RobertI

Lovely scope, tempted to ‘trade in’ my William Optics 66SD so I can enjoy that lovely 2” R&P focuser. On a separate note, I’ve never been sure why the WO 66SD is indicated as F5.9 and all other 66mm scopes are F6? I’ve no doubt it’s the same lens, but odd.

Lovely selection of scopes, nice that you still have your first scope. 👍

I guess if you are regularly doing critical viewing of the planets at high magnifications and it’s the difference between seeing that microscopic feature and not seeing it, then the extra spend might be worth it for some!

An interesting conundrum! I bought the Starfield equivalent (AA 102ED-R) even though I have a Tal100RS and have not looked back. As @mikeDnight said, it’s a superb all rounder, particularly good with doubles and coupled with binoviewers is remarkable on solar system. My F10 Tal100RS is unwieldy by comparison and never gets used now, and I imagine an F13 4” scope would seem even more unwieldy. I often use the 102ED side by side with the C8 on my Skytee, the C8 providing the light grasp for those fainter DSOs I imagine your C9.25 would complement it even better. Often though it’s just the 102ED-R on its own as it’s so quick to set up and use (cools down very quickly too). I do ultimately want a 12” dob, but with my average skies, limited storage and most importantly limited TIME, I just can’t justify it at the moment. The 102ED is a winner for me.

I’ve used mine* for solar with BVs and Herschel wedge at about 180x and the views were superb - the best I’ve had. * Not Starfield brand, but same scope.

Nice catches Mike, comet Leonard looks especially nice.

Super results Gavin. Lovely structure in the Crab, although surprisingly dim compared with the others.

Can’t help but it looks like a very interesting instrument.

Lovely read John. You really made the most of your session, sounds like a good night for DSOs. Those distant globs are indeed fascinating. Those 8” newts are just so versatile. I use my 150PL on the Skytee and it works really nicely. Did you observe standing or did you get it low enough to sit?

I think Steve Collingwood is your man: http://sctelescopes.com

The longer dovetail is the usual solution - the main challenge with this and short scopes is that the dovetail might have to extend over the focuser depending on where your balance point is. This means you may need ‘riser’ to stop it interfering with the focuser, depending on where your balance point is. It may also prevent the focuser from rotating (if you have a rotatable focuser). A good example can be seen here: https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-horizon-72-ed-doublet-refractor-full-imaging-package.html I have this solution on my 66mm refractor and I can rotate the tube ok, so not always an issue.

And on that bombshell…..I’m off to bed too.

That looks a lot improved Stu, good result. Perhaps the Manager of Street Lighting is an astronomer.

Great read Dave. It seems to be a very common pattern for people to have been huge astronomy fans in their teens, let the hobby slide for twenty to thirty years and then rediscover their passion in their forties and fifties. I’ve yet to reach the stage of owning my dream Tak, but I can feel it coming!! 🙂

Yes I’m not sure there is a recognised definition for a classic telescope in the UK. In the car world there are various definitions of classic which generally include being a certain age and being outstanding in some respect. In the scope world we have classic designs which have have been proven their worth over time and we also have classic brands/models which have been outstanding examples in their class. The Maksutov a classic design, the Questar 90 a classic brand/model. Can a new make/model of scope become an instant classic? I guess if they stop making it, it can……?

This one has really made me think! I’ve never owned a really expensive scope, but I recently purchased an FPL53 refractor, and saw the huge improvement over my Tal achromat and witnessed amazing views of Mars and Jupiter way beyond what I thought a scope of that size could achieve. I definitely would like to go one step further to the “really expensive” refractors, and I think my motivations would be driven by (1) curiosity over how good the best actually is (2) desire to touch, feel and own some top class engineering (3) desire to own a little piece of history - Takahashi’s, Televues, Astrophysics and others are kind of ‘historic’ brands that are just lovely to own if you’re an enthusiast. Well that’s some of my reasoning at least. I’m sure I’ll think of more!

I’m reading in mobile view so I can’t see your mount, but I have found short scopes like my C8 mounted on my Skytee and 2” tripod is fine even in strong winds as long as I don’t try too high magnifications. My long scopes like the 4” F10 Tal are not so good. If you have a short scope to take along as a backup that might work?

Glad you’re enjoying your new scope - keep the report coming!

Yes I've always struggled with anything other than orange/yellow. The Pleiades are pretty blue I think, but still just seem white to me!

Congratulations Gav, fame at last! I'll keep a look out for that, should be an interesting watch. Hopefully it will encourage lots more people to get in NV. 👍

So it seems that in an ideal world, we all need a 4” refractor fitted with a RACI finder and binoviewers, mounted on a lightweight but heavy duty altaz mount, with a comfy chair to sit on, complemented by a 12” dob with Nexus push-to. Well I’m half way there, just need the dob and Nexus. 🙂

Yes I’m also a recent convert to seated observing after many years of swaying at the eyepiece! I also have the Nadira and really can’t fault it.

Good shout, SkySafari has been such a fundamental part of my armoury that I completely forgot about it!

Following a recent comment from @John on another thread I thought it would be interesting to hear people’s thoughts on what item of equipment has revolutionised your observing experience. I’ll start. Although I love my new 102EDR and am amazed by its planetary abilities, my binoviewers have made the biggest difference to planetary observing and solar system in general, making it so easy to observe for long periods. I would also rate my zoom eyepiece and my UHC and OIII filters as “semi-revolutionary”, the zoom being good for finding the ideal magnification for splitting doubles, and the filters being good for emission nebulae and planetaries. What’s yours?

I was thinking I might start a new thread on this - it’s an interesting one!