paulastro

I've not read any of this. Happily I must be a lucky chap, as my Askar 103 triplet doesn't suffer with any of these problems 😊.

I'm not sure I'd take whether a scope is 'top of the line' into consideration. There are also different views about which scopes are top of the line anyway. Also over the years I've had or used a small number of such scopes which have clearly not been up to their elevated reputations I have an Askar 103 triplet and StellMira 125 f7.8 which I have found to be amazing performers - irrespective of their cost and the names on the side of their tubes. You could spend an awful lot more money and not get better views. Of course, I can't say all examples of these scopes will perform as well as as the ones I have, as I haven't tried any others. However, If prospective purchasers of any scope buy from a reputable dealer with a sound returns policy, they can buy without fear.

John. Many years ago my first SW120ED was the gold version, an ex-demo one from Widescreen. In fact I was comparing it with Mike's TV101 at my home with Mike shortly after I bought it. The next day he advertised his TV and bought a new 120ED! In my memory it was excellent, as good as all the later editions including the Equinox which I've had at some time.

Are you saying we need more than one telescope John? 😊

I think at the first Astrofest, there were 6 and 8 inch Parks equatorially mounted Newtonians. Lovely quality and engineering with rotating tube ends to rotate the eyepiece position. Alas, I've never had the chance to use one.

I agree re seeing is so important of course. If a persons best view ever of, say Jupiter, was with a certain scope it doesn't mean its better than any other scope that wasn't available to compare it with at the time of the observation. Even having a quality 5 inch refractor along with a quality 8 inch Newtonian and comparing them directly is flawed. The comparison would have to be on a night when the seeing is good enough that the larger telescope, can be used to perform to its best resolution as well as the smaller one. If not then its not a fair comparison. Any differences would be more of a test of the observing conditions rather than the telescopes ability. So when I say that a such and such telescope gave me my best view ever of Mars, it may be interesting, but it doesn't meant it was the best planetary scope I've ever used. It happened to be a 16 inch SC one early morning just before dawn, when the seeing was exceptional. The best person to answer the original question would be one who has owned both a 5inch refractor and 8inch Newtonion simultaneously over quite a few years. Not only that, but they would have had to frequently used them side by side on numerous occassions when the seeing was good enough for both to perform to their respective maximum possible resolutions. Oh yes, and on a good variety of targets. Any takers?

If you're not aware, just check it's weight, its quite heavy so needs a good mount. I've had one and it was a great scope for sweeping the night sky and as an HA solar scope.. I've thought of getting another a few times and it's the weight that put me off.

It can also be affected by wind which can cause the stars to trail. Even if there's a little wind I try to set up where it's sheltered. If it's too windy I leave it fir another day.

APRIL 16TH/17TH A few Seestar images. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/421231-april-16th17th-lunar-obs-deep-sky-with-seestar-s50/#comment-4478869

Me too, but I made an exception 😅.

Why not just buy a Seestar S50? - the perfect antidote for an imaging itch, and it doesnt waste a lot of valuable observing time. I do admire your determination though. 😊

Out during dusk with 6inch Dob. Excellent views with the Svbony 3-8mm zoom - what a bargain it is. With the Moon being so bright with some clouds and only m3 stars visible I used the Seester S50. Pics below. Even having used tbe S50 since early January, it still continues to amaze me how it performs in adverse conditions. I could never see beyond m3, and M16 (the Eagle Nebula)was taken when it was little more than 6 degrees altitude. Around it I could see no stars at all. LDN 1124 is an area of dark nebule in Cepheus, not far from the elephant nebula. All pics are full frame except the crop of M16.

I've had the scope a few weeks, but only on Saturday did I have it out under Starlight. I had already tested it in daylight on distant lichen-laden leafless trees against blue sky with sunshine. Zero CA and very sharp with good contrast, so I had high expectations of it. The 125 was mounted on the StellaLyra Dual-Altaz mount (similiar to the SkyTee2) which was more than adequate. I had also previously mounted it on my vintage Vixen GP which also took it very well. I used a Baader/Zeiss T2 Prism Diagonal with a 34mm prism and BBHS coatings for my tests. I started on the crescent Moon high in the sky as civil dusk set in. Good seeing initially, but it deteriorated as darkness took over. Jumping in at the deep end I put in the Svbony 3-8 mm zoom, which has had many plaudits. Starting at 8mm and slowly increasing the mag, I was surprised at what I saw - it was the zooms first night time outing too. The image was extremely sharp at 8mm, and to my eyes there was little if any change as the mag went from x122 to x325 at the 3mm setting. The sharpness was very apparent more like the performance of a very good fixed focal length eyepiece. No CA noticeable on limb or crater highlights. Features observed were Janssen, M Nectaris, Fracastorius and the are to the S around Piccolomoni. I forgot the testing and spent some time studying the very impressive detail. I then tried my Baader Mk1 Maxbright binoviewer with x2 Baader Classic 18mm Orthos and x2 barlow element giving x217. This usually out-oerforms any single eyepiece - but not on this occassion surprisingly, it looked less sharp Though, the seeing may have dropped off a tad. Still a great view. Tried the Baader Mk111 8-24 zoom and that gave very good images too, though not as sharp as the Svbony zoom. Alas Jupiter was now rather too low for testing the scope (10 to 5 degrees altitude) but I couldn't resist popping in the Svbony zoom which surprusingky still showed the two equatorial belts and other bits of detail. For viewing wider fields I put in the Celestron Ultima Edge FF 30/70 2 inch eyepiece, x32 and 2.1 degree field. The field had a lovely sharp edge with no vignetting as in my daylight tests. The contrast was as dark as I could have expected with the sky conditions, now a little hazy in places, very nice. What was also obvious was the colour saturation in the different colour stars and also how small and tight the star images were. Again very impressive, what I'd expect from a very good refractor telescope. All in all a very good first light, the scopes optics are clearly of a high quality, very pleasng indeed. I'll write a full review when I've had some more night time forays.

I'd go for the ES24/68. It's Argon filled so sealed and so it can't mist up iside or let in debris. It's quality of construction is excellent, it feels and is very well made. Optical performance is right up there, and I prefer it to the 24mm Panoptic, it's certainly better for comfort of use and eye placement for me. Fine to the edge at least to f4.7. I also have the 24mm Hyperion which is also a very nice eyepiece down to f6. Less good at faster focal ratios. Though not as good as the ES, but I've kept it as a spare as its worth more to me than the used price I'd get if I sold it.

It's not unusual for books to be published later than the first date the publishers announce. The longest I have waited for was nearly two years - but it wasn't an astronomy book. There were at least four dates announced between the first one and the date it was published.

Well, I've never been or wanted to be a traditional inager - far too technical, expensive and time consuming for me. It would also keep me away from visual observing, Hence, I don't feel I know enough to write a remotely useful review that would be useful for existing imagers. However, I do own an S50, and haven't hidden my enthusiasm for it when sending in pics or just talking about it. I'll come clean, I love it, it's a real game changer and in my view one of the most innovative pieces of kit developed in the last fifty years. Anyway, enough rambling, I've just come across this utube video by a very accomplished traditional imager. If you're considering buying the Seestar, or any smart telescope, I think you might like to watch it. Also, if you just want to know what it's all about.

If anyone is thinking of buying any 'Smart Telescope', particularly the Seestar S50, you should watch this video on U-Tube if you haven't already. If your'e one of the critics of the S50, particularly those who think it is not worthy as being of use to anyone, perhaps you should look away now! 😊

Thank you Mark. I can honestly say that if I can use it then anyone can. As far as I can see it works flawlessly. The first time I used it, I thought straight away I had my money's worth. 😊

Went up to Penistone Hill with Seestar and 10x50s to see Pons-Brooks, first opportunity for eight days due to poor weather. Set tripod out next to car as dusk fell (8.30pm). The wind was too strong for the S50 so sat in the car to see if the wind dropped - it didn't and the car was rocking from side to side at times! I didn't have much time as the comet would be getting too low, so I drove to a lower position in hope I'd be more sheltered. It was good enough to try, so I set up the Seestar on the tripod for the first time, with a weight to steady the tripod. Fired up the S50, and not unexpectedly, it couldn't find any stars to focus on. (I had checked in my binocs and I couldn't see any stars or the comet below Jupiter which was only a little over 5 degrees from the comet). Interestingly the only thing I could see on my phones screen was a dim image of the comets coma! Elsewhere the sky was reasonable but there was thin clouds/haze under Jupiter. I pressed the button to start enhancing the image more in hope than expectation. The S50 rejected a lot of subs because of the wind causing the stars to trail, but I did manage to accumulate an exposure of 11 minutes, but it took a lot longer. The exposure was completed at 9.21 with the comet only at an altitude of 5 degrees. The original image did show the tail to a degree and some faint stars, but not great - unsurprisingly in the conditions. The focus seemed OK- I guess the focus reverts to its mean focus if it can't actually focus in poor conditions. There is some star trailing, but less than I expected. I did some brief enhancing using the phone's camera software when I arrived home, and though noisy and not great quality, it shows an awful lot more than I could see through my 10x50s, which was absolutely nothing! This is just the sort of occassion when the Seestar can save the day. I don't consider myself an imager, but the Seestar is a fabulous tool to aid my visual observing. Enhanced pic added below.

Yes, there seemed to be god three prominences, one at about 66 degrees seemed to be split in two at one time. Good to see nine total eclipses from Mexico to Main(?) - even with a bit of dodgy camera work now and again. I've seen two, and failed seeing one in 'real life', but still got excited watching them on TV 🙂.

Many thanks Dave, don't tell anyone, but I have two smaller refractors. I'm not fussy, I'll look through anything 🙂 I lusted after one when it was on special offer the first time round, last year. Then they go and put it on offer for the current sale, and then I notice there was one available even cheaper that was a return. A man can only resist for so long before he crumbles 😊. Thank you for your good wishes. Can't wait to try it out.

Well, I ordered an ADM adapter from FLO, and it arrived yesterday packed inside the case for the item below. Don't tell FLO anyone, they may want it back!

Happily I have a beard so I dont have to look at my aging features in a mirror every day. 🙂