bomberbaz

I would go 2" for the wider field of view these give, and if your on a budget then either 2nd hand or if you have a bit of spare cash, how about these (or US equivalent) in 38 and 26, couple them with a 2" barlow and you will cover most bases with just two eyepieces. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/panaview-2-eyepieces.html You could add a 10mm eyepiece later for extra high power as that would give you x200. Anyway, this is just a quick idea but is based broadly upon what I use with my dob. Trust me you would be much more satisfied with the views, ease of use and results from the above setup over than what a kit would give you.

honestly forget the kits, you see them for sale 2nd hand all the time, that alone should tell you not to bother.

Never even knew about the save button, thanks 😂

Thanks Andrew, not that buying poor quality products would give a real bargain but that isn't always how things appear at first when one see's a lower priced alternative.

I stand corrected and apologise for my wrong assumptions. I would have thought there is some illicit copying going on but obviously not as widespread as I may have presumed.

Somebody made a good point on the CN thread about buying from the reduced cost suppliers who are simply copying the designs of others then under cutting them. The designers, in this case APM have spent a lot of cash producing this line and need to have a higher price to recoup that cost and then hopefully use some of that profit to design new glass. Svbony for all their quality are apparently copying others designs and although their quality and after service is good, should we really be supporting this plagiarism at the expense of innovators? Maybe this should be a separate thread!

Regarding the celestrons, unless they are using glass of some new amazing quality, then imho they are well over priced. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-ultima-edge-eyepieces.html They are also copies of the APM UFF range, I own the 24mm and it is a lovely eyepiece to use and much less expensive although stock is the current issue but ain't that the case everywhere? https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/apm-ultra-flat-field-eyepieces-65.html FWIW if I were in the market for eyepieces in this area and FOV wasn't a huge consideration then the APM would be in my shortlist. I would like to see a comparison between the svbony version against the APM. That result would be interesting.

try this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002314488490.html?spm=2114.12057483.detail.3.c5ab407634Vnhm

Anyone fancy a bash Monday night subject to weather at Hurstwood feel free to join me, subject to the weather playing ball. (It does look promising) It is more of a recce to see what the area is like because I know there is a near full rising moon to contend with but I would like to get a feel for it before I start committing any numbers of people to this spot. Still good views to be had of saturn and jupiter, some nice globulars and clusters around and the moon will have a cracking terminator 🙃 Address here 23 Hurstwood Ln, Worsthorne, Burnley BB10 3LF Map view here: map The worthorne moor car park may have a little lp from the adjacent houses, not sure until I get a night time view, (I have been there during day many times) but there is still loads of space further down at the fork where all three small lanes split. confirmation of times to follow

Noooooh don't do that, the high powered jets can blast dust so quickly it effectively becomes a sand blaster. You could try a super soft brush to "gently" dust away any particle, I use one of these to do this prior to cleaning. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-optics-cleaning-protection/celestron-lens-pen.html A very gentle buffing with this before cleaning with the baader wonder fluid and cloth as mentioned above by the 2 john's.

@Louis D 27 and 28 both 100 FOV appear to be more like a tele extender arrangement rather than barlow but I get they are using a barlowing effect to improve the FOV. Very clever arrangements and no wonder they are so expensive.

You could try it on faint fuzzies such as planetary nebula to see what the difference is. Try the larger ones such as the Owl M97, Iris NGC 7023, Dumbell M27 and M81, 82 galaxy pair. They might show you a difference in contrast !

So the wide field EP's with the 100+ fov are likely barlowed already to help achieve this @Peter Drew

I use a televue powermate with my Nikons, I don't have high powered eyepieces for my taurus as I prefer the combination and utility of the nikons + powermate. Without trying to sound braggy these are top quality chunks of glass so I expect top performance from them. I do also use a ES focal extender which I use for my 1.25" EP's which I use with my frac and solar scope and I have been very pleased with results from this ES which is a much cheaper option that the TV PM. If you have a good focal extender/powermate or similar and link this up with good eyepieces then personally I would be ok with it. I do have a barlow which is a decent make but I much prefer the focal extender / powermate option due to the difference in the way they work.

Buy a scope for the other half, the mount for yourself, simples 😅

@sw89 I am not sure if you have been made aware of a star tracking mount https://www.firstlightoptics.com/star-tracker-astronomy-mounts/ioptron-skytracker-pro-camera-mount-with-polar-scope.html These can be easily added to any half decent tripod but are really only for attaching your camera and not camera and scope due to weight limitations. I have a similar setup and it works great for wider field views although I have used it for higher magnifications with some success. It also has the added advantage of being very light (2.5lb) and can be bolted onto any decent camera tripod.

and you would be most welcome Ian, but as always we need weather to play ball.

it'll come Peter, no doubt on a full moon 😂

Just thinking of an evenings viewing on a suitable night Peter. Preferring a new or smallish moon either early setting or late rising. The areas up past clitheroe are not as good as they used to be. Since the installation of LED street lights the quality of the localities just north are much worse. I was thinking of Hurstwood as it is relatively easy to get too, however if there is sufficient interest and people prepared for a short travel, there are other areas which are certainly better. cheers Steve

I am using W11 Ron, only run DSS, Gimp and Stellarium so far as well as all my other non astro related stuff and not had any issues. If anything I find things run better and faster.

Hello everyone who is local to my area or indeed within travelling distance and considering trying something different at new viewing locations. I am looking to see if there is any interest or enthusiasm to possibly arrange a mini star party in the local area. I am aware there is quite a few SGL members in the locality and some may not get opportunity to try alternative viewing places and to meet up with like minded people hence this post to gauge interest! As a starter I thought Hurstwood reservoir car park might be a good starting point. It is easy to get to, reasonably dark, lots of room and has a great southern aspect. I have others in mind but I haven't had a chance to recke them yet. So anyone interested please shout up and see if this can be something worth looking at. No dates in mind yet due to the variable weather. Admins I have put this post here rather than star party's as it tend to have more traffic, hope this is ok. Cheers all Steve

I was going to do this mod on my dob but I then went the digital setting circles route. I think with this option and some practice the results will be just as accurate.

Still not got a scope then john

Hello Paul and yet another hello from another burnley lad, there are quite a few of us. I hail from ightonhill area. To be honest I think its time we had ourselves a star party one weekend. Anyway, jupiter is always a great starter target object, soon have you onto other stuff i am sure.

pretty fantastic that especially when you consider the skies you have to deal with. Nice work.