Nicola Fletcher

I use this one for my FC100DZ and really like it too.

What a lovely story Stu. I was lucky enough to experience the same as a child, when my parents moved to a house in the country (their friends thought they were nuts) and I’ll never forget the skies on clear nights. Whenever we used to come home after dark, we would all stand and look up. I remember visitors doing the same. The skies really were magnificent. Ive had an interest in the night skies all my life because of that, but I really got into astronomy after I got my first telescope. Since then it’s like an obsession, and I think my continued amazement at dark skies and the peace of sitting outside staring upwards, together with a hankering for the next wow moment, is my big draw to the hobby. I’m a bit of a nerd, and I like the precision and perfection that the hobby allows. I also absolutely love good equipment, and I enjoy collecting good scopes and eyepieces. There are multiple joys associated with this hobby and I can’t pin it down to one!

@Mr Spock, I also chose this scope as it fits easily in the boot of my car. Last month, I drove it 5 hours to the Dark Sky Reserve in Kerry, looked at fog and cloud for 4 days and then drove it home again! But if you have the opportunity to take yours on holiday (I plan holidays around dark skies and new moon these days!) it would be wonderful.

I know what you mean - when the moon is full here it’s so different - you can see right down through the fields which can be nice as wildlife is much more visible. I have never been overly interested in observing the moon before I got this scope, but I must say I’m getting very interested in it because the moon is so amazing through the dob. But moonless nights are fantastic - just standing looking up at the sky full of stars can be as good as using the scope (especially when I take a break from fruitlessly searching for an object!). And now that galaxies are not just little smudges of grey will make observing at this site even better.

Thank you! The skies are still great, but they were even better when I was younger. I don’t know how anyone could have failed to be interested in the night sky If they saw the skies here about 20 years ago. I know I’m very lucky to live here and have such a great observing site. I imagine @Captain Scarlet’s sky is even better in Cork! I have never used a SQM Magnus, but the skies here, especially to the south, are so dark and full of stars at new moon (on the occasional evenings that the sky is clear)! Thats a good description of M42, it was 3D. I still can’t stop thinking about it and Bode’s galaxies.

Last night had a pretty good forecast here in Wicklow, so I set up my 12” truss dob on my family farm, which has dark skies (Bortle 4, but I think only because of Dublin to the north). I’ve had the dob out a few times since I got it in December but this was its first proper session. It has a new shroud, from Shrouds by Heather, and I was also looking forward to trying out my new Astronomik UHC filter. The scope is very easy to set up and collimate using a laser collimator and the supplied tool that lets me collimate it from the eyepiece. It took me about 30 minutes to set up and collimate it. Here it is waiting for sunset: I really need to get a fancier surface to set it up on - an empty sheep feed bag has been serving me well so far! First up at about 7.30pm was Jupiter, looking really beautiful with quite a bit of detail in the equatorial belts. I moved on quite quickly as I was keen to try it on DSOs which I haven’t had much chance to do due to the presence of the moon every other time I have set it up. First up was M31, the Andromeda galaxy, with M32 and M110. They were so bright and M110 was a lovely sight in the same field of view as M31, with a very obvious core. M81 and M82 were unbelievable, far more beautiful and detailed than I imagined they would be, just fitting in the same field of view with a 22mm Nagler. It was difficult to move away from them, and they were my favourite objects of the night, but I was keen to see M42 so I eventually moved to it, initially without the filter and then with the UHC. Wow, what a sight it was! With the filter there was so much structure and detail, and for pure aesthetic appeal, I liked the unfiltered view. It was difficult to take it all in. I really must attempt to sketch it next time - I find M42 challenging to sketch. Lastly, I had a quick look at the double cluster in Perseus, but by this stage I was so cold I was starting to drop things so I packed up everything into the car for the short drive home. it was a very memorable night with this really nice telescope.

Hello and welcome to SGL!

I agree - I don’t remember much about the observing experience other than the moon was incredible through it. I didn’t use a stepladder but I don’t think I had trouble reaching the eyepiece. I think something about the perspective of the photo is off because it looks taller and the scope looks smaller than I remember. I’d say I only set it up 3 or 4 times in total.

I’m not sure if it could be classed as a regret, but my first scope was a 12” Meade LX200 SCT. I was interested in the night sky and I knew my uncle had bought the scope several years before but he hadn’t used it in a while. I asked him if I could borrow it, and he said yes, as long as I promised never to return it (maybe alarm bells should have gone off then but they didn’t!). I was so excited when it arrived in a massive pirate chest, with a rusty tripod. The mount’s electronics didn’t work but the OTA itself had been stored well and was in very good condition. That thing nearly killed me, and my dad was worse. We had to carry it up three high, awkward steps to a grass patch at the back of the house every time I wanted to use it, and it was massive. I hadn’t a clue what I was doing, it was on a wedge but I had no idea what it was for or how to polar align it. If I had only taken it off the wedge I might have had some hope but it beat me in the end and went back into the pirate chest. I ended up getting a 127 Mak and I had a great time with that and my astronomy obsession took off. So it isn’t a regret really, my regret is not making the most of it although even now I think I would find it a challenge to use. I have stuck with small scopes ever since, although I did get a 12” truss tube dob for Christmas that is a doddle to handle compared with the LX200. Below is a photo of me the first day I set up the scope. I cringe a bit when I look at it now but that was the day I really started on my astronomy journey.

I thought long and hard, and went for the 180C in the end. The smaller size, weight and mount requirements were the deciding factors. The best telescope is the one you use, and I have learned the hard way about buying scopes that are too big for me. I’m obsessively watching the courier’s progress - it will be here on Friday or Monday. I will post pictures!

Absolutely Mike - I even thought of @JeremyS when I saw them. Mind you, Jeremy is single handedly responsible for the fact that a Mewlon, with its own handle, is winging itself to my house as we speak. I think I’m going over to the dark side!

I was reading online - I think on CN - about someone who took a year off work and shipped a 36’ Obsession to New Zealand to observe the southern sky. I would absolutely love to do that! If that was too much, a 24’ Planewave would do. I recently had a look through one - it was amazing. You did say ultimate setup!

Thanks @John, I’ve never seen that Vixen video. Really interesting to see how they make the scopes, especially the bit at the beginning where they show the lens making. I’ve seen the Tak one a gazillion times - it never gets old and makes me appreciate my refractors more and more every time I see it.

I just love how substantial it looks, and on that classy mount - very, very nice. I can imagine the FS128 was quite a bit heavier. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of use from Superfox 🦊 It’ll be great having something that doesn’t feel so big that you don’t want the hassle of getting it out. I do love my 4” Tak and find that it gets lots of use because it’s so easy to set up, light and a true pleasure to observe through. The extra aperture on yours will make for some excellent evenings ahead!

Congratulations Dave on your very handsome new acquisition. It looks fantastic and I am sure you’ll be very happy with it. I wish Trinity’s new owner the very best also! Looking forward to your observing reports. Nicola

That's beautiful, not 'rough and ready' at all. It’s like the view I want as a visual observer , but very rarely get!

Thanks for that really interesting comparison. I often wonder if I made a mistake selling my 127 Mak when I got my 4” refractor, but I did feel that the Mak wouldn’t get enough use so I sold it on. Like you, I had some great times with that Mak but I think selling it was the right decision.

I think my favourite ‘wow’ moments so far have been: The moon through my 12” Dob - a completely amazing experience. Watching the GRS on Jupiter last year at a star party through a Celestron C9.25 - the detail that evening was magical. At the same star party, the ring nebula through a C11. M42 through my 3” refractor from Monument Valley in Arizona a couple of weeks ago. Saturn through a 32” Dob at the Lowell Observatory. All of these had in common wonderful clear nights and/or very dark skies. In all cases, it was impossible to sleep afterwards, thinking about what I had seen that evening!

Welcome Frank and I hope you enjoy being a member of SGL!

I agree with the above - I use a Giro Ercole Mini alt-az mount with my small refractor and have never missed slow motion controls. The simplicity of nudging it along makes the whole setup very straightforward. A good solid tripod is very important thought and I find I can use the setup with my 4” refractors if my tripod is stable enough and I use a counterweight (I don’t need any counterweight for my 3” which keeps it very light for travel).

I love your sketch! I really must pay more attention to the moon. There’s so much to sketch.

I thought he said that too. Although looking at the date of the video, I don’t think they had the 24” Planewave then which they got in 2020. Maybe they got a second one or moved it off the 140? You’re not far wrong, toothbrush, credit card, telescope and eyepieces almost covered it 👍😊

I think that Planewave was the counterweight 😂 I still can’t believe they were 3” eyepieces, I never knew they existed. I can say that the viewing experience was fantastic through them though. I’m wondering if I can put one on my FC76….

Thank you for that great write up! I love the comparisons between the different scopes.

To be honest, when I planned the trip I didn’t even know about the observatory. We wanted to see Navajo Nation and Hopi, so the astronomy aspect was a complete bonus!