John

Meade 56mm plossl, if you can find it in stock anywhere: https://www.tringastro.co.uk/meade-series-4000-super-plossl-56mm-2-11070-p.asp GSO Superview 50mm: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p809_GSO-Superview-2--ERFLE-50mm-Rich-Field-Eyepiece---52--Field.html

Looking possibly good here for another look at Neowise in the early hours. If I can stay awake - only got 4 hours sleep last night Crop of one of my images from this morning:

Trouble is, 82 degrees AFoV and long eye relief don't generally go together unless the lenses within the eyepiece are massive and it then becomes a 2 inch eyepiece simply to get the support it needs in the focuser. If you can settle for 76 degrees the eye relief moves out into more comfortable territory without the eyepiece needing to be too large and heavy. These Orion LHD 80's apparently have long eye relief but as you can see, 9mm is the longest focal length in the 1.25" fitting: https://uk.telescope.com/Orion-LHD-80-Degree-Lanthanum-Ultra-Wide-1252-Eyepieces/e/274.uts The other option might be the discontinued Tele Vue Type 4 12mm Nagler which has 17mm of eye relief in a hybrid 2 inch / 1.25 inch format body.

I wish I knew how to properly interpret diagrams of this type And this (although I can make a little sense of this one): The above objective seems to be classed as a "super apochromat" but I'm not sure what the definition of that term is

Sometimes yes and sometimes I go straight in with the zoom / barlow combination. Depends what I'm observing.

The good thing about a refractor obsession is that you can (generally) fit them all into the same room for a photo Get an aperture obsession and that soon becomes difficult unless you have a really big house ! Do you think you would have the same obsession if you lived under dark skies ? (serious question)

Software-wise I use (all free): - Cartes-du-Ciel - Stellarium - Virtual Moon Atlas - Virtual Planet Atlas I've had a couple of versions of Starrynight but I didn't get on with those. I have Skysafari 5 Pro on my mobile and a tablet but I don't use those devices when I'm observing. My main use for the mobile phone is occasionally snapping pics of the moon ! I've got a copy of Nortons somewhere but much prefer the S&T Pocket Sky Atlas which has become an indispensable observing tool for me.

The S&T Pocket Sky Atlas for use at the scope and Interstellarum for further reference. To my mind those two complement each other rather than compete.

I use Cartes du Ciel for comet locations and it is pretty much spot on, as it was in this case

What else did you think it would be Gerry ? Most plossls are like that. The difference with the TV is that slight inward curvature on the outward facing lens surfaces. I think that was enough at that time to get a patent. I read somewhere that Vixen use a similar figure for their NPL. Come to think of it, Vixen used a similar symmetrical design and called it an "orthoscopic" in the past. As we know it's not just the optical design but the quality of the glass used, the figuring, polishing, coating, element mounting, baffling etc, etc etc that makes the difference.

This is from the Tele Vue plossl patent documentation: Slight curvature of the outer facing lens surfaces ? Chris Lord !

I was lucky that my garden actually gives me a reasonably clear horizon in the right direction, for a change !

If you can post a photo of the focuser as you have it setup for observing that will help diagonse the issue

It was DSLR. 1 sec, ISO 800, 200mm FL, F/5.6. Single shot, just tweaked a bit for contrast. Not naked eye (quite) but visible in the camera viewfinder and I would guess any optical instrument. If it brightens a touch more it will be naked eye visible I'm sure. Might be now to the eagle eyed with low NE horizons. Best comet for years for me

You got it though Dave. I'm off to bed. So excited though. 60 year old bloke hopping about the flower beds like a kid with his binoculars, tripod, camera etc. What a lark !

Nice view here !

Brilliant view here with 11x70 binoculars. Snapped this hasty image:

As you so rightly say Dave, a PROPER comet at last !!! Would be naked eye if the sky was a touch darker I reckon but really good with the binoculars.

Just managed to see Neowise with my 11x70 binoculars. Very low in the NE. Absolutely wonderful !!!!! Just an amazing sight !!!! Bright nucleus and a long spreading, elegant tail. Get out there and see it. One of the best, if not the best, comet I've seen in the 30+ years I've been at this hobby

The Baader Morpheus eyepieces would make a lot of sense in your scope. They have a 76 degree field of view and are very good performers by all accounts. You can (nearly) get 2 of those for the price of one Delos. The 17.5mm Morpheus would be a great eyepiece to add to your others.

Many years back I found that an 8 inch F/6 dobsonian provided slightly better planetary views than my Celestron C8 did, rather to my surprise. Given that the dob cost £150 (used) and the C8 about 5 times that I was happy to let the C8 go and invest in some nice eyepieces for the dob. Still a big dob fan today

We had a lot of luck on Venus We always had a ball on Mars Meeting all the groovey people We've rocked the Milky Way so far We danced around with Borealice We're space truckin' round the the stars Come on let's go Space Truckin' They don't write stuff like that today

I use 10x50's and also a pair of 8x56's which are rather nice for astronomy. I use porro prism binoculars rather than the roof prism design because I prefer the ergonomics. Is a roof prism as good for astronomy purposes ? - not sure that I know the answer to that one

I have some rather tall Leylandii along the side of the back garden. Yes, they block the sky to some extent to the N and E but also they also block neighbours lights very effectively thus making observing much more feasible from this garden. So I'll forgive them the chunk of sky that they hide from me and wait up later for targets to rise above the Leylandii line.

Plossls ? ....... eh, in them days we were lucky to have a bit of broken glass to peer though .....