Space Hopper

Good question.

When i had my old OO VX12 F4 Nick, the Televues i had seemed so well corrected, i found coma to not really be an issue. (I used a 31 Nagler, 24 & 19 Pans and 13 Naglers) I seem to remember at one point i tried out a Paracorr, but found it unnecessary. Maybe my eyes are not sensitive to notice it. Amazed you got binoviewers to focus in an OO newt.....?

Quite baffling really......

Hear, hear Dave.

Thanks for the heads up 🙂

Is this the latest (Version 2 ?) Affinity ?

I'm no expert, but wouldn't you need the ZWO autofocusing unit on the scope to do that ? As a beginner, using a Bahtinov mask might be an easier option till you find your feet. Good luck ! 🙂

M11 is well worth tracking down (aka 'the wild duck') M27 ('the dumbell nebula') Alcor / Mizar double (one of my favourites) M37, M37, M38 (3x Globulars in Auriga. M37 is the best) However, if you have aperture and dark skys M42 will take some beating. Probably THE showpiece object in the northern hemisphere skys

I have the APM SZ as well, and its always impressed me. Best zoom i've used so far.

I've been a 'one scope guy' for just under 2 years now. However it does everything i need it to (ie a very good performer on nearly all objects, and ticks all of the boxes) I did very briefly take ownership of a 10" Orion Optics newtonian around 18 months ago, but it was too big for my needs and sold it on. I still have a yearning for a small 100mm sized refractor to go with my 140, just to use for easy grab & go. I used to own one, but it went in a trade. Some regret there, but hopefully i can replace it in the next year or two, once i have some funds. The wallet is always empty these days unfortunately.

Some lovely images on here, well done all. We were clouded out a bit and missed the disappearance and reemerging bits, but just a few minutes later (10:45hrs) a clear patch revealed the Moon and Venus, and they were a beautiful sight. My 15x50 stabilised Canons were perfect for the job. Venus was so bright in the binocs at mag - 4.3 and its phase was easy to see. A really lovely conjunction. Whens the next one...? 😀

Good to hear my old docter is still performing well 🙂 I often use a 2x Powermate with mine and they work together nicely

Not sure about all that, but i do know my trousers have been expanding in circumference for more years than i care to remember.....😀😯😫

I think i'll stick with the 140 version...... Its much easier to manage 😀

Remarkable. Great images

Some lovely pics of the eclipse guys, well done. Unfortunately i was totally clouded out in Derby, in fact, as it was approaching maximum immersion we were subjected to torrential rain !! 😧 Maybe next time......😄

@globular Thanks for posting. Thats a great resource.

I always think the weather forecasters are very good at forecasting what we've just had the day before. Makes their job an easy one.

Can anyone recommend any sites or apps that show where the jetstream is in relation to the UK, which could affect seeing conditions for us when observing ?

Thoroughly enjoyable read thankyou Matthew. Its always nice to see these rare exotic scopes, and part of me wishes i'd still got one myself. Lets hope one day they will become available again, either in this form or something similar. The mount and tripod you have there is holding up surprisingly well considering....!!

Theres been a '200' model on ABS for getting on for 6 months now. Nobody wants to buy it so it seems. But a very niche type of telescope, with a 4 metre focal length. I'm wondering if this new 185 model will have any active cooling or a provision to fit it ?

Info below, and taking pre-orders. Coming 2024. Sounds interesting......and the price is a lot closer to the OMC 140 than the OMC 200 thankfully. https://www.orionoptics.co.uk/product/omc185-de-luxe-tube-assembly/

Over 7500 currently believe it or not, and well over half that number are Mr Musks 'Starlinks' I even routinely now see 2 pass through an eyepiece field of view at once going in different directions.

I've been talking with an aunt who lives in El Paso TX, and they have had a good view there : around 90% coverage. She told me they have friends in Albuquerque, NM, and that was an ideal location. I'd have loved to have been there to see it.

It looks really interesting John. Fair old trek to get there though. They say its 60% metal mainly iron and nickel. But i wonder if there may be other metals present as well ? Precious metals perhaps....? (My imagination running wild again - a gold asteroid in my head ! 😄)