probably the 130mm refractor again.

I'd go with the TEC 140 as well. No disrespect at all to the TSA 120 of course.

Often these multiple element systems have the lenses arranged in more than one group, so you can find a doublet or a triplet set much closer to the focuser of the scope.

The TAL Apolar 125mm had 6 elements with just a singlet as the furthest forward and no low dispersion glass types used. It was pretty much apochromatic as I recall. I would not want to have to collimate one though !

Point 7 above is the focal plane, not a further element.

Great stuff

Looks like I picked the wrong night to take a break from observing

2 hours ago, Stu said:

....they just required too much faffing about....

 

That alone is usually enough to put me off using a piece of kit, unless it's capable of providing massive benefits.

I really don't like any additional complexity / faffing

Funny how these threads on forums often seem to turn into a "why I'm not keen on Tele Vue" thread

Doesn't seem to happen with, say, Takahashi threads though

Hey ho

I do see the effects of AD from time to time since the planets have been lower but never to the extent of feeling that I ought to be using an ADC. 

If others find one useful / beneficial, that's great so I'm not in the "against" camp, I just don't feel the need to use one myself

Similarly with a coma corrector for my 12 inch F/5.3 dobsonian.

It's good that these devices have been developed and are available for those who wish to use them though 

Is the eyepiece the older X-Cel (top picture) or the newer X-Cel LX (bottom picture) ?

Apparently the more recent design is a better performer in a number of ways to the older design, including the control of the aberration called astigmatism which makes the stars towards the edge of the field of view that "seagull" shape you describe.

Sounds like a good one tonight !

I'm having an evening off (of astronomy) after a late one last night so hope those out there tonight have fun

Meade or Tele Vue ?

I've been quite a fan of the Tele Vue brand for years now. I've owned / used most of their eyepiece types with the exception of the DeLite's which I've yet to try.

Currently I have these:

Good luck with building your own collection