Tomjo59

This item has now been sold.

Orion Optics (UK) CT10L 250mm f6.3 Ultra Newtonian for sale Reluctantly selling, as getting a little too heavy for me to carry out to the garden these days. Will be replacing with a 5” refractor on an equatorial mount. This scope has given me many hours of pleasurable visual observing, with superb views especially of the moon and planets. In excellent condition, features carbon fibre sandwich tube, Orion Optics Dobsonian mount and Teleskop Services (TS) 8x50 straight finder scope. Primary mirror has a few dust spots, but nothing more serious (didn’t have the courage to remove and clean it before selling!) Three cooling fans in base of primary mirror cell. 2" Focuser (OC1-M) with reduction gearing and 2”/1.25” adaptor. Enhanced Hilux optical coatings, 1/10th wave PV. Comes with original Zygo wavefront analysis sheet from Orion Optics, dated Sept. 27th 2011. Focal length 1575mm. Weight of tube alone 12.5kg, with rings an additional 1.5kg. Tube fitted with carrying handle. Adjustable 4-vane spider, holding a 50mm diameter secondary mirror. £800. Open to sensible offers. Cash on collection. Due to size and weight, definitely collection only!

Thanks for that Mike. I’ve come to the conclusion that as far as deep sky is concerned, visually, one faint fuzzy blob looks much like another. I just think a good ED refractor will be better for my main objects of interest, planetary, lunar and solar - and much easier to move around. It would also suit webcam astrophotography of these subjects if I try it at a later date.

It's easy to take things like this for granted these days, but just stop for a moment, and think how incredible such an image would have seemed just a few years ago - of an object 600 ly away! We live in amazing times of discovery.

I was using a 32mm Baader Classic Plossl, giving me a magnification of 49x. I have used a 20mm, but because the stars are more widely separated, it isn’t really noticeable. As I say, the star images are tightly defined, so don’t think it is overlapping Airy discs. I live in a rural area, and my skies are pretty good (can see the milky way clearly).

A bit of sage advice required. Using my 10” Newt, if I look at a star cluster, or other part of the sky richly populated with stars, I see the individual stars as nice, clear pinpoints, as you would hope, given quality optics (1/10 wave mirror) and accurately collimated. However, the spaces between the closely separated stars appear to me to be a very dark grey, rather than pitch black. Is this my eyes, or could this due to internal reflections that might be improved by flocking? Any suggestions would be welcome. Apologies if this is in the wrong sub-forum.

Showing my age, but I remember when the Daily Express was a decent newspaper. Seems to have a weird obsession with the weather these days too.

This is where my 10" newt lives. It's a cheap plastic garden 'tool-tidy' in one corner of the garage. It is lockable, and the garage itself is secure. I have to carry it about 12 metres out to the patio, which is far enough!

If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present." - Lao Tzu

If you are starting out and planning to buy a 'scope, don't waste time agonising over the type or size for ages, like I did! Just buy one and get observing. If you get a good 4" refractor, or an 8" reflector, that will pretty much cover all bases, at least until you decide to specialise. The occasions when bigger apertures than this can be used to full potential are sadly very rare indeed, at least in the UK! Go for quality over quantity.

Bit of a mixed bag this year. Not a bad idea going to Oz, to give people an idea about the southern sky (and to avoid the British weather - pity about cyclone Debbie though!) I didn't mind too much them including a bit about UFOs, as lots of people seem to be interested, but it should have been rigorously critical, and it wasn't. Maybe it's a personal thing, but I can't help finding Liz Bonnin irritating. It is very clear she hasn't any real understanding of the material she is presenting to camera.

That sounds like the most likely explanation Carole. I have seen what you describe before, but usually once the plane has turned one can see the red or green navigation lights. Could have been at extremely high altitude, I suppose. Just for a few fleeting seconds, I thought I might have been the first to observe a new supernova!

Out observing for several hours last night, lovely clear night in south Wiltshire. Had just put the scope away, and glanced up at the sky one last time before retiring, when I noticed what appeared to be a bright star to the south-east of Regulus in Leo. This was at 00:55, U.T. Now this object appeared EXACTLY like a white first magnitude star, brighter than Regulus, and a bit brighter than Spica, so I would estimate about 0, similar to Vega, which was rising in the NE. It remained completely motionless, and as I watched, it slowly faded to invisibility over a period of about 30 seconds. If it had been moving, I would have assumed it was an Iridium satellite. I would estimate that it was at position 11h 0m RA, +07 Dec. I don't recall seeing anything quite like it before, and wondered if anybody else has seen it, or could suggest what it might have been?

Thought provoking, and it will probably come to pass. I'll be long gone by then though.