DirkSteele

Superb!

At 12000 Yen excluding tax, that is about £85. Expect we will see it for a bit more, but might be useful so will consider picking one up.

I have certainly had no issues with stray light using the scope visually. I would say, as with most scopes, the dew shield is too short relative to the aperture, so does not keep dew at bay as long as it could, so from that perspective it would be a welcome addition, and the extra weight up front could prove useful. Try balancing a FS-60 with a 2" diagonal and 21mm Ethos....

That is a shame. There is some great content on some of those threads. I am particularly partial to the TMB group which is sadly now defunct after the passing of Tom Back, but his designs still live on in the LZOS scopes so there is still good relevance in the information.

A couple of months ago nPAE (Nottingham Precision Astro Engineering) lent me a 2" Theia90 Star Diagonal with in built filter changer for a review. I have been playing with since August, comparing against other diagonals in my collection and have now compiled my thoughts into a review which is on the link below: http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2019/10/12/npae-theia90-collimating-diagonal-and-filter-changer-review/ What comes in the mini-Cerberus case. Feedback always appreciated. EDIT: mods just realised I posted this in the wrong section. Please move to the reviews section. Thanks.

I used my 3" Tak and Baader Herschel Wedge for the one in 2016 and that worked quite well. As I am hoping to attend an event and hence will travel across London, I expect something similar again. Fingers crossed the weather plays ball!

Been doing this since I was a child so racked up quite a few, but off the top of my head, and in no particular order, some of the highlights include: The Total Solar Eclipse in 1999, as seen from France. Was cloudy until a few minutes before totality, and then the entire sky cleared. Very lucky! Hale Bopp was amazing, and I got to meet Tom Bopp a few months after it faded from view. Seeing M42 for the first time through a scope. It was my first Messier in a telescope and it blew my socks off. One night in the desert in Oman stands out as probably the single most impressive night of stargazing I have ever had and I have had a few! My first time exploring Argo Navis (Carina, Vela and Puppis) from Namibia. Eta Carinae just W.O.W!! Seeing 47 Tucanae for the first time. The 2003 Mars opposition. It was high in the sky and the closest approach in a very long time! Seeing Saturn for the first time in a scope (imagine everyone has that on their list). Also using Saturn to propose to my wife with a scope pointed at it in Namibia. Working as the resident astronomer in gold rated NamibRand Nature Reserve in Namibia for a couple of weeks in 2014. Certainly made the most of a 12" scope and those skies. Edit: cannot believe I forgot the transit of Venus in 2004. Took the day off work, headed to my parents in Hampshire where my C11 lived at the time and had completely cloudless skies for the entire event. I bet I could go on and on! But I will let someone else have a go.😉

Still just like new, though the engraved serial plate has faded a little, but otherwise still like day one.

Yep still have it. It is a great mount. No other Alt Az out there I can find which matches it’s capabilities.

A finder is pretty integral to my star hopping and quite frankly I was getting fed up with the mediocre optics found in pretty much all 50mm finders. My Takahashi 30mm however is superb. Fancing a bit more of that action I placed an order for this. Yes it is expensive (cost more than my first scope bought 25 years ago) but a quick peak at the moon this evening tells me it is a fab piece of kit.

Wow they don’t sell many of those! I bought mine in 2013 with my APM LZOS 180mm triplet and the serial number is 0708. So 10 in about 6 years.

I have purchased from TrueTek Astro (previously known as True Technology so Mods please aggregate with that thread) and always found Nick very helpful and knowledgeable about Takahashi equipment. This time was no different. i decided I was tired of mediocre finders and believing the Tak 6x30 finder to be the best I have ever used, I felt the 50mm would be the same. Prices at the moment are around £315 on the internet but without prompting Nick offered it at £299 including shipping. He was expecting a new delivery within a week so I paid and he shipped out as soon as it arrived and it was delivered this morning. Just took a quick look at the Moon, it is very good! Nice easy transaction as it should be.

I was also going to suggest digitizing them as well.

Some rather exciting kit listed so far! Wish I was coming so I could see all those scopes in the flesh.

Not that I am able to attend this particular star party due to other commitments, but for future reference, are those "glamping" pods/huts/cabins that are on the campsites webpage available to hire during SGL star parties?

Several years ago I was observing on Wimbledon Common with a few others and a policeman came up to us and asked if we would be long as he wanted to "release the dogs." Tried not to laugh as I thought of Mr Burns saying "release the hounds." However, we did pack down shortly thereafter though were coming to the end of the session anyway. Sadly he declined a quick peak at Saturn. His loss.

Didn't stop me taking a small scope to Mozambique on my honeymoon a couple of years ago! 😉 Though I did restrict it to three sessions at different times of the night. Hope you have a great time!

AstroCamp dates in the Brecon Beacons are already announced for 2020. http://www.astrocamp.awesomeastronomy.com/ Definitely beginner friendly.

Just wow. I love the idea of this thing more and more every time I see more pictures that you have taken. And that is after playing with your NV and already being very impressed with it.

Thanks. I felt like I was on borrowed time from the start so I was certainly speeding around the sky. Fortunately pretty good at star hopping but I spent less time with each object than I otherwise might have.

Ohh... That looks nice!

Great image!

The Flame Nebula in particular was a huge surprise as the Moon was in Gemini so not far away. Fortunately Cygnus was on the other side of the sky and hence not being impacted anywhere near the same degree. UHC is definitely very helpful though. I suspect without would have been far more difficult.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed reading it.

Honestly, and this is coming from a hardcore refractor guy, I would not choose either of them as my primary visual instrument for planets, DSOs and clusters. While you will need to consider mount choice, I would suggest Skywatcher 200p newtonian. It will have better reach and performance on DSOs thanks to larger aperture, and will also beat both on planets. The only drawback is the diffraction spikes could be a distraction but they do not bother me that much. It is about the same price I believe as the ST120. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200p-ota.html If your friend is dead set on one of those two instruments, I would go with the 120 but he must be aware that in will show some substantial chromatic aberration on planets and bright stars which is compromising its performance slightly. But on DSOs, the larger aperture will win out, even if the absolute optical quality is below the 80ed.