bingevader

The children in school have no problem using the 8" dob, we have a small (3 step) step ladder that means even the 5 year olds can have a go. It's only the carting around you need to worry about. The dob and stand go in the back of the zafira fully assembled, or base in the boot and ota across the back seat in the fiesta. I'd go for the 150p it should be portable enough unless you were going to walk into Exmoor!

I don't think Matthew responded. I'd love to come, but you are a bit far away for me.

I would have to concur! From what you said about the 10mm stock eyepiece and now the Panaview, I feel there is something else going on, that is not just the fault of the EP. Seeing conditions may play a part, arguably neither of these EPs are by any means top class, but they shouldn't disappoint.

Croeso!

Hello Deisler, Sorry, only just got around to posting on here. You will enjoy the Panaview, a bit soft around the edges, but the wide field views are lovely. It's also great for star hopping. The 5mm will be lovely on the moon. When the planets are a bit better placed, I think you'll be hankering after a bit more magnification if you are not happy with the 10mm. The 15mm and a 2x barlow would do this, or you could just get the 8mm! I've looked through the 8mm BST and it's very good.

I for one, will eagerly await your excellently written reviews!

Good session in school at lunchtime. Bombed out with the after school club. Watched some of the live feeds instead.

In that case, I think we are paying you too much for our astro gear Steve! It's definitely not much of a sales pitch. We still have a 27" telly, I don't need a new one and I certainly don't want the 55" one that the chap in Currys was saying everyone wants these days. But yep, I don't really need anything in my living room. In fact, I don't need a living room really, we could sit around the oven in the kitchen watching the baked potatoes cook!

Good point John, but although I've always overlooked TV as too pricey for me, I've never considered them rip off merchants until now.

Seriously though. I have the un-Apollo 11 version. Is there a significant difference to warrant the ten fold increase in price? Yep, it'll have Apollo 11 written on it. Is the glass made from silica gathered from the moon hand polished by the man in moon himself?! Or better still, hand polished on the thighs of Al Nagler!

If you already have this 'scope, then why not give it a bash first? It's not fab, I think it's a Jones/Bird design (a spherical mirror and corrector, rather than a parabolic mirror), but worth a go. We'd be happy to help you get started using it. It would give you an idea as to whether stargazing was something you were likely to take further. Then, if your partner isn't happy with it, you can save up and buy something better. BTW, What are the other 2nd hand 'scopes?

I remember looking at the vids of laser collimators and thinking that they looked simple, quick and easy to use. I got my cheshire and film canister out and it took me about 10 mins to collimate the 'scope. I can imagine that if you were travelling far or had a collapsible 'scope that needed collimating at night then a laser collimator might be handy.

Since when were the Cheeky Girls political?!

Thanks from me too. We're hoping to observe, but if the weather isn't great, a back up plan is always a good idea.

Still having them! No one has mentioned Hale-Bopp yet though.

Whilst I don't think size matters, I do think that the quality does. And, unfortunately, that does come at a price. However, I don't think sticking an amateur in front of a quality piece of kit would make them a serious astronomer. Equally, an experienced astronomer (like Galileo) will squeeze an incredible amount out of a fairly mediocre instrument. For me, as with the serious EPs, I'll never own a serious 'scope and that's fine, because I'm not an amateur astronomer, let alone a serious one. I'm very happy stargazing though.

Have a go yourself : Crater Impact Is it really only called Meteor Crater!?

Croeso!

Wow! busy night, no time to sleep!

Nice pics, exactly what I saw through my 8" dob week before last, nearly.

If you want something to use in both 'scopes, go with the BSTs. The Hyperions would be fine in the ETX but not necessarily so in the 150pds.

I thought this was going to be about Jaffa cakes, or at least looking at them through an expensive EP.

James! Get drawing and show us the sketches! Please!!! I have no talent and wish I could sketch what I see. It's a funny one this, we've loved working with Helen (the mod) in school this year collecting images of comet 46p using the Faulkes Telescopes. There's something special about capturing the images yourself rather than just looking at Hubble images. However, I'm totally visual. Even that's a quandary, as I can't see much in the distance with out glasses! And, isn't there something about the photons you see having been physically changed or altered by the mirror, so that you're not actually seeing the original photon/image anyway? That aside ( ), there's something special about hopping to, finding, and seeing something through the eyepiece, even if it is the faintest fuzzy you've ever seen! I'm not a "bucket list" person either, because having found it, I just want to find it again on a better night and see more clearly. I love looking through the images on here, they're fantastic. The cost of the gear is still a deciding factor for me, but even if I had the money, I'd still just buy a bigger dob!

Fab!

Woohoo! I've been trying for any part of the Veil Nebula since you mentioned it John. Cloud and the moon have hindered any progress until tonight. It was a race against time with the moon rising, but I finally caught a ride on The Witch's Broom and managed NGC 6992 too in the 8" with a UHC filter. Both very, very, faint, but they have given me the impetus to try again on a moonless night! Thanks John for the inspiration!