RobertI

Fascinating article thanks for posting. That scope is both awe inspiring and hilarious at the same time! Interesting that it's a cardboard tube, and it looks relatively lightweight when you look at the smallish counterweights. It must have been a challenge to collimate. Would have been nice to hear more about the kinds of observations that were possible - I expected a bit more than "..the whole instrument performs satisfactorily".

Just in from another quick Mars session, still awesome with some nice detail despite wobby edges. Loving binoviewing but it does mean there are two eyepieces to steam up! Now I need some dewstraps for both eyepieces. 🙄

Great minds think alike John! I was worried that Jupiter and Saturn were disappearing so I had a quick session about 6pm and also saw the grey barge on Jupiter. Both planets were very low over nearby rooftops but I was amazed at what could be seen on Jupiter considering how much the disc was shimmering. A benefit of the modest 100mm aperture I think.

Nice shoot out Stu. Oh my - that Scopetech is a long scope! I know what you mean about the large airy discs in small scopes - although I split the double double in my 66mm at high power, the airy discs were huge!

I gave up waiting for my Skywatcher ED100 in the end and bought an Altair Astro 102EDR which was available immediately. The situation has forced me to spend a bit more than I would have, but as a result I got a better quality scope that I would probably not have considered before, so not all bad!

Nice report Stu, that 8” F8 must be superb for planets. I was out last night with the 102EDR and binoviewers and observed many of the features you mentioned. I haven’t tried the 150PL yet on Mars so planning of giving it a go soon.

Sounds like a very successful session. I haven’t observed Orion quite yet although I have seen it peeping over the trees. One good thing about planetary and lunar observing is not having to worry about neighbours lights!

Had another nice little session with the 102ED-R and binoviewers at about 175x. A bit steadier than last night so I attempted a sketch (I did a rough version followed by a 'nicer' version shown below). When I got in I was quite pleased with how well it matched Mars Mapper (you might disagree ). Syrtis Major is the pointy bit, Hellas is the pale region between Syrtis Major and the south pole. Sinus Sabaeus is the dark edge sweeping upto two o'clock with a 'fork' like feature below - I thought it had three prongs. Hope you don't mind me adding to the thread John.

Nice sketch John, very similar to the view I saw, except I think you’ve picked up more detail. Looking good here too so will definitely go out for a squint and might try a sketch. It’s nice to see Syrtis Major, it’s surprising how often it isn’t visible!

I need something for transporting it too, so seems to solve both problems.

Ha, I was wondering if someone would comment on that! 😁 It’s a fair point and thanks for your concern. I was actually considering one of those nice padded bags for storing it somewhere - only thing is the bag would almost cost as much as I paid for the scope!

Thanks John, I hadn’t come across this, but sounds right. I did try cyclops viewing without the BV as a comparison, and I can’t say the BV image was any sharper, in fact it might have slightly softer, but it’s just easier to keep the eyes trained on the disc and easier to discern the detail with BVs, cyclops viewing seemed very strained by comparison. I’m sure most of the reason is that the brain just works better in stereo mode, its more natural. That’s frustrating - what problems do you get?

Correct. I had feared some abysmal views based on reports of the eyepieces, so to get good views at 175x and be able to merge the images was very satisfying.

Well, I finally got to try the bino-viewer with the 102ED-R on Mars and the Moon. To cut a long story short - WOW! Why didn’t I do this years ago? The viewing experience is so much more enjoyable with two eyes, no eye strain, no screwing up the other eye, easier to discern detail, it makes such a difference. With the 1.3x element from the Baader Barlow screwed directly onto the BV nosepiece I was getting around 175x which I have to say seemed perfect. There was about 25 mm of focuser travel left. The seeing was not particularly good, there was a gusty wind and quite a bit atmospheric turbulence. The edge of the Mars’s disc was shimmering but a large amount of detail was visible, including Syrtis Major, the Southern Polar Cap and quite a lot of subtle shading in the dark band - definitely the best view so far through this scope. One of the key differences is that with this setup I would have been able to draw the subtle features - they were that clear - with cyclops viewing it always seems to be a case of - have I seen it or not? Moving on to Luna and it was equally thrilling, such engaging views and relaxed viewing. I think the comfort and relaxed viewing afforded by BVs adds to your ability to discern detail and encourages you to stay at the eyepieces for longer. So far, so good, I think I have lucked in on a good combination. Can’t wait to get out for another try!

I managed to secure a large roller fronted book case when my employer closed an office - it’s in the garage and is perfect for storing various bits of astro equipment including my C8, RC6, Tal100RS and 100ED-R. The poor old 150PL is not so cosseted, sitting on a shelf wrapped in plastic bins liners! My Zenithstar 66 sits on a bookcase in the lounge so I can admire it. 🙂

Ok, I’ll be honest here, I’ve never taken any of my telescopes to bed ....... but I’ve wanted to. 😉

I have to confess, I find the pink colour very slight through my 100ED, and once observing I don't notice it all and it just seems almost white! Through my Tal100R achromat it does have a distinct deep pink colour though.

Looking back at my report, it was at x220, so I would have been using a 7.1mm eyepiece (a 10mm Hyperion with 28mm fine tuning ring) with the 2.25x barlow - surprisingly good view given all the glass!

I also saw clouds over the north polar region with my 102ED-R - first time.

Does the serial number have a suffix 'A' on it? Either way, it's a mirror deserving of a very nice OTA.

Thanks Fozzie, I'm desperate to get out there and have a proper session - last night was clear for a couple of hours but sadly the demands of a small boy and Halloween had to come first! Yes I was using the 2" diagonal - I do have a 1.25" prism diagonal which I could try - it's a cheapish and oldish celestron, and I'm not sure I trust it to hold too mcuh weight, but worth trying I guess just see whether I can reach focus.

Happy birthday GP-C8! I fine combination of scope and mount. My 21 year old 'G8' is still going strong, although the original mount (a non-goto celestron CG5 on an aluminium tripod) is now rarely used and the OTA sits on a variety sturdier mounts and tripods. The mirror is as pristine and dust free as the day I bought it thanks to the enclosed tube. Still the best scope in my arsenal for globulars, galaxies and (probably) planets .

Very informative article and inspiring video John, thanks for posting. This object deserves more time and study when I observe so this will really help to get something new from it.

Thanks for the link to your review Don, makes interesting reading. It sounds like the binoviewer/eyepiece combo is likely to perform ok in my C8 but may struggle at higher mags in the ED102 which is faster at F7 (more challenging for the supplied eyepieces) and requires a Barlow? I hope to find out if the weather ever settles!

Look forward to your reports - feel free to add to this thread. 👍