Marki

On 02/04/2021 at 13:34, Jiggy 67 said:

I get what you’re saying John. I would be the same but I do have a heavy setup that requires alignment. I get round it by leaving the mount out, almost permanently under a TG cover......makes a massive difference with only a quick check on alignment occasionally. I couldn’t do it any other way with the weather conditions we have.......and my back is not getting any younger 😩

I do the same, Jiggy, My Az-Eq6 GT lives outside more or less permanently under a TG cover just outside my kitchen. All I have to do is put the scope out and power up. I do align each time though, but it doesn't take long  - I usually do a 1 star in the area I plan to observe that night, or bracket the taget zone with a 2 star if I'm feeling super techie ;). No distance to bring the scope in if the weather turns, although my house does effectively block any views to the west. Still, I'm getting to appreciate the seasonal change in the eastern sky better :).

Hi Soligor Rob. Good choice! I have one and I think its very good for the money. I wrote my mini-review here:

I've used it a fair bit in the last month since I wrote that, and the more I use it, the more I like it! Still think the focusser could be better though its certainly adequate enough for visual use  I look foward to reading your first light report

Well done! Still frustrated myself. Intermittent cloud cover and, sod's law, generally in the direction of Cass whenever I go out to check. I did have the cluster and that line of four stars in view, but although I must have seen the nova in the field of view, I couldn't positively ID it before the cloud rolled in again.  I'll try again if the clouds alllow tomorrow.

I love this time of year when Hercules becomes clearer and Cygnus just start to show by midnight.

I had my SW 150ED out tonight. M13 was gorgeous - low between trees to start, but once it cleared them I could start to resolve the edges nicely. Had to pack up before it got decently high though, but its great to see this at a semi-reasonable time of night. Also had a pop at M53, but not able to really get much resolution, just hints of granularity. Seeing here wasn't good enough to really push the mag much past x200 ish. Not too much luck with galaxies in Leo, but a nice view of M82 /M81, and a reasonable view of the core of M51 with a distinct hint of M51b. I think the 150ED could really pull some good stuff somewhere properly dark!

Had some fun with a few doubles too. My highlight for tonight was Iota Leonis - a mag 4 white primary with a mag 7(ish) white-yellow secondary. Just a shade under 2" separation, but the magnitude difference made it a nice challenge, but clear at 180x. More mag didn't actually seem to help with this  - again maybe my seeing conditions weren't helping. Anyway, pretty pleased to get out tonight and this double is a new one for me at least.

Lovely to read this. Just looking for the sheer joy of it is such a fantastic feeling. Its so easy to get caught up in the details and minutiae of scope specifications, glass types, strehl ratios and pixel peeping and camera specs (especially when its cloudy ) and forget to actually look .

I went out wth binoculars around 1am for a while and was delighted by just how many stars I could see, now that Cygnus is rising. Just a wonder even in binoculars!

Me to, plus in awe of the commitment and planning that all requires!

I have a small patch of gravel outside my kitchen door, and my views are severely limited by trees effectively pointing me east over central York. I'm on edge of the bortle 7 zone. I don't really know anywhere to go thats better though - not keen to just drop into a carpark or layby out of the city on my own.

Still, its better than where I used to live in Sheffield, right opposite a park and ride and tram stop.

I'm convinced the night sky here in York is lighter than it was when I first moved here 8 years ago though.

Hi and welcome, Andrzej! Nice kit list too

Welcome to SGL

Hi and welcome to SGL

Welcome to SGL

Bit unpredictable here earlier so I didn't want to risk it. Popped out for a while with some binos just now and the transparency looks pretty good. Still very gusty though. Good luck to everyone out there tonight!

Welcome CaptainKingsmill!

Reckon I need to move to John's part of the world. Clouds and more clouds up here.

Fantastic haul John!

Some of these scopes are distinctly higher maintainance.... .

I love this thread, dweller! I find it fascinating to see how people's observing/imaging rigs change with time, reflecting their changing circumstances, or tastes, or even improvements in technology and availability.

Here's my list from my start in 2012 up to around 2015. Some of this rapid cycling of instruments was due to me finding my comfort zone, getting more experience and working out what I liked (clearly, 'fracs  ), as much as a reflection on the quality of the 'scopes themselves.

• Celestron 8SE - gave me my first and most memorable view of Saturn; regretfully sold. I'd be tempted by another.
• Tal 100RS - a nice f10 achro with tack sharp optics. Was at kept in my mother's place in France, but came back when she sold up and returned to UK. Still got it.
• Altair Astro Starwave 102 ED - not what I was hoping for, so sold.
• Skylight 100mm  - a lovely longish focus (f13) achro based on a Carton objective. Beautiful crisp stars, and not much colour given its fl. Beautiful to look at and use. Keeper.
• Tal 125R  - Wanted more aperture; once tweaked by ES Reid, this f9 achro has become a favourite, despite some colour on bright objects. Sharp across the field, light, easy to mount. Still got it.
• Skywatcher Equinox 80 - lovely optics, didn't get much use so sold. Regret that.
• Istar 150mm Perseus - a wonderful f10 achro, but a beast to mount and manage. Had my best views of Mars in this. Its mass defeated me and was a bar to me getting out;  as it wasn't getting much use I sold it.
• Tal125 Apolar -  I wanted a 5" with better colour correction. However, this example had suffered damage in transit - returned in part exchange for
• Skywatcher Equinox 120 - not quite as good I'd hoped (not as good as the equinox 80mm), sold.

Took a break for a few years (although did occasionally get some time at the eyepiece) and came back to the hobby in 2020, and these appeared... .

• TS 80mm ED - I like the 80mms for grab and go and holidays. I missed the equinox, so recently got this at the end of last year. No first light as yet.
• Skywatcher Evostar 150mm ED - Recent acquisition. Big, but not nearly as difficult at f8 to manage as the Istar. Nice optics, but somewhat unrefined in fit/finish. Seems to show a lot of potential though.

I really don't need another telescope, and I ought to rationalize my collection (do I really need two 4" achros and a 5" achro when I have the 150mm ED?). But, for me at least, each of these 'scope has its own history and simple performance stats/types/numbers/cost aren't the whole of the story in my criteria for whether to keep one or not (I'm a bit of romantic, and not all that pragmatic or much of a scientist, I'm afraid). 

But I am very tempted still to get something apo in the 5" - 5.5"class (and maybe lose the 150ED), or even a quality apo 4" (could lose the 100RS, but I wouldn't replace the f13 Skylight). Strangely drawn to viewing Tak posts, or drooling over the APM Lzos 130 f9... . That's the trouble with clouds, have to replace viewing stars with shopping fantasies  .

Yep - the dovetail thing, thanks.

What a beautiful scope, Nicola. I wish a successful first light!

BTW, Jeremy, is the dovertail to clamshell fixing the same for the FC100s, do you know? Or are there tube rings that fit the tubes? (I've been wondering how to attach the clamshell to a bar for use on my azq6, should I ever succumb to the Tak tempatation....)

On 26/02/2021 at 22:16, John said:

There have been quite a few over the past few years that have been visible in amateur scopes. I've observed about 10 I think. Here is the current list of the brightest:

http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/

Nothing above magnitude 14 just now. I think the one in M82 in early 2014 was the brightest that I've seen - magnitude 10.5 at it's peak.

The last one in our galaxy was over 400 years ago. Perhaps we are due another ?

 

I remember that one. My note book has a record for 10th Feb 2014  - "Got to see the Type 1a (?) super nova in M82, SN2014J, magntitude between 11 and 10. Fantastic to think what force that explosion in a galaxy 12 million LYS away represents for us to see it so bright here".

I don't think I've been lucky enough to see one since (at least, not one I recorded in my notes).

I can't believe I've got a 'scope mounted and cooling for the fourth night in a row! Skywatcher Evostar 150ED ready for action (as soon as I've plugged it all in ).

Nice Nik. I tried this in my 100mm f13 last night (moving Sirius just off the ep field of view). I can't swear to split, but I was getting hints of its presence at 260x with a 5mm baader genuine ortho. Tried again at 292x with a 10mm ortho and 2.25 barlow, but if any thing that made it harder. So, I 've got closer than I've been before, but tantalisingly this is not a definite for me yet. The pup escapes again... .

I find this scope will certainly show the Rigel double and the E and F in the Trapezium (altough it struggled with this last night), and can just split Zeta Cancri (just... barely managed it last night at x260 in moments of good seeing and slightly cleaner at 292x later on when it was higher in the sky). Based on this, I think it should get Sirius B, or is 4" too small? Has anyone had any luck with a filter to reduce the glare at all?

My contribution, again in the 4" class. Tonight I'll be using this Skylight 100mm F13 (based on a Carton lens), mounted on an AZ-EQ 6GT in eq mode. Beautiful to use, and really punches through poor seeing. Great for doubles.

Good point on the tube rings. I have bought the upgraded SW set, just not got round to fitting it yet (partly so it'll go back in the case ok). WOnder if it'll make that much difference to the stability? As it is, it damps down pretty quikcly if I accidently nudge it, and doesn't vibrate when tracking. I reckon I need some better eps too (maybe some TV Delos or the Nagler zoom). At f8 it seems less forgiving of my basic eps than my f13 100mm. Having said that, my Baader orthos work well with it.

Good stuff Gary. I'm in agreement on the SW 150ED. I think its a really capable scope and excellent for its cost. I just don't get on with the focusser - might see if I can replace it with something better. How do you find yours to use?

Couldn't crack it in either my Tal125R achro or the SW Evostar 150ED refractors over the last two nights, despite pouring on the magnification. Anything over 250x-300x probaly didn't help to be honest, given the seeing and the lowish altitude and the fact Sirius lies adjacent to/over my neighbour's house from my view position.

I think I need to get out of town or wait for a really steady night.

I've had this scope since December last year, and its had a fair amount of starlight now, albeit under generally poor/average seeing conditions.  Still, long enough for me to have come to some conclusions. My skies are suburban, but pointing towards central York. Apparently I'm in Bortle 6, but I'd say closer to 7 (right on the edge according to the maps I've seen).

In a nutshell, its a 6" (150mm)  ED (glass unspecified) with a focal length of 1200mm (f8), with a price well under £2k. FLO currently have it for £1799 - I was lucky enough to buy mine for £1520, before the recent price rises kicked in. It has the same fit and finish as the rest of the Evostar (Pro) range. A big fixed metal dewshield adds to the weight at the top end, it has some basic rings and a vixen/sw type dovetail and a 2" fixed dual speeed focusser (note, mine did not come with a 2" to 1.25" adaptor), all delivered in a well padded hard case. The interior is well baffled, and I don't see any stray light. The OTA with rings weighs in at 9.5kg and is substantially easer to handle than the 150mm f10 Istar I used to own. The case is huge, sturdy and heavy and nearly unmanageable with the scope inside. There is a sprung handle at either end and a central carry handle on one side. Four locks, and plenty of inserts/cutouts in the interior for accessories.

I mount the scope on an Az-Eq 6 GT, in eq mode which handles it easily. I could really do with a mini-pier to lift the tube a bit, as I do find myself kneeling to observe targets near the zenith.

My basic testing and observations to date indicate that the scope is basically collimated fine, with no obvious aberrations. It controls colour reasonably well (much better than my f9 125mm achro), but there is a little colour on the limb of the moon for example. Doesn't bother me (I don't really notice it when using my achros anyway, although they're all pretty "long", so not too bad in anycase). Star images are generally good and sharp pretty much across the whole lens. It'll take high magnification on the moon, and doubles (haven't had an opportunity to test it on planets yet). Its aperture ensures it gives really pleasing views of features such as the Orion nebula - almost a 3D feel, with lots of structure visible. Despite the moonlight over the last couple fof nights, it was able to bring out the granularity in M3 and m94 as it started to resolve these clusters at medium magnifications (hinting at what it might be capable of under a good dark sky). Its been great for splitting multiple systems so far (the Pup still eludes me however). I was even afforded a suprisingly good view of M53, depsite it being at low altitude through average seeing last night.

If I have a criticism, its that it feels soft when trying to focus at high powers (250x plus), even allowing for seeing. Even at medium powers, it just doesn't have that snap to focus I enjoy with my other fracs: both of my TALs seem to exhibit a decent snap to focus even with non-dual speed crayfords and the baader steeltrack on my f13 100mm achro (one of Richard Day's Carton lensed Skylights) is leagues ahead of the focusser on the Skywatcher. To be fair, its seems to hold heavy eyepieces in a 2" diagonal well enough though.

To sum up, considering my suburban and limited skies, and the largely indifferent seeing since I bought it, I think its a pretty good telescope for the money. It controls colour reasonably well, better than the 102mm ED Starwave I had a few years back (that had FL51 glass, if I recall correctly), but maybe not quite as well as the SW Equinox 120 I used to own (close though). Nevertheless, I feel it has great potential -  as I get to know how best to use it, I'm getting better results with it, and I think it could really do wonders in the right conditions and under a dark sky. It has great light grasp and good optics. It is well made, but pretty basic. In my opinion it is let down by a poor focusser, but I can live with that focusser being non-rotatable, adn I don't mind the fixed dew shield. 

I'm sure it is not the best performing scope out there, but to get something significantly optically better at the same aperture I think I'd have to spend a good £1000 extra (or more, if I went triplet). Of course, that would likely bring a better finish and improved mechanicals (rotatable focussers etc). Still, a robust and capable 150mm ED in a manageable tube length that'll perform pretty much as well as my average seeing conditions will permit, all for well under 2 grand? Whats not to like!