Space Hopper

Apologies if it seems i'm spending your € for you !! 😉 I'm good at that. Over here we have quite a thriving second hand market. So you can save some money that way. A lot of my eyepieces are used, and there are some bargains to be had if you shop around.

If you look at TS in Deutschland they have probably the same scope with a different name. Probably better for you to shop in the Eurozone than here.

Good point. I didn't know they had an ultra short version.

@Apprentice 1. ✅ 2. Ensure you order the 1.7x gpc for the Max 2 (rather than the old Max 1) I believe its the same one as the Mk 5 bino uses : it screws into the back of the viewer rather than the diagonal. Also to confuse you further, the 1.7gpc is actually closer to 1.5x in reality. Don't worry too much about that though. 3. The Clicklock needs to thread onto the end of the focuser drawtube, whatever size that may be. The one you link to is an SCT fit. If you order one just specify your scope and they'll get you the correct fit. 4 ✅ The new Baader nosepiece is ideal, if rather pricey and a little short in length.

Yes, thats correct. The Max 2 i think is about 26mm clear aperture so it will work optimally with rich field 1.25" eyepieces.

Yes it will. T2 standard fit. Regarding removable tubes for binoviewing in focus, not many scopes will offer this feature. But if the scope is optimised for imaging it should have a decent amount of in focus to allow a bino to focus with a 1.7x gpc (or even the 1.25x) in place. @Apprentice for low power, no i don't use a gpc. For eg, looking at the double cluster. I get about 40x mag with the 24mm

Yes, agreed. A 2" nose is a must, and ideally a Baader Clicklock to hold it securely.

Contrary to above, i think widefields work well in binoviewers. More specifically 65-68º field of view class. Televue's 24mm Panoptics set a benchmark here. The best inch and a quarters for low power rich field binoviewing you can get. And yes, i've had a Max 2 and use an F7 scope.

@tooth_dr Fantastic image. Its awesome you get to see it like that. Just clouds and light pollution here i'm afraid.

For me, its mainly push to, although i do have the motorised goto option as well. Usually, when visual observing, i'm out with a basic, easy to use alt-az mount with encoders feeding a Nexus DSC. The Nexus DSC is really revolutionised my visual astronomy. I really would not want to be without it. Time is too short. And i'm learning the geography of the heavens while I use it !!

So it looks like Wednesday evenings planetary conjunction will be a non starter too.....?? 😞

Thats a fabulous showing Martin. Clear here till around 20:00 then clouded over. Aurora alert was about half an hour later, 292nT 'Red alert'

It seems to me, that the focuser is.....a bit of an after-thought.

Well @Sunshine I traded it for the Vixen mount i have in exchange. I plan to get more into imaging as i approach retirement. Both nice items so everyones a winner. And i still have the TEC.

looks interesting, and would look nice on my Vixen mount

I only ever really wanted one scope when i was looking at a premium refractor 15-20 years ago : the Tec140. A high price, for a well regarded scope as you'd expect but not ridiculously so, and no multi year waiting list back then. And with alot of saving and selling i was lucky enough to make it a reality just over 4 years ago. I was the first UK owner of the newer Fluorite model, and i'm not sure if there's been anyone else since ? At times i hankered after a Questar or Russian Mak, or a Teeter / Obsession Dob, but i've laid that idea to rest now, mainly because of my UK location with its light pollution and generally poor local seeing. I'm a refractor guy at heart ! 😀 They work best for me, and are never too fussy. I fancy another smaller refractor some day : something unusual. I've already owned a LZOS 105 but sold that. Maybe a Baader TC95 or a AP Stowaway 92 or Tak FC100 I'll be putting my name down for the upcoming AP 110 F6 when it is ready, so you never know, my name could be pulled out of the hat. Can i afford it....? Not really, no.

Excellent report Magnus. 140mm refractors are nice aren't they ? 😃 Hopefully you'll get chance to see Jupiter too, before we lose it in the west.

Congratulations Magnus : its looks mightily impressive. It actually looks noticeably shorter than my own F7 140, yet its only 40mm or so of difference. I think the dew shield on my scope makes it look overly long. No bad thing though. They are big scopes though in reality and they demand a good mount and tripod combo. For me a 140mm refractor is as big a refractor as I'd like to manage. I have to be ultra careful and am constantly worried about bumping it. You will love Lunar views with it i'm absolutely sure. In fact if I do a session 'sans' Lunar, I often feel i'm missing out a bit. A couple of my own points : My own 140 star tests in a similar way, but its not something i've really taken much notice of. Reason...? I'm always hampered by seeing here. Trap star 'E' is difficult at the best of times and the 'F' star is a no show in my experience. Same with Sirius pup. The scopes length when viewing Alt-Az can make viewing high up stuff rather difficult. Just the way it is. Good to see you have a Planet tripod. I upgraded to one a couple of years ago and they make a big difference in stability terms. Really looking forward to reading your observation report. And you have a stunning location i'm just a tad jealous of.......I get to look at trees, houses, and a Bortle 7 lightshow. Hay-ho.

I have an EMS friend who fitted them on a different (but similar) mount and he said it was straightforward. I've done them myself on my own Alt-Az : again an easy job. If its encoders by Astro Devices, it will be a trouble free job. Serge supplies all the bits and provides easy to follow instructions. If you are going down the 'Nexus DSC' route, its a very worthwhile upgrade. I can't recommend it enough.

I'm not much of an imager, but do wish to improve once i retire and have less commitments. This was a from a memorable Lunar eclipse we had back in 2015, and i caught Lunar just a few minutes before it dipped into totality (Sony A7S-1, WO FLT132 at prime focus) And once totality started all the stars came out and we had a really nice deep sky session !! One to remember ☺️

I'm working that Saturday, unless i can blag a day off. So i'll hopefully see you there 😉

Sad news. I had a copy of 'Backyard Astronomers guide' around 2000, and read it cover to cover. It was a great source of imformation , and i learned a ton from it.

Those tube rings look.........indestructible 😀 They don't build 'em like that anymore !

I've linked to a good article below, which will give you plenty of info if you are starting out helping to choose a new scope. https://supercooper.jimdofree.com/choosing-telescopes-complete-essentials/

I'm interested in this myself. I know Neils Haagh, who runs Panther mounts in Denmark often stacks 30s subs without using the field de-rotation device and the results are pretty good. I think 30s is the limit though, depending on focal length / target etc