Scoobyroo

On 07/08/2022 at 10:05, Astro_Dad said:

It’s the ‘scope I currently have with me on holiday, and I’ve had a couple of excellent nights observing with it under clear dark skies (I’ve posted my observing reports on SGL if interested). 

Andrew.  Was just trying to track this down.  Was this in the 'Astro Lounge' here in the forum? https://stargazerslounge.com/forum/12-the-astro-lounge/ ?  ...or elsewhere in the (assuming that's what you meant by SGL? 😋)

*edit* Found it!... in fact, I found several on the 'What did you see tonight' thread 👍

45 minutes ago, SthBohemia said:

haha, there is a feed somewhere within SGL regarding seeing colour within ring nebs, some said they see a bit with an 8" newt 🙂 I have not seen any colour in any of 'em using a clubs 16" newt 😞  I am either colour blind or certain other persons have drunk a few 2 many Fosters Lager during obs!

Hahaha... thanks for letting me down gently! .  Expectations reset.  I've just come across this post... fantastic reference for anyone else stumbling across this thread in the coming months / years (to be fair though, I'd take that M42 view in a heartbeat...  no colours required!... now I'm even more excited lol).  

25 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

If not already read - mostly covered here though. 

Taking a look now.. apologies, perhaps I needed more search time here after all before posting. Doh...

43 minutes ago, SthBohemia said:

^^ most appear as patches of misty fog 🙂 Fun to find...

Ooops forgot to type.. Ya the filters screw onto the EP 🙂 

Thanks... it seems obvious to anyone with a telescope... but it sure confused me for a second! haha.   I can only assume that the EP's on that 150 then don't support the thread or something.  Winder if the barlow I'm thinking of would... hmmm.  I'll see what FLO have to say.

38 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

Welcome to the forum @Scoobyroo !

Both the 127 Mak and 150p versions are excellent 'scopes.

 If you are certain planets are you main interest then the mak would be hard to beat, the 150p is probably the more versatile instrument that will grow with you should your interests change/develop. The weakest element is the helical focuser, and the need to make a light shroud 

Lots of videos and stuff to read on both but I came across this recently on SGL and it's relevant here.

fun fact... I stumbled across his  You Tube channel last night (he does a lot of live streams with Astrophotography) and ended up watching his streams on the 150p until 3am <yawn>. I was amazed at what he could pull from the 150 and an 8-second exposure and his Live view of Saturn was great!  That said, for some reason my head wants to see it 'live' with my own eyes... not with long exposures and the like.  I almost feel like that's then not what I'm really seeing... i know, irrational! lol.   I know that not possible in my budget, but I do genuinely wonder just what I would see 'live' with a 150p on some of the largest DSO's.  Misty fog alone (thanks SthBohemia for the steer), misty shapes, maybe some colour?  I know I'm not buying Hubble or anything, so I guess if it was a misty fog on both scopes, but the 127 yielded much better (relatively) planetary stuff, that would tip me over.   I'm sorry, not expecting the answers.. just thinking out loud.  The problem with a lot of videos is that they seem to time lapse DSO (because they look great), but don't really show what the live view is like.  I did pop the details of these scopes into https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/... it sure looked like it could be impressive, but I suspect this is more representative of scale, rather than visuals  

33 minutes ago, SthBohemia said:

^ They are made from a sheet or 2 of cardboard coated with laquer AND if not a lazy B like me painted!!!

Thanks.. I've been watching the DIY videos... and also the PFT tape MOD to try and help with the lacklustre focuser

25 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

yes please . 

Stu

 

Will do

1 hour ago, happy-kat said:

Virtuoso mounts have freedom find capability great for if you run out of power, loosen the clutches and use the mount manually. Virtuoso both track and using the synscan app have goto functionality. Synscan also incorporates using a planetarium such as skysafari pro or plus app which gives another goto interface. Freedom find is great (once mount aligned) as it makes observing robust as the mount doesn't lose where it was looking if the telescope (not mount) was knocked or moved manually.

Thanks for posting!... that actually sounds like a great function I hadn't considered

42 minutes ago, SthBohemia said:

A magnification factor of 250x is generally the limit with any scope due to atmosphere etc etc etc.

Barlows, eyepieces- The mid range (priced) Chinese made items are much of a muchness as most are a stock item with various brand names on them. All will give reasonable/good results.

One mid yellow moon filter is sufficient and/or an 82a filter.

P.S. Realise that Jupiter visually at 250x appears as a cricket ball at 20 metres, do not expect views of any of the planets that even vaguely resemble the computer generated photoshopped images that some members produce. 

Sage advice, thank you.  Don't worry, I've had my initial expectations reset after watching countless hours of YouTube videos.... haha.  Now you've got me leaning towards the 127 Mak (though it does wipe out my budget - haha)... whilst I'd love to see some Deep Space Objects, the main even for me are definitely planets and the moon! (could look at that all night).  Would you be able to comment around how much poorer views of deep space objects might be from a 127 Mak, compared to the 150's I listed?  I know it's very specific, but I guess generally the question is, would it be a night and day difference, or actually relatively slight?  A little more detail on objects in our Solar system would definitely trump a little more on Deep space stuff, but if it means not seeing them at all (or very little), it might be a step too far?  As for the moon filters... these screen onto the eyepiece, right?... not the bucket?  Thanks

27 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Not wishing to capitalise on here but  i do have a 127 Mak up for sale and its almost brand new at a good price , of course if interested . I second the Mak for planets and Moon , of course you lose a wide field of view, but that then opens up the "one scope is not enough " debate . 

You've peaked my interest for sure (part of my fee with buying used, was not knowing how well looked after it had been... if you're here and taking the effort to post, that's good enough for me!) .  Would you prefer I dropped you a PM?... would definitely like to hear more about what you have there. 

Thanks everyone for the messages so far... please keep them coming if you have time, I can't tell you how useful they are!

Oh wow!... I've just stumbled across this group after much research (and firing an email off to FLO just this morning!).  I have so many questions on this scope and have poured over this thread, some super useful stuff.  I do have several questions and wondered if I might share them here.  Apologies the format is pretty long (it's essentially an except from the email I sent FLO earlier, so forgive the fact that i'm seemingly addressing only one person), but given you guys have some hands on time with the scope, I was wondering if you may have some thoughts/experience around some of my questions?:

If long posts annoy apologies, please feel free to skip. 

So, at the ripe old age of 50, I’ve always wanted a telescope, even since I picked up a crappy terrestrial spotter scope at a car boot sale when I was 18 and first pointed it up at the moon.  I’ve never taken the plunge, mainly due to cost ‘v’ fear I’d not use it often enough but also because I knew that I’d be researching it forever and would start drifting from a £100 budget, to a £300 budget, to a £500 budget and onwards as I started weighing up all the pros and cons.  So whilst I’m not coming in completely blind (based on a few weeks of research) and have some family informed questions (I hope), please know however that this is indeed my first rodeo (so there may be a few stupid questions in the mix)!

My main considerations / drivers:

• Small enough leave out in the utility room, to ensure it gets used
• Light enough to pop in the car and seek some darker skies occasionally
• I really don’t want to be spending any more than £500 for everything (scope + additional lenses)… this budget has increased from £150 based on research to date lol.  I appreciate that as a customer I'm never going to make you rich and I also understand this budget won’t get me a lot…  but I’d like to cut my teeth on something modest and get a foot in the door.
• I have reset my expectation of what this budget will bring… main uses will be for Moon + planets (especially Jupiter and Saturn).  Seeing Jupiter's Red spot (it’s cloud bands?), the rings of Saturn (the gaps in between?) their moons, some detail on Mars - even if it’s just a tiny slither of white ice-cap on an orange disc.  I also like the idea of being able to see some deep sky stuff also… otherwise I fear my interest could wain over time (there are only so many planets after all).
• I appreciate that telescopes will generally favour one of the other (Planets ‘v' deep sky), but am hoping my pick below is a fair sweet spot… but I’d love your thoughts?
• I am very unlikely to do astrophotography, I’m very much interested in real-time observation (otherwise it will feel like I’m just looking at pictures online…  just my opinion, no offence to those that love it of course).
• I understand a 6” aperture is a good sweet spot (budget, weight, usability, hobby, quality - due to light collection capabilities)
• Whilst I appreciate that all good astronomers locate and track starts themselves (a skill I hope to gain).  I really am thinking that a ‘Go-To’ type system will help me remain engaged and at least take some of the ‘pressure of learning’ away from me initially.
• I understand that lenses typically provides on these budget scopes are not the best (my pick below comes with a 25mm and a 10mm)… as such I think I’d like to purchase an addition lens (am thinking a 6mm) and a mid-range (price) 2x Barlow (am thinking the Celestron Omni XL (model 93326))
• The scope will be a social thing also… likely to be mainly used in my back garden, sometimes with friends
• I understand that the Flextube design, brings downsides (potential light contamination / dew issues).  I think the pro’s (weight / size) outweigh these… I have also seen some DIY shroud Mods which I think will mitigate any issues, should they become a factor.

Scope shortlist (based on the above / my research):

Sky-Watcher Heritage-150P Flextube - £249 (FLO price)

Sky-Watcher Heritage-150P Flextube Virtuoso GTi  - £379 (FLO price)

Sky-Watcher Skymax-127 Virtuoso GTi - £499 (FLO price)

My questions:

• I think I’m airing on the side of the Heritage 150p Virtuoso GTi… mainly due to the GoTo system and the larger Aperture (larger than the 127’s anyway)).  What do you think to this decision?… am I close to making a good one?
• Assuming you agree that these are fairly good choices, one of the doubts I have is due to the 127’s price point.  I’m struggle to understand why a scope with a lower Aperture, has a higher price point.  Clearly it must be a better scope and I do note that it has a longer focal length (1500mm, instead of the 150’s 750mm) - which I understand is better from planetary spotting?  But even so, given it seems to have the same GoTo system and a much less light collecting capabilities, why is it significantly more expensive?  I basically fear that I’m missing something obvious, especially given my use case.  The 127 seems to have a smaller footprint and isn’t too much heavier, so if it was significantly better, maybe that’s where I should be going instead (though that would mean no extra accessories day 1)?
• I understand that a Barlow by its nature can essentially offset the focal distance challenge, by essentially increasing the distance light has to travel before it gets to the eye (increasing focal length)… also increasing magnification of course.  Assuming this is accurate (i.e. my research is correct), would a 150mm light bucket + 750mm focal length + a good x2 Barlow / 6mm lens combo, best (or at least match) a 127mm light bucket + 1500mm focal length and stock lenses?
• I note that the 150p has a practical power potential of x300, whilst the 127 has x254… in my mind this again makes me question why the 127 has a price premium, but also appreciate the maths at play (and that expecting these top ranges on a budget scope is probably not realistic).  However it does again make me wonder if the 150p with a good lens / Barlow combo will on balance give me a better experience?
• By my maths a x2 Barlow and a 6mm lens should get me around x250…  do you think that’s pushing the 150p a bit too far?
• I have downloaded the manual for the Virtuoso scopes, however I remain confused as to whether the scopes simpley ‘find’ your target in the sky, or if they also ‘track’ the target?  Ideally I’d like it to track as well (especially useful in social situations, as manual tracking is just not going to end well lol).
• Would I be tied into the free Synscan software that comes with telescope, or will their GoTo system also incorporate into other software, should I look to (need to) upgrade at a later point?
• With regards to the x2 Barlow, I was thinking the Celestron Omni XL (model 93326) (unfortunately you don’t seem to stock it).  Have you any views on this Barlow?
• Do you have a 6mm lens you could recommend?  Again, I don’t want to scape the bottom of the barrel price-wise, but also want to stay reasonable (and inline with the scopes capabilities… no point in having the best 6mm lens and be bottlenecked by the scope).  Do you think a 6mm is a good choice given the packaged lenses, or should I be looking 4mm (expect not, too much pressure on the scope to perform), or maybe replacing the stock 10mm (I hear it’s not great).
• I’m a little confused about moon filters.  I think that I should get one (to stop me burning my eyeballs out), but there seems to be two types.  A fixed filter (which seem to have a green hue?) and ones you can adjust (these possibly serve other purposes for other objects?).  I’ve also read conflicting reports as to whether the 150p will support it?  At first I thought this was because it placed a cap (lens) over the capture bucket…. But having looked again, it seems these are way smaller lenses which fit over the lens. Assuming so then, why woudn’t it be compatible?… is it due to the packed lenses with the 150 maybe?  Perhaps these are instead compatible with the x2 Barlow I am looking at… i.e. when using the Barlow, I will be able to add the filter?  Is there a filter I should avoid?

Thanks again for anyone sharing their thoughts... it really is a minefield out there and I have tried my best to info gather before asking questions.

P.S:  I'm pretty excited!