bingevader

For a planet to be in opposition, we (the earth) have to be directly between a planet and the sun. That can't possibly happen with a planet that has a smaller orbit than ours. We can be in conjunction and line up, either with the other planet in the middle or the sun in the middle. When the planet is in the middle, we are at opposition to the planet, but that will only happen in day time, not at night, so we will only ever see it through a solar 'scope.

Hello, I only have limited experience of a Newt on an Eq mount, but it is not easy. To use it properly, and without being a contortionist, you'd need to rotate the OTA in its rings to see down the EP.

I seem to remember someone saying the Vixen plossls worked well in binoviewers? I know they are well thought of generally. The eye relief is 15mm, which might be a problem if you wear specs. They're on offer on FLO atm, which is good seeing as you need two! Could be another option.

It's certainly a fine place to start. And, yep, get the finderscope sorted sorted in the day time (be careful of the sun!) They're not the most robust of 'scopes, but you can see plenty with them. We have one in school. Great on the moon. With a solar filter, it's also good on the sun. Just don't expect any miracles!

Just for clarity, as this is the Getting Started With Observing section. I know the OP has mentioned "capture" so is probably referring to AP. However, M51 is not an easy find for a beginner, it is a faint fuzzy. Took me a long time to find it when I first tried. My skies are pretty dark and I'm lucky if I see any detail at all through the 8". Hope that helps.

Hello.

I'd save and get the BSTs myself. It's taken me years to acquire my EPs. Just don't start by replacing the focal lengths you already have. If you can't wait, then the Vixen NPLs are supposed to have a good reputation and they're a tenner off through FLO atm. But I wouldn't advise going lower than the 10mm, it'll be like looking through a straw (unless you like that kind of thing!).

Aw, and I was just thinking this was a Coronavirus good news story!

Lord knows what he's doing on the table though!

Got a bit banjaxed with your grey font.

I think it is just going to be practice. The star hopping guides given are great. I can remember finding it very difficult to locate when I started out, but it gets much easier once you know where it is! On a very good night at home I can see it as a faint fuzzy blob with my specs on. From school, in a fairly light polluted town, we have seen it through 9x63 and 8x42 bins, still faint and fuzzy, but it is possible. You will get it eventually.

I have the 4mm OVL and that is very good indeed in the 200p.

The two links posted have the red dot finder, not a straight through. I haven't used a rack and pinion, so I can't comment, but they must be totally amazing then as there's nothing wrong with my Crayford!

£65 on top of the 400. Mine was about that too, it's in my sig.

Don't worry about the Bresser if the extra money is an issue, the 200p is excellent. It certainly does not need modding or upgrading out of the box! I actually don't get on with red dot finders provided with the Bresser and prefer a finderscope anyway. And of the three mods I've done in the years since I've had my 200p, two aren't included in the Bresser! Namely, a Right angle finderscope and a 1:10 focuser. The other mod was to flock the 'scope and I can't honestly say that has made a huge difference, certainly not enough to make it a selling point of the Bresser over the 200p.

No, not a quick job as I recall. I seem to remember people removing the mirror and adding spacers. Have a search, I'm sure there are topics on it, if not here then elsewhere on the line. Not scary, just not quick. I've taken my mirror out to clean it, which is easy if you are careful, but still, not a quick job.

BST Starguiders are the way to go with EPs I think. If they'd been around when I started buying EPs, I'm not sure I'd have bought anything else. Until I started making the move to 82 degree EPs that is! Saying that, a good 6mm like the WO SPL is fab for the planets when the conditions are good.

RIP Mad Mike.

I'd suggest, as a very rough comparison, to stick both 'scopes and EPs into Stellarium and have a look. As you've probably already worked out, the 17mm in the 300p would give a magnification of 88x at an aFOV of 82° and the 28mm in the 200pds would give a mag of 36x at an aFOV of 56°. So, not an east comparison to make really. However, you won't fit all of M42 for example, in the FOV, but it would be at a much higher magnification in the 300p with the 17mm. Whereas, M42 would fit comfortably in the smaller FOV at a much lower magnification in the 200pds with the 28mm. You wouldn't get all of M42 in the 300p with the 28mm either though! My 82° 30mm EP would just about do it.

Mine is still coming out as orange to red because of the wind.

The OVL 7mm is lovely. You've missed the Williams Optics SPL 6mm which is also lovely.

How does the 32mm Skywatcher SWA compare to the 32mm Panaview, Robin?

Or a barlow?

Happy to report that the optics seem to have remained impressive. Haven't tried with Saturn yet, but have been very pleased with the edge to edge sharpness at f6.

I have the 4mm OVL, it's a very fine eyepiece and the 82° FOV gives plenty of drift time.