RobertI

39 minutes ago, great_bear said:

Does anyone have thoughts on the relative merits of these three mounts (it will be for a 150PL scope):

• Berlebach Castor II
• Sky-Watcher SkyTee 2
• Vixen Advanced Polaris Altazimuth APZ

Which is best?
(it will sit on a Berlebach Planet)
- Is there much difference in smoothness/stability?
- Do any fall into the “avoid” category?
 

My 150PL is a heavy scope (maybe 7Kg) so minor differences in smoothness will probably make little difference. 
(I am currently using a Sky-Watcher AZ4 head and it has too much backlash and wobble with this long, heavy scope)

Happy to hear alternative suggestions too. 

My 150PL is rock solid and wobble free when mounted on my SkyTee2 on a 2” tripod, even in breezy weather. Interestingly I recently tried the same scope on my AZ4 with 1.75” tripod and, as you found, it was too wobbly to be fun. The SkyTee is a big step up. I have the Mini-Giro with is I believe the same as the Castor under the skin - it is too lightweight to carry a 150PL (it only weighs 1.5kg versus the 6kg of the Skytee). 
 

The Skytee is hard to beat for value for money - note that you will probably want to budget for replacing the saddle(s). I’ve had mine many years and although I’d love a premium mount like the Rowan, I am really struggling to justify it when the Skytee does the job. 
 

The APZ looks really nice though, would love to try one. 🙂

That looks like a fine visual setup Olly. Will be very comfortable with the chair. 🙂

I think the classic white Newtonians, epitomised by Meade’s ‘Research Grade’ newtionians, look amazing, especially on an equatorial mount and pedestal pillar. So good they were advertised by men in white coats! If you watch any Ed Ting video, you will see lots of mouth watering white Meade Newts in the background. Like classic cars, they are beautiful to own but a pain to use! 😆 My first ever scope decades ago was a 6” Newt just like this, happy memories….

I stepped outside before bedtime, and was greeted by a spectacular sight - Mars, Aldeberan, the Hyades and Pleiades shining brightly against a wonderfully black transparent sky. Not what I expected after a day of rain! Annoyingly, I was too tired to lug out the scopes, but then I remembered the binoculars, which don’t get used enough, and I ended up enjoying a fantastic fifteen minutes of astronomy bliss with my 10x50s. 

First test of transparency was M33 and I was pleased to clearly see the the oval glow in the right place. And with NO dark adaption. This was obviously a good night for DSOs. A quick scan of Auriga revealed M36, M37 and M38 - open clusters with an interesting mix of brightness and size. Then M35 in Gemini which was even better, appearing large and resolved. I’m always amazed at what a magnification of 10x can reveal.

The Hyades filled the field of view, its members having some subtle variances of colour - these binoculars always pick out colour so well - I think the large exit pupil must help. The Pleiades were equally inspiring, with Ally’s Braid showing clearly in the middle. 

Then onto Cassiopeia. Easy to get lost in the mass of stars of the Milky Way, and open clusters abound - NGC663, NGC457 (ET cluster), NGC129, M52 and NGC7789 (Caroline’s Rose) which looked more like a galaxy than a cluster, thanks to its richness. The double cluster in Perseus was just a short jump away. With Orion rising over the rooftops I got first sighting of M42 this year. 

I reluctantly packed away and retired to bed very happy to have made something of the evening.

Thinking about how good this wide field bino-experience was, I shall have to think about how to get a more serious setup that doesn’t involve getting a neck ache, perhaps a better binocular plus parallelogram mount, or possibly a right-angled wide-field bino-scope like the Vixen BT81S. 🙂

Thanks Stu, I’ll have a bash at this if I can get out this weekend. 👍

4 hours ago, Stu said:

‘Twas a joke sir, you must be fortunate enough to have missed the antics of Messrs @JeremyS and @johninderby on the subject of handles 😉. A lucky escape for you by all account!

Yes, SGL has become a “centre of excellence” for handles. Hope you didn’t take it the wrong way  @Carl Au .

Super image. 

9 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Personally, I think handles are sensible and reassuring things.

I have a ‘strap’ arrangement on my C8 which goes around the OTA. It works really well as I’ve attached it at the centre of gravity of the OTA and arranged it so that when you pick up the scope, the dovetail is at the side and makes it so easy to attach to the mount. Doesn’t look as nice as a handle though! 

Had a good session a couple of days ago in reasonable seeing. Spent some time on Mars, first with the 150PL in cyclops, then with the 102ED with BVs. No Syrtis Major visible at the moment and the features are more challenging. There was some subtle detail flicking in and out of view, and I made the mistake of increasing the magnification too much (250x) and I think I lost detail as a result. Anyway my sketch below. 
 

5 hours ago, Carl Au said:

Has anyone fitted a handle to a TS/Altair/Starwave 102 ED-R. 

Here you go, a thread on this very subject below, if you go to the WDS Components website it’s part number 8517  

What a fantastic opportunity - so much to look forward to. Please keep us updated with progress (perhaps on this thread?).  

6 hours ago, johnturley said:

Last Night was misty, but some of the most stable atmospheric conditions I have experienced recently, in fact one of the rare occasions the 14in Newtonian gave a better view of Mars than the Esprit 150. North Polar Hood stood out quite nicely and was easy to see visually.

Image taken using a ZWO ASI 462  Planetary Camera, 2.5x Powermate giving f12.5, 2 minute exposure, 13,000 frames @111 fps, processed in AutosSakkert and Registax. 

5 hours ago, Ags said:

I think we were snapping Mars at the same time. Here's mine, taken with a C6.

Outstanding shots, interesting to see what different scopes can do.

16 minutes ago, Coxy80 said:

Cheers for the reply I looked at this one, sadly it’s out of stock just now. Do you know if this is likely to fit? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/astro-essentials-finder-shoe.html

This might be a safer bet as it has slotted holes - I use this one on my Altair Astro 102ED (same scope as the Starfield).

 
https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/starwave-universal-finder-shoe.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoezegYSp-wIVGu3tCh2GUQvwEAQYASABEgIF9fD_BwE

5 hours ago, Siegfried1969 said:

Another sketch of Mars around 01:00 am this morning. Observation done with my trusty 110mm reflector, Fujiyama HD-Ortho eyepiece and Baader Contrast Booster.

As the opposition is approaching, Mars gets larger, but it is still very hard to fix the details like I see them on paper. Most details can only be seen with peripheral vision and often I see a detail, but when I look again, it's gone or it's in another place. It took me around 1 hour to make this sketch.

Well done on capturing that detail, nice sketch. 

Thread here:

1 hour ago, ED Splitter said:

It’s gone. Did anyone buy it? 

It wasn’t me (no seriously, it actually wasn’t 🙂). 

Nice. Yes the twist lock style arrangements are a real pain, good for imaging I guess where you need things centred, but not for visual. I replaced mine too, but not with anything as nice as your Click-Lock.

26 minutes ago, Coxy80 said:

Yeah that had been my thoughts, I have a few Baader Morpheus eyepieces 17.6, 9 and 6.5 the Naggler zoom would be nice to add to that plus a nice diagonal and still be cheaper than the Takahashi! 

What would you recommend as a finder for the Starfiled? 

 

+1 for the Starfield. I’d also consider a binoviewer - I have the William Optics BV on my 102ED and it’s transformed my viewing of planetary and lunar. As for finders, most of the time I use the Rigel Quikfinder, but sometimes, for challenging objects, I add a RACI finder which sits very nicely near the eyepiece of the main scope. My 8x60 RACI finder is rather hefty, I think a 50mm or even a 30mm RACI finder would be better. Jealous of your AZ75 🙂. 

Amazing footage! 

I’m interested to hear what sort of answers you get on this one, I know a lot of people have 12” solid tube dobs and really like them. I’ve been thinking about getting a 12 inch solid tube dob for some time, but having seen one in the flesh recently I’m more inclined to go for the 10” as it seems a lot more manageable. Trouble is 10” is not that much bigger than my 8” SCT. 

1 hour ago, josefk said:

. I hadn't appreciated before that 16 Cyg and the Blinking Nebula NGC 6826 could be observed (and sketched) in the same FOV (70x/1-degree). NGC 6826 visible with averted vision at 30x once it was obvious where to look as well even under the terribly bright sky.

Thanks for heads up, I shall add to my list of “two in a view”. 👍

Yes I’d echo Stu’s comments, try focussing on visual for a while, take the pressure off yourself, and see how it goes, but don’t rush to sell anything (unless you need the cash or space). You may find you are drawn back to simpler imaging, or even EAA, which is so much simpler. I’ve found my interest in different aspects of the hobby ebb, flow and evolve over time, so I hang on to my equipment if I can. 

Fascinating. 👍

I’m guessing there is moist air inside the OTA, I wonder if one of those desiccant caps might work - it goes in the visual back and keeps the air dry inside the OTA when not being used. I’ve also found my corrector plate dews up a lot less quickly since I gave it a gentle clean to remove the thin film of gunk. I would imagine a mirror prone to dewing would also benefit from a clean, although I don’t think it’s usual to clean an SCT mirror (I’ve never done it). 

11 hours ago, Paz said:

But I intend to downsize and just keep 3 scopes... A 72mm refractor for travel, a 102mm refractor for grab and go and the 14" reflector for epic sessions.

Sounds like the perfect combination to me!