Marki

I hate this thread.... . Now I "need" more fracs!

T Tauri - easy split and a nice pair, but I don't see any green. Pale yellow and bluey white for me. Nice list though, Nick. Will take a while to work through

Not sure how I missed this until now. This is a most excellent and succinct article, Rob. Many thanks for your time and patience in making this availabel to us all - you are a credit to SGL! This kind of thing is what makes SGL such a fascinating, friendly and amazing place to hang out in!

Clear skies!

Much appreciated Steve, I'll take a look at those link. Thanks

Here are mine:

10x50 Zenith (bought for a tenner off fleabay; really poor - badly out of whack, and bin-fodder really).

10x42 Visionary Fieldtracker (bought these on holiday in Skye as I'd forgotten to bring any optics - modern, light, robust, pretty decent coatings, and the only pair my wife gets on with)

10x50 Carl Zeiss Jenoptem (fantastic optics - my most used pair, and actually my most used piece of astro kit. Pretty heavy though).

12x40 Tento (typical Soviet engineering; robust, with surprisingly good optics. Don't use them that much as I find the light gathering is too low for astro use and the field of view is too restricted. Also, the eye cups are some sort of hard plastic so a bit uncomfortable for longer sessions)

Of these I like the Zeiss best and will definitely keep them. Need to find a repair place, as they have lost collimation slighlty after rattling around in the boot of my car on a trip recently; I obviously hadn't packed them as well as I should have done! Anyone got any suggestions for bin repairers?

A great life, well lived. Not just an astonomer, but also a noted musician, sportman and above all, a gentleman.

He will be sorely missed, and has been an inspiration to me since I was first given an Observer's book back in the late 60's. Let us remember his great achievements; his contributions to mapping the moon are universal and were of benefit to both the American and Russian space programmes. Let us celebrate that prodigious output of writings and radio and television programmes, the tireless work and unstinting generosity to the amateur community, and to education generally. Let us hope his mantle can be taken up and his great work in popularising (but never dumbing down) astronomy can be continued.

I will be out tonight to gaze in awe at the stars with Sir Patrick uppermost in my thoughts.

"Until next time...Goodnight!!

When I first used my 8SE I had to turn the focussing knob an aweful lot more than I expected, like 30 or more twists! Maybe worth a try? I'd lose the barlow to begin with as well - you may find it easier to focus without it to begin with. Sorry if you've already done that! otherwise, not sure what to suggest...

What he said . This forum is most excellent, and I think the stickies in particular are very helpful, as are the good and knowledgeable folks who have answered my questions and put up with my posts . I also think the thread on how big telescopes is great too - I only wish I'd found the forum sooner, as I may have been a bit more clued up on where I want to go with the hobby and what kit I needed to start.

Really liking the update to the forum too, now I've had a day or ttwo to get used to it!

By the way, happy to swap a week or two of our rain for your spanish sunshine, Qualia

Ordered a couple of GSO (TS branded) wide angles via the website last Saturday. Order processed Monday and delivered from Germany on Wednesday.. go Deutchepost go!

Plus Harribo !

This is the third order I have had from the chaps at TS. Excellent service and promt delivery everytime, so thought was worth a mention in dispatches .

Top effort!

I noticed the change of wording last night as well. I'd be interested to see your next set of results, as I recently got the Starwave ED 102 version. Only really used it for visual work so far, and whilst I like the build-quality and visuals of the ED I am not convinced its a huge amount better than my TAL (that could be a reflection on my limited experience and knowledge so far, and I have not attempted any serious photography with the ED yet). I do like the big focusser though - feels reassuringly solid when I hang my dslr and/or hyperions etc. off it.

HI and welcome to the lounge