Space Hopper

Sounds like you had a great session ! I only have a white light filter with my set up. Its good but obviously i'm missing out on all the HA stuff. I've thought about a HA scope, or filter, but never taken the plunge. Maybe one day....

I raise you the 12.5mm Docter UWA.

There not visible in a 140mm scope never mind a 60 !! Not with my 55 year old mince pies anyway 🙄

You're not on you own, if theres any comfort in that. Bortle 7 here. I sometimes think its nearer to 8. A 30 sec garden exposure here (at midnight) turns night into day. A 30 second exposure of the night sky results in a white screen. M1 supernova remnant is invisible with a 12" Newtonian. The aperture fever part of me that was active in the past has long since gone. No point in me having a big scope anymore. Observing from home is Lunar and planets only, doubles and half a dozen or so DSO's. Simply a case of making the best of what i have : Jupiter still looks nice in my 140 !!

Hi @starsailor70 Welcome to SGL

This is what i use : a 'Meychair' musicians stool. Quite a bit cheaper than the BB chair (or it was) Its very sturdy goes up / down with a 250mm range and will tilt side to side. FLO at one time used to stock them, but no more. But its still possible to buy direct from Deutschland. https://www.thomann.de/gb/mey_chair_systems_af6_kl_bk.htm

Ingenious, and a very compact set up with the little Questar 👍🏼

A lovely bright meteor from the north, heading west, passing beneath the Pleaides, covering a large portion of the sky. Spotted at 21:07hrs on 27 March 2022. It was a corker....!!

The new extensions, both the 5" and 8" (which were stacked on the display mount) looked excellent. Beautifully made and machined as you'd expect.

Thanks for the heads up. I remember the 'red haze event' you mentioned well : October 16 2017. I was working that day but managed a couple of pics of it with my phone.

Have you looked at the Geoptic adapters.....??

Fair play. I don't think you'll be disappointed. I'd love to hear how it performs when you get it. Best of luck.

Nice choice, but i'd also think about a little bit more aperture. The TSA 120 (if you've set your heart on a Tak) is a compelling alternative, albeit a fairly big jump in price.

I've been a member over on CN even longer than here ( 14 or 15 years) Its an astro forum ; whats not to like ? I like the fact they have many different sub groups on there ie a separate group for refractors , reflectors , cats and casses, where on here its all bunched together. And they have a bino-viewer group ! 😀 And of course theres some very knowledgeable guys on there (on here too) and i've learnt much from them over the years.....

Good for spectacles and the glass on cell phones but i wouldn't use them to clean optics (definitely not mirrors) or eyepieces or camera lenses / binocular optics. If you really need to clean your optics use Baader optical wonder fluid and the supplied cloth it comes with. FLO sell it. But be careful.

Looking very nice. Hopefully we'll get to see it in the flesh at the PAS in a couple of weeks. What are the recommended scope size and weight limits ?

It looks the same as the other, ie it has identical connection and threads, but i've not tried. With the Mk 5 bino, the 1.25 / 1.7x GPC is screwed into the back of the viewer rather than the diagonal. I mainly use the Amici for daytime terrestrial ; nature or birds etc. And its not the megabucks version as they do a version that costs over £500 !! Its a nice diagonal, the only time i've noticed the 'horizontal spike' thing is when viewing Venus. The 2" mirror i use is the BBHS model and it is excellent. (Part no. #2456115) The white diagonal that Andy ES posted is also a beautiful quality diagonal if the other is not available (Part #2956100)

All by Baader Planetarium. I've always liked Baader diagonal, good quality and well made and with a nice short lightpath thats beneficial for two eyed viewing. 2x prisms, on fitted with a 2.6x GPC for binoviewing 1x Amici prism (for binoviewing) 2" mirror diagonal - for mono viewing with heavier 2" eyepieces + Powermates. A Herschel wedge for Solar. Theres room for one more ; i'm after a smaller T2 mirror to be used with my new Zeiss binoviewer.

Hi. Would an 'Alan Gee' be worth looking into ? I've used an 8" SCT a good few years ago and was very impressed with the views with the bino but regretfully sold it to fund other things, and i've often thought how one of those 'Alan Gee's would have performed with it ? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reducersflatteners/baader-universal-alan-gee-ii-telecompressor-uag-ii.html

Not really a vintage jewel so to speak, but i think the Docter UWA 12.5mm is destined to become a classic. It really is a superb bit of glass. I love mine.

Hmmmm......🙂

This is also a feature on the US made DM-6. I've always preferred having my finder on the mounts altitude axis , rather than on the telescope. I don't think there's much room for such an arrangement on the AZ100 though ?

Not sure Meade scopes are readily available any more....?

Its a good job you're not on the Astro Physics waiting list........🤨

Check out Fujinon. Very nice optics and build quality. I have an older pair of 7x50 which are excellent.