John

Posted in error.

20 minutes ago, Louis D said:

I had to go back to my Svbony zoom write up to remind me of what I saw in the 3.5mm Pentax XW versus the Svbony zoom at 3mm:

So, I'd recommend looking for color fringing on bright stars as you move them center to edge.  The XW shows none anywhere while the Svbony zoom shows increasing amounts toward the edge.

I have not noticed colour fringing with the Svbony 3-8 zoom, even at the shorter settings. I have let Saturn drift right across the field of view a few times at the 4mm and 3mm settings and the image remained sharp and well defined even as it slipped behind the field stop edge. Similarly with the tight double star Pi Aquarius. 

My scopes are not that fast though - F/6.5 - F/9.2.

I don't tend to spend time looking for faults in optics these days though. If something pops out I notice it but while the image remains good, I'm good with the eyepiece 👍

I will be interested to see how the Svbony 3-8 does on Sirius and the Pup star later this year though 🙂

Good write up @Franklin 👍

I used the Svbony 3-8 zoom with my TMB/LZOS 130 F/9.2 last night. I did compare it casually with the Nagler 2-4 zoom and the 3.5mm Pentax XW but didn't notice any significant differences, apart from the AFoV.

With the somewhat variable and cold conditions for observing last night detailed comparisons, when using magnifications of 300x plus, were a little futile I felt. Perceived differences could be just as much caused by variations in seeing, local heat emissions, thin high clouds or even a watering observing eye (due to the cold).

I might also not be such a fussy observer these days, having not been able to notice any difference between a Tak TOE 4mm and the Nagler 2-4mm zoom on the occasions when I compared them back in the summer, despite a number of other folks assuring me that there is a noticeable difference 😉

8 minutes ago, Captain Scarlet said:

....but I could only sit and look for brief moments before guiding the rest of the group......

 

That is a challenge when doing outreach or leading a session - you don't get much time to observe yourself 🙄

Good for you and your accomplices for turning out though 🙂

6 minutes ago, Paz said:

...It was cold out but after years of gradual improvements I'm happy with my cold weather gear. I use Sorel boots with added sheepskin insoles and heat holder socks, and coming in after an hour my feet were cooking in their own heat because it can't get out! The same with my hands using Scott mitts.

There's another nice potential niche for FLO - tried and tested astronomy observing clobber ! 🙂

Clouded out here so I've bought things inside.

Probably for the best - the good stuff was getting very elusive and the cold was starting to bite 😬

It's been really mixed here. Some glorious moments, lots of clouds (a proper invasion now !), short wind gusts and quite a bit of seeing unsteadiness as well.

In the good moments Jupiter looks superb with so much detail it's difficult to take it in. Then there is a wobble and it's as if a wet sponge has been wiped across the planet, smearing the details. Then some cloud cover and then a brief few seconds of brilliant stuff again.

All this to take in while your warmth gradually seeps into the night air. And yet we stick at it !!! 😁

"You don't have to be mad to be a visual astronomer in the winter ....... but it does help !" 🤪

2 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

.....The Jet stream is clear tonight but the stars were twinkling earlier which isn’t a good sign. It sure is cold here 🥶

 

 

Same here and why I was a bit puzzled by the poor seeing 🤔

Cold here as well 🙄

15 minutes ago, IB20 said:

Man, that is one fantastic looking scope. What’s the OTA details including length, if you don’t mind me asking?

It is a 130mm F/9.2 triplet so 1200mm focal length. The OTA is made by APM in Germany, the objective and cell by LZOS in Russia and the optical design by Thomas M Back of the USA. Mine is an older version of the one reviewed here by @DirkSteele (Matthew):

The APM TMB LZOS 130-1200 f9.2 apo review | Alpha Lyrae (alpha-lyrae.co.uk)

The seeing seems steadier now but that could be because Saturn has risen more and I've been using that as a yardstick.

I've just managed to see Neptune and it's brightest moon Triton, which is always a nice "catch" 🙂

9 minutes ago, Neutrinosoup said:

The issue with the TV zoom was that I was using it on smaller aperture apos…..and found that I only ever really used the 4mm or 3.5mm setting. I sold it and replaced with a Delos 4.5 eyepiece. Maybe I’d have liked the 6-3mm version better.

I find that I use down to 3 mm quite regularly with my 100mm, 120mm and 130mm refractors. 2.5mm from time to time and it's nice to have. 2mm - not often. I also now have the Svbony 3-8mm zoom which is becoming a regular fixture in the diagonals of my refractors. 

26 minutes ago, Chandra said:

In my humble opinion it can be called a barge, I think they do not have to be oval, since in that case we would talk about dark spot or condensation. In fact, "bar", "barge" or "dark rod" would be different names for the same phenomenon, especially when it occurs in the NEB (which is the band most prone to it), it would be a partial darkening in the band or a elongated dark spot... However, from the photo perhaps it could also be considered a projection, which is a prominence of the band over the area, which may or may not be darker than the band itself, and may be smooth or edged sharp. Honestly, I would have my doubts about how to rate it...

Very interesting. That is a very useful reference tool - thanks for posting it.

Lovely and clear here but, currently, the seeing is rather poor 😒

Blustery wind as well so wind chill is a factor.

I'm clear of the jetstream, if the forecasts are accurate, so it must be more localised issues.

Hopefully, it will get better 🤞

I had cloud cover all night last night 😒

Hoping for better things tonight though 🙂

45 minutes ago, Neutrinosoup said:

.....saying that my only experience of a zoom eyepiece the TV 2-4mm zoom wasn’t great…..

I find that one superb with my scopes, although I don't use it much with my 70mm F/6 travel scope.

The Nagler zooms are not really complex eyepieces - 5 elements. Clever design though.

@ollypenrice's point about travel scopes majoring on the widefield is an interesting one though.

I bought an "as new" Skywatcher "Classic" 200P dob recently and, now I've tweaked it a little, it is proving an excellent performer. I owned one many years back but I had forgotten how good these things are.

I bought mine to get a bit of aperture again after selling my 12 inch dob earlier in the year but I've found the 200P dob good pretty at the high magnification stuff as well. 

I use it quite often. I also use the NASA Dial-a-moon facility: NASA SVS | Moon Phase and Libration, 2023 and the excellent 21st Century Atlas of the Moon by Charles Wood and Maurice Collins as a more detailed reference.

Lovely image - the GRS detail especially !

I found this image taken within the last 48 hours by US imager Mike Spooner. It might to show the same feature in the NEB but it's a little straighter in this image. Of course Jupiter's features can change shape and position quite rapidly and the surface features rotate at different speeds. Makes it hard to keep track ! 🙄

10 minutes ago, Stu said:

 

Just found it on this image taken by Roy. Not a barge as it is not oval, what would we call it?

 

That could well have been what I saw. Looks like a wurst type sausage rather than a barge. Now whether it's linked in any way to those festoons of just happens to be located close to where they appear to derive ??? - no way to know I suppose 🤔

I agree with @Ricochet - a 6 inch F/8 dobsonian will give you the best planetary viewing you can get for your budget. Your budget will almost buy a new one but will certainly buy a very nice used one - they usually go for a bit less than £200. 

17 minutes ago, Bugdozer said:

Great picture, that's very impressive! 

Not mine (I don't image) but a simulation generated by Stellarium. I could only see Europa itself against Jupiters disk as it neared the limb of the planet and then, obviously, as it left the planetary disk.

Was Jupiter still in the field of view when you saw this faint point of light traverse the view ?

Was your scope driven ?

Nice report !

It was a very watchable event. I used my 100mm refractor to observe it last night:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/385898-what-did-you-see-tonight/?do=findComment&comment=4436418

That's a great setup and they are capable mounts. Mine (a Skytee II) carries my ED120 with ease and has handled my 130mm F/9.2 from time to time. I do use counterweights for the 130 but the ED120 does not need them.

The colour scheme of the Askar looks nicer in real life than it does in the promotional shots 🙂

My travel / ultra portable setup is a 70mm ED refractor on a light weight alt-azimuth mount on a sturdy photo tripod. The whole setup weighs just under 5kg.

Like @michael.h.f.wilkinson above I use a 1.25 inch diagonal for travel and 3 eyepieces: 20mm 68 Maxvision, Baader 24mm-8mm zoom and the Svbony 8mm-3mm zoom. I have a Lunt solar wedge if I want to do some white light observing.

If space is really limited I take either 11x70 or 8x56 binoculars instead. The travel scope setup is much more capable though.