John

I agree - I would like to see this scope tested by experienced astronomers with no financial or other interest in the product. My guess is that it might be good at some things but very average at others but you will need experienced observers to put it through it's paces on a wide range of targets including targets that really push it's performance capability. Comparisons with conventional equipment of similiar aperture would be good as "yardsticks" as well.

That eyepiece reminds me very much of the Aero ED 30mm - I wonder if they are related ?

Here is a lot more information on this particular meteorite Geoff. It was found near Dhofar in Oman hence it's name, Dhofar 007. It's basically an achondrite which cooled in a magma chamber within it's parent body way back at the formation of the solar system around 4.5 billion years ago: http://www.meteoritestudies.com/protected_DHOF007.HTM Through a variety methods of sample analysis, scientists can tell when the material originally formed, what it's constituent minerals and chemicals are, major events during it's life, approximately when it was ejected from it's parant body, how long it was in space and approximately how long ago it fell to Earth. Each meteorite tells it's own story and helps to unserstand what was happening during the early phases of solar system formation and sometimes major subsequent events.

This nice little piece of 4.5 billion years old rock. It's a culmulative eucrite type meteorite sample which formed deep within an equilibriated body, possibly the asteroid 4-Vesta:

Another little piece from space. Carbonaceous Chondrite type CV3. Interesting colours. The irregular shaped white bits are Calcium-Aluminium Inclusions (CAI's):

A small relic from the formation of the solar system arrived today. Nice chondrules !

Pity that SV don't have any importers / dealers this side of the Atlantic.

I don't know anything apart from coming across this: http://www.sharpstar-optics.com/index.php?l=en FLO used to be wary of low cost triplets, probably for good reason. That was a few years back though: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/blog/affordable-triplet-refractors.html

Interesting report John. I have wondered about these Bresser mak-cassegrains for a while. Thanks for posting something on this one

A similar idea was tried by Zaphod Beeblebrox - if you can't see danger, you don't need to be afraid ! He used Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses - available from all good Betelgeusian eyewear dealers

I found this theory of why pirates wore eye patches which is QI (quite interesting) "Actually, it looks like the only reason pirates wore eye patches was to keep one eye adjusted to darkness while boarding another ship. That’s right: If this theory is correct, they only wore the patch before and during a raid. Think about it: Pirates needed to be able to fight and ransack both above and below deck, and since artificial light wasn’t a thing, it could get pretty dark down there. A guy could trip on a treasure chest or something. It takes the human eye several minutes to adjust to darkness — however, this way, pirates could simply swap the eye patch and immediately be prepared to fight in the lower decks without constantly running into walls, which is something you’d probably want to avoid if you’re carrying a cutlass. Obviously we don’t know for sure that this was always the case, but this explanation does make more sense than “they all happened to lose one eye” or “they thought it would look cool.” True, you’re sacrificing your peripheral vision, but it’s better than having no vision at all. If you don’t believe us, it’s easy enough to try this yourself — just cover your eye with your hand for the next half hour and then walk into a dark closet. In fact, this method works so well that it’s still used by the American military today. Nighttime survival guides recommend keeping one eye closed during bright lights to preserve night vision, and the same goes for military pilots. So all those movie pirates wearing eye patches all the time? Turns out they’re just being extra careful." This does not explain need for the dodgy moustache, the parrot or the funny hat though

I got this little piece of the Moon in the mail today, and a few other meteorite bits too Here is the official classification on this one (North West Africa 8277) for those interested: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=59500

Good review Ben I had the 4mm Nirvana (old shape) and found it an excellent high power eyepiece. I think the older style and your new design share the same optics because the eye and field lenses, and they way that they are mounted, look identical in both designs. I think the new tapered eyepiece top shape and the thinner rubber eyecup look a better design ergonomically than the old inflexible twist up eye cup design. If they could just add a few more focal lengths to the range, they would really make an impact in the 82 degree niche I reckon.

Interesting feedback Ian. I continue to be impressed by the Aero ED 40mm clone that I bought a while back - sharp and pretty flat field right across even at F/6.5. If you get a chance to try one, it might be worth taking the opportunity. Meanwhile, I hope a 41mm Panoptic comes your way soon as well.

I did a double take there for a second - my ED120 is the same colour scheme and has the same focuser !. Your tube rings are more substantial than mine though. Very nice setup

I think the comments on the NPL related to it's comfort not being the same as the BST's ie: the latter has more eye relief, a larger field of view and a larger eye lens making it easier to view with. The review does not comment on the optical performance of the 8mm NPL which from my experience is very similar to the BST. The same comments could be applied to the Tele Vue 8mm plossl and indeed all other plossls and orthoscopics of that focal length - the smaller eye lens, tighter eye relief and narrower field of view (than the BST) are characteristics of the plossl and orthoscopic designs.

I saw the first launch where a booster came back down on land when we were in Florida in 2017. It wasn't a heavy lifter - just a single. Quite a quiet launch and a double sonic boom a few minutes later as the booster came back down. Only launch I've managed to actually see despite quite a few trips to Florida over the past couple of decades. I quite fancy a trip to see one of these heavy ones go off though - I'll have to start selling the plan to my other half !

Yep - the Skytee happened to be on the Berlebach and I couldn't be bothered to switch things around - keen to get out there ! Were you using the Mewlon ?

That was great to watch ! I thought one of the boosters that landed on land looked a little wobbly at one point but all 3 seem to have made it back down in good shape. It's surreal watching the pair of them coming down onto the pads side by side

Lovely Fozzie Got mine out tonight - the Moon is looking drop dead gorgeous right now

Glad it's working out well for you - bit of a step up from a Tasco 60mm It's a scope with a lifetimes observing potential so you should have years of satisfaction from it once you have mastered it's "little ways". You can't actually damage your eye by observing the moon without a filter with the scope but it will seem extremely bright so I'm not surprised that filtration is needed to make the view more comfortable. I wish I lived closer to you - I could bring along my 100 degree Ethos eyepieces and an O-III filter and blow our minds with with the views of globular clusters, the brighter galaxies, planetary nebulae and the wonderful Veil Nebula I've observed some of these targets with a 20 inch scope under dark skies so have some idea on what you have in store - you lucky person !

I guess lens supports = the foil spacers between the lens elements ? Some scope designs use spacer rings in place of foil spacers which would not be visible in images in the same way ?

I get on fine with binoculars but just have not taken to binoviewers. The ones I've tried work OK but I find that I prefer cyclops viewing with scopes.

Here is mine, Bristol Astronomical Society:

Hving had some good sessions with my 12 inch F/5.3 dob this week I think I'm swaying towards it as a one-scope option, if I had to have just one. I have some great refractors but the 12 inch dob takes me deeper and further into the Universe than any of them and if one of my scopes is going to still show me new stuff after the years that I've been in the hobby, it's the dob. Setup and tear down time is as quick as any of my other scopes as well.