Space Hopper

Don't underestimate that scopes ability to deliver at 450x magnification 😉 Surface details on Ganymede for example would be a piece of cake.

Yes, although the star diagonal you have is a beauty, a big 2" Baader like that is not that well suited to binoviewing, simply because of its large lightpath. And mm's can really count in the binoviewing world on whether you can focus or not. All depends on what scope you have. If you have a refractor that is optimised for imaging, you may well be ok. And with a catadioptric scope, theres no issue at all.

........and you can of course simply screw the max 2 directly onto the female T2 on the diagonal if you don't fancy the 'quick change' option. But this can make changing or installing GPCs a bit tiresome

By the way.......you need a T2 quickchanger to go on to the female T2 thread on the prism / mirror diagonal. Just noticed the price of them has nearly doubled since i brought my own i'm afraid. https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/baader-heavy-duty-t-2-quickchanger-(t-2-part-06a).html

The T2 - 32mm prism is ideal as said above, if you want to save on those precious in-focus mm. Careful with the Baader 2" nose pieces : they are a bit short with an unwelcome undercut, although i think the newer ones have the safety kerfs which are much better. I don't like undercuts : when cold and damp set in the compression ring ( if you have one) can lose purchase on a heavy binoviewer and eyepiece rig. This has happened to me before resulting in the bino rotating itself 180º. Not good. After this i changed to a 'smoothbore' type 2" nose. Problem solved.

Buy this one & you won't look back. As used by Trevor Jones (Astrobackyard) https://www.torchdirect.co.uk/coast-led-head-torch/coast-hl4-led-head-torch.html Make sure its the HL4 model only you order. Others look much the same ; but its the HL4 that has the red light option.

Nice report , and good to hear you are enjoying the bino viewers.

Reassuring. And both my mounts are relatively bomb-proof.

Maybe some do, but not all of them. Do you mean the linear viewers like the Bresser ? That has a field stop of 22mm

I've always used a prism based viewer (Baader) for low power viewing without the gpc as i can focus ok, and at low power (about 40x) with the 24's you don't really notice any aberrations etc.

A sorry tale indeed, and what a shower some of these courier / parcel carriers are. Disgraceful. Did you ever get to the bottom of what the 'blue haze' on the mirror actually was ??

Not a 'disaster' !! (I always have a feeling of trepidation reading a headline like this, expecting smashed up optics) Just a few teething problems with new gear. But you'll soon get into the swing of things, and some nice views await. Have you looked on YouTube for some setup advice......??

Thanks for the translation 👍

Sorry @Chandra You'll have to help me here. My Spanish is not very good. However, i get the drift, and the graphics are nice.

Nervous for my feet as well.......😃

By the way, at 438g (15.45 oz) its quite a bit lighter than i was expecting.

We had 'our summer heatwave' last week Louis. All 3 days of it. We hit 40ºC !! (i believe thats 104ºF in old money) Its currently cloudy, windy and warm with the odd shower, quite muggy and threatening to be a bit stormy (not like Texas of course thankfully !)

First look with the new Superzoom. I'm impressed with it for sure. It feels nice in the hand ; a good solid build with quality materials. APM stuff is nice. The eyecup is nice and soft and its comfortable to use, not unlike my Docter 12.5mm in that regard. I really like the clickstops ; they feel positive, and there are 9 positions - 7.7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15.4mm Its perhaps not as 'slick' as i would like between clickstops but its not bad. Hopefully it will 'break in' a bit. No problems focusing with it in my 140mm refractor through the zoom range, and thats with and without a 2x Powermate. Daylight tests on a distant tree branch show it is to me, pretty much parfocal, with maybe only a tiny bit of fine refocusing needed at opposite ends of the zoom range. I do have 55 yr old eyes however..... Following Dons advice above, i was careful inserting it into my 2" diagonal, (in 2" position) but theres about 10mm of clearance above the mirror on it, with the Powermate being about the same, so no issues there. Shift work and a lack of clear skys this last week have stopped me getting out with it under the stars, but hopefully by the weekend, which i have free, I can try it out on Lunar and a few planets and doubles. A few piccies. It arrived well packaged in a nice box, like any premium eyepiece. Eyecup & lens Size comparison with an APM ultra flat 15mm, Docter 12.5mm, APM Superzoom in the middle, Tv 2" Powermate 2x, Panoptic 35mm. Daylight testing on some distant trees and cars The clickstops are nicely separated and the rubberised section that you twist has a good ergonomic feel to it. With the 2" Powermate in situ. I had to drag the rig inside at this point as it decided to rain on me ! (Normal UK conditions !!) I'll report back once i've had it out properly. I'm hoping to split some nice doubles with it in real time !

What a fabulous place to live (hurricanes aside) and do astronomy. I'd retire and spend the rest of my days there in a heartbeat if i could. Good luck with your future purchases and new hobby ; i'm sure some great views await.

@Louis D : Yes its arrived safe and sound, but i've been away and not had a chance to try it out just yet. Will post some pics and first impressions soon 🙂

Yikes : never realised the Esprit 150 was 17kg with rings, dovetail etc. That is a hefty old beast.

Just the moon transiting or will its shadow be visible at some point as well ? If the shadow is visible, i may be in with a chance of spotting it....

Looking at the current crop of these new mounts, one can only assume it won't be too long before the mainstream jump on the bandwagon ? ie Sky Watcher, Celestron, Vixen ?

My Canon 15x50's are my oldest astro purchase. I brought them for the 2004 Venus transit. Now 18 yrs old and have never missed a beat. I've not hammered them though, they are well looked after, and only get intermittent use. I've not had an issue with the rubberised outer becoming degraded either. I also have a pair of 2014 10x30's that i actually prefer in a way. Much lighter with great optics. I mainly use them for terrestrial stuff like nature, birds and to cricket matches. I can recommend them, although like alot of things, they are crazy expensive now.