gurneyfan67

Hello sorry to hear about your misfortune. The lens that you are referring to is called  a reticle. It is attached to an eyepiece so that is can be used as a star guider in astrophotography. When I purchased my Tal 1M telescope in 2004 the reticle was supplied in the kit and screws into the bottom of the Tal 25mm Plossl. Your eyepiece is an earlier vintage so it appears differently but serves the same purpose. It may be difficult to find a replacement but honestly I have not used the reticle much.

I also had a pair of these and found that they would not stay in collimation. I was able to re adjust them but eventually they would go out . Another problem that I had with them was that in the warm summer months the focuser would "drift" when observing near zenith. I got them at a bargain price so I just gave them to a friend who used them for birding on a tripod.

The Double Cluster, Hyades, Pleiades, Beehive and the wonders of the constellation Orion.

When I bought my Celestron Cheshire the owner of the astronomy shop showed me how to use it on a 10" Dob and I used it to collimate my 110mm Tal Newt and the procedure was identical. It is not difficult you just need to go slowly when making adjustments.

I had an old pair of Japanese 7x50s  before purchasing my Pentax 10x50s. The 7x50 gave fine views and had very nice color correction but because of their age were quite heavy. The Pentax do  require a bit more steadying but the extra magnification shows more detail. I gave the 7x50s to friends who live in an area where they have much less light pollution so they work well for them.  I keep my Bushnell 8x42s in the car for terrestrial use but are just fine for quick astro use.

It would be better for your viewing if you learned to use the EQ as it was intended. If you want to see the Moon and Planets at higher magnifications it is easier "track" them by using the equatorial. I started with a Tasco 60 mm refractor and an EQ-1 mount and once you get your brain around how the mount works it enhances the enjoyment.

Out last night for a go at the double with my Tal-1m 110mm Newt. I forgot how difficult it is to use a straight though finder at zenith! After acquiring Vega I star- hopped  to the double and went up in power until I achieved a split. At 156X could only split 1 pair but resolved the other, but then at 171X both pairs were cleanly split. Nice to see the old Tal still has the chops for it. After that I enjoyed some great views of Jupiter and Saturn low over my neighbor's roof. I finished up by taking a look at beautiful Alberio one of my favorite Summer targets.

Out viewing in my yard last night with the Tal Alkor to see Saturn and Jupiter at close approach. While waiting for my targets to clear the trees I had a look for Comet Neowise. I had difficulty seeing the comet without optics but when I tried my Pentax 10x50s I found it quickly. Definitely dimmer than when I saw it in the dawn sky and color is now more greenish in hue. Still a glorious sight though.

Hello and welcome as an owner of one of these Tal 1Ms although a much later model than yours I can say that you have a fine scope there. I bought mine new in 2003 and am still using it. These are built like tanks and the mount is dead solid. Be careful using it in the dark if you trip over it YOU will fall NOT the mount. If you Google telescopes.ru you can download the user manual for your scope. Does your model have the rack and pinion focuser or the helical? The older ones use  eyepieces which are Tal only in size rather than the 1.25 inch which is now standard. My avatar is my telescope.

I have yet to view it in the evening sky but plan to go out west of town tonight where I can get a good horizon view. I plan on taking my Pentax 10x50s but also my grab and go Tal Alkor for a higher mag peek. The view in the dawn sky was awesome!

They usually are associated with high cirrus cloud such as those because they are composed mostly of ice crystals which refract the Sun's rays.

Finally got a look at Comet Neowise this morning at a darker site out side of the city. Just an amazing view in the 10x50 Pentax bins. I could easily find it using bright Capella as a guide. The yellowish nucleus easily seen and the long tail a slight orange, I hope to try and see it with my scope when it emerges in the twilight in the next few days. Definitely worth seeing!

+1 for Stellarium phone app. I also have it on my PC very intuitive display for finding sky objects.

Lovely view of both Venus and Mercury though my Pentax 10X50 binos low in the western sky. Venus  in  waning crescent  was  easily seen at 10x  whilst  Mercury in the fading twilight low and to the North was obvious in both my binos and with  natural vision. A wonderful pairing for a mostly cloudy day which turned clear in late evening.

Should be up higher near the star Capella late in the month so should be easy to spot.

10x50 Pentax used mostly for Astronomy, but I carry a pair of 8x42 Bushnell in the car for terrestrial use.

I thought that viewing of the transit of Mercury was going to be not possible due to early morning fog predictions but lo and behold the clouds parted this AM and I got a good view of the tiny black orb. I used my Tal Alkor 65mm with a filter made from Baader film. The fact that there are currently NO obvious Sun spots to be seen made it very easy.

This thread is the reason that the Tal group needs to be reestablished. Andy is doing a bang up job of holding up his end! My Tal 1M clock drive is running like a train with only simple maintenance. One thing that seems to keep things running well is to simply spin the scope around the RA axis a few time every once in a while. It appears to free up the drive clutch. I have cleaned the drive clutches and lubed wih light grease and the wiped them dry.