MartianHill

The more cost effective Askar telescopes may well fall into the areas Daniel is discussing. Spherical aberration immediately comes to mind which can be an issue for visual observers at high powers for doubles and the planets but not for imagers.

Wow 😱👍

4 minutes ago, Elp said:

Won't this also apply to the SM125 as it's full length is 1000mm vs 870mm? Generally long refractors benefit from pier extension mounting unless if the pier/tripod is fairly high to begin with. Trying to see high altitude objects requires dexterity at times.

Yes to some degree but it’s not as front heavy being a doublet.

@bosun21

Between the two scopes you highlighted I would choose the doublet as it will cool faster and not be front heavy - the Askar 140 is a large triplet scope but may need to be mounted low in it’s tube rings to get correct balance so the eyepiece end will be low.

“What have you seen in a 5" Refractor, that you've not seen in an 8" newt?”
 

Nothing - the 5” refractor was an APO triplet.

1 hour ago, Carbon Brush said:

Interesting to note.

Looking when the OP last visited. There has been the opportunity to look at all of the questioning and helpful posts made earlier than this one.
No photos or other scope/eyepiece information, or 'fixed now' thanks, reports have been forthcoming from the OP.
I have noticed a lot of 'help' posts being made by new members, usually followed by lots of helpful advice from established members, sometimes with requests for further information.
But all too often the new member does not respond.

In this thread a great deal was made of @900SL response.
Although some would not consider it to be the best worded response. It does comprise valid content.

OK moan over.

It happens, it’s no big deal, get over it, move on….

9 hours ago, Dioardais said:

i just got a new telescope and was looking at what was included.   I have a 20 mm eyepiece and i unscrewed in and the lens popped out.    It did not break but, one side is concave and the other is convex.   what side is up, or goes closest to my eye.    Thanks

Hello @Dioardais and welcome to SGL.

Just carefully reassemble the eyepiece and view a distant building, if the view is blurred or different between the middle and edges then reverse the eyepiece lens and check again.

2 hours ago, 900SL said:

Two things spring to mind.

Firstly. We are not mind readers, so details of scope, eyepiece and maybe a photo might help inform the reader.

Secondly, it's not rocket science to try it both ways to see what works. The odds are 50-50, after all

 

It may be worth bearing in mind that this forum is open to all ages, experience and ability levels.

It costs nothing to be positive and polite.

4 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

I hesitate to share this as my eyepiece looks so dirty but I did take a quick snap of Mercury through the scope on 24th March. Showing a nice phase

Baader wonder fluid will sort the dirt out 👍

16 minutes ago, Bazz said:

Wouldn't it be fantastic if it blew. Let your imaginations run wild on this one instead of speculating on just how long as no one knows. 

Are you being Sirius ? 🤣

3 minutes ago, quasar117 said:

If I do buy from FLO, will they check collimation before it is send out?

Probably not, but if there is an issue they are VERY good at sorting it out 👍

13 minutes ago, Stu said:

Indeed, a lovely scope. Don’t hang around too long if you’ve been wanting one!

Wanting and reality are sadly two very different things 🤷🏻

Hmmmm that FS128 looks nice in the For Sale section 🙂

It looks like the Mysterons have gotten to that mirror 😱

4 minutes ago, GasGiant said:

My misses can go in the store, spend 5 minutes looking at all the different varieties of product X and then end up buying exactly the same one she always does. LOL. Drives me mad 😂

You are lucky, my missus can go into a store, see something she likes but then go and check all the other stores for something better only to go back to the first store hours later to buy the item !

Hello @Joe G

If you download “Stellarium” it will show you where the planets are for any date/time, plus other night sky objects too.

11 hours ago, Ags said:

My partner and I are talking a lot about a move to sunnier climes. The south of France is our current fixation. I have the option to work from anywhere, so why not?

If there’s nothing keeping you in the Netherlands then why not indeed 🙂

46 minutes ago, callisto said:

Lovely set up... might be joining you soon with a TSA 120 🤞

FLO have one in stock 🥳

Hi Nika, this may help….

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

That’s a shame @John but you have other great refractors 👍

24 minutes ago, John said:

Yes, and I have still not completely ruled out another 6 inch refractor at some point. But it will be an F/7 or F/8 I think. Back then I was smitten with the idea of a long and larger aperture refractor. The Istar Perseus AT150 that I acquired was optically very good but it was a beast of a scope to find a suitable mount for. It rather dwarfed my ED120 and ED102SS:

Still, we live and learn 🙂

I still rather like long refractors as my avatar testifies. 

That Istar is really impressive John, you must have needed an equally impressive mount  ?

11 minutes ago, John said:

Over the years I've been in the astronomy hobby I've found the best cure for an "itch" is to scratch it. I read a lot of different view points from a lot of different sources but there comes a time when only "seeing for yourself" will do. 

Occasionally I have regretted that, and the example of the 6 inch F/12 achromat refractor that I acquired, as mentioned by @Stu earlier in the thread is one of those. But I learned from it and it's quite possible that had I not actually tried it, I would still have that itch of curiosity for a really long, large aperture refractor. They do look so alluring 🤩

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Wow !!!

Excellent images, those SW Maks are really good 👍

2 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

None of your business.

Oh come on, it’s a hobby !

47 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

 

I think you missed the point 

Soooo, why do you keep looking at 120/125mm scopes ? 🙂