DirkSteele

Clouds. Mostly clouds! Little unfair, as we did see Jupiter as it was rising in the east but was a mushy mess as it was so low and a few stars early in the session but alas the clear skies during the afternoon did not hold into the evening so about 50 attendees to the Baker Street Irregular Astronomers star party in Regent’s Park were not rewarded for their effort to travel. I did attempt to find Saturn hoping it might cut through the high cloud in a scope even though it was not visible naked eye, using a compass and digital spirit level to point my manual Alt Az in the right direction (having checked that both were accurate by using the same method to find Jupiter without looking at it), but sadly the cloud was too thick.

I note the two inch visual back is optional. Wonder if it vignettes using the full 2” field stop? if it is usable that gives just shy of a max 1-degree field which isn’t terrible though not sure what the off axis performance would be like.

Oh and I hope this guarantee holds as the next named storm hit the UK very shortly after the courier dropped it off!

A few weeks ago I created a post to celebrate 10 years of my little astro website, Alpha-Lyrae which caused a few people to mention that my reviews had cost them money. Well some of you have returned the favour. As much as I love my APM LZOS 105 triplet which is airline portable, it’s a big lad, which requires a more robust mounting solution and I wanted a four inch scope which was a little more svelte so it could go on a smaller mount and tripod. So what is in the box above? It’s the FC-100DC. I am not naming names but @Stu, @JeremyS, @mikeDnight and @John all of whom have variations on this scope may have a question or two to answer! 😉

To quote Ed Ting. “It’s a good day….new telescope.”

Dragged the APM LZOS 130/1200 across London for the Baker Street Irregular Astronomers star party the other night in Regent’s Park. BT (Nebula) Tower in the background.

It has been a while since I have written a review (about 2 and half years in fact) but after more than 5-years of ownership (always like to own things for a long time so the view can be very considered, unlike the time pressure of magazine reviews), I have put fingers to keyboard and written a review of what I think is a rather special telescope, the APM (TMB) LZOS 130-1200 f/9.2 triplet apo. Contents: · Preamble (about fate and other such nonsense) · Who are LZOS and the APM/TMB Relationship? · The history of the TMB LZOS 130 f/9.2 (and some controversy) · The OTA · The focuser · Details on flatteners and focal reducers · The lens · What is the Focal length? · What is the big deal about this specific model? · Under the stars · Current Availability · Conclusion Quite a long one but aren’t they always when I write them? Review is on the link below (I know talk of controversy has got you all curious so click away!). http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2023/10/15/apm-tmb-lzos-130-f9-2-triplet-refractor-review/ Hope you enjoy and feedback always appreciated. Clear skies (which I think we could all really use some of at the moment), Matthew

I use the triple click on my iPhone to avoid white light when shutting the app or unlocking the phone but agree with @John, if you are pushing the limits of visibility, no amount of light of any colour (no matter how dim) is doing you any favours. Red is just less damaging, rather than not damaging. I did make a sleeve for my iPad years ago in Blue Peter style. I managed to get superglue on my finger tips. This was quite a problem as I use a finger print scanner at work to use my financial terminal and it made my finger print unreadible (so the crime movies are right!). I had to call the supplier from the centre of the trading floor and explain why I needed an unlock code for the day. As you might imagine, there was an eruption of laughter across the floor when I explained I had glue on my fingers! 😄

Not personally, but several attendees to AstroCamp in Wales which is in a dark sky park do rent motor homes for the event and it seems to work quite well.

A Mak wouldn't have diffraction spikes as it does not have spider vanes. A little more information to help us diagnose the problem would be helpful. Are the four "spikes" all orientated in the same direction? Or are they perpendiuclar / random orientations? Do the spikes run out into space off the planets surface / rings, and do they extend equally in both directions? Couple of experiments for you to try to potentially eliminate culprits. Do the spikes appear if using another eyepiece? If they do, it may well indicate the issue is with the telescope. If they do not, it may be the eyepiece. Second, trying spinning the eyepiece in the eyepiece holder of the scope. Do the spikes change orientation? If yes, then the eyepiece may be at fault. If not, the problem may be with the scope. I note from your signature, you have a second scope. The 14mm will be lower power in the ZS73 but do you see anything similar when looking at Saturn? Saturn is quite a bright object which may well make the spikes easier to see. Also try Jupiter. Please also try to observe Vega. Do you see the spikes? Assuming you keep Saturn roughly in the centre of the field, slowiy move Vega up and down the field in the centre to see if the spikes appear. As Saturn has an apparent diameter, it may be that surface scraches in one of the optical elments are showing up. Vega won't have that diameter so you will need to move it to see if you pass over a scratch. While I won't advocate a full star test at this stage, if the seeing is good, use a high power eyepiece and defocus a star like Vega and expand the fresnel diffraction pattern so you expand 5-6 rings. Does the outer ring look "hairy" especially outside of focus? By hairy, I mean it looks like lots of little strands stand up off the outer ring. I have seen this in a Mak before and is indication of surface roughness.

On the one or two occasions I have suffered the same feeling over the 30+ years I have been stargazing, I have found a break away from it really invigorates me to get back in to it. That might be as short as month, but there was one instance where it was nearly 6 months.

That was my first star chart book as well. Bought mine back in 1986 I think when I first started to look at the sky as a 6-7 year old. Wil Tirion was the stellar cartographer so the charts are good if a little small. Even took this to Namibia back in 2011 when luggage allowance was very restricted.

I have done similar on Wimbledon Common and Primrose Hill in the past which don’t close over night (the latter Monday to Thursday). Sadly your location is an 1 hour drive away from me in central London but seems like a great idea. Hopefully some more local SGL members will be in touch.

I am less familiar with EQ mounts as I almost exclusively use Alt-Az but I would imagine you would see the benefit of the upgrade. I have always thought of the EQ5 as the bare minimum really in the EQ space and the EQ3 and lower just come as a starter kit to get the new telescope owner going. If you are serious about pursuing astrophotography further, you may even be better served with the HEQ5 but others with more experience of these mounts will be able to provide better commentary on this matter.

Speaking as a refractor man, the short answer is no. A well collimated 130 Newtonian will likely out perform the ST 120. While the refractor may have slightly better contrast (though not quite the match of the top tier Apos), it will probably do no more than match the extra light gathering ability of the 130 and quite possibly fall short of it. If you want better views of DSOs, you would be better served with something like an 8" Dobsonian. You could always keep your 130 on the EQ mount so you can continue to dabble in planetary photgraphy with the benefits of polar alignment.

Awesome piece of work.

Don’t forget that you need more out focus to bring nearby objects to focus so you should still try it at infinity with the stars just in case it works.

When I was teenager stargazing in my parent’s garden, the neighbour’s cat would often come and sit under the tripod and go to sleep. He was never happy when I packed down his little house and called it a night.

First Light Optics have at least certain models professionally checked before they ship. I know Astrograph check over the APM LZOS scopes though I do not know if that extends to other makes. The Widescreen Centre definitely checked over my Tak FS-60 and FC-76 scopes. Others may also do so but I have not bought scopes from other retailers (at least ones that still trade).

Those were fun observing sessions! And they have altered the way I go about any planned observing. Now I tend to focus on areas of the sky and hunt down many of the treasures there rather than jumping all over the sky in an ad hoc manner. However, random sessions because it is clear are still what ever I can think of to hunt down.

I typically use the Tele Optic Ercole but I start to experience vibrations that make much higher power work (which we both know the scope is very capable to do) above 200-250x hard. I also use the APM AzMaxload (which I bought for the 180mm) and that is solid as a rock but a very different weight class which makes using when travelling harder. I am looking around for a new mount which might sit between them. I know @John uses the T-Rex and it works very well but that mount is no longer produced.

Sadly, not me posting about those two scopes. Would love to get my hands on either though and put them through their paces.

No, not the star, that is about 450Myrs old, but my Astro website. What started as a gift of a web domain from my then girlfriend (now wife) named after my favourite star so “I could write some Astro-stuff if the mood took me” became a fun outlet to record some big observing sessions over the years, often in far away lands, and plenty of equipment reviews and other random Astronomy stuff. Highlights would be Astronomy Now magazine contacting me after reading some reviews and asking me to review stuff for the magazine, and Al Nagler emailing me after reading my 21mm Ethos review asking if he could put some excerpts on the Tele Vue website and link to the review. I think my favourite review is the Vixen SG 2.1x42 binoculars which seemed to become the de facto review online for a while for these interesting binos as retailers all over the world linked to it on the product page (analytics was fun with that one), and it was edited and translated into French for Ciel et Espace magazine. http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2014/10/25/vixen-sg-2-1x42-binoculars-review/ My favourite observing report has a rather comical ending but it is night 2 of a 2013 trip to Namibia where after a dusk till dawn session, I mistook(briefly) Hubble’s Variable Nebula for a new comet discovery! I blame the tiredness (that is my story and I am sticking to under oath!). http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2013/10/19/stargazing-under-fantastically-dark-namibian-skies-night-two/ My ability to add these days is more limited as it my stargazing in general as I now have 2 and half year old (though she is already showing interest and calls crescent phases of the moon a baby moon so fingers crossed she is joining me under the stars in a few years) but I hope to add stuff occasionally (actually have a review almost finished). Here is to the next 10 years! And for those that have bought stuff after reading reviews on the site, my apologies or you are welcome depending on how the bank manager reacted. 😉

I always think this is an interesting comparison. Both set to transportation length, my LZOS 105 f/6.2 and my LZOS 130 /9.2. Only 25mm difference in aperture but that combined with 3 f-stop difference in focal ratio makes a heck of a difference! Should acknowledge that the 105 does have a long sliding draw tube which really keeps the transport length down to about 19”.

If Astrometry does not work (I have had issues with it before), a bit more info would be helpful. What time did you capture the photo? What direction were you looking (I know you mention Saturn, but want to make sure you were pointing the correct direction), and did you zoom the photo at all? The iPhone 13 Pro camera as a field of view on the long axis of just over 100-degrees so will help us to understand how big those star patterns are so we can help you identify the field.