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paulastro

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Everything posted by paulastro

  1. You can always buy the 103's sibling, the Askar 120 triplet. A clone of the 103, but bigger and £500 more I think. 🙂.
  2. I've updated the original post to include a brief first light report from observations during the early hours of Nov 4th. The Askar on the AZ5 Altaz mount. The folded paper wrapped round the dovetail is to protect it from being scratched, until I install a permanent fix.
  3. Gosh, that's terrible. I'm afraidI don't know anything about drainage, I live at over 800 feet on a hill and if it rains heavily the water flows quickly down the road like a river. We are quite elevated from the road as well which helps. I do feel for you and I hope the water subsides quickly and you are able to come up with a solution for apermanent fix. The very best of luck to you.
  4. I'm not aware of them specifying it, certainly not in anything I've seen. Though I would of course pass it on, its not something I'm personally bothered about. I wouldn't care if I never knew - as you know, there are many other factors involved. I'll make up my mind as to its quality when I've had some sessions observing with it under different conditions. Mind you, this could be a long time if the weather doesn't change 🙂. Unless the Askar would somehow improve your observing experience in some way, I'd just keep the Starfield if I were you. Though a 120 would be good if you really need it 😅.
  5. Thank Guy, and good luck - it took ages for me to make my mind up between the two. I set the standard in my mind that if it's at least equal in terms of optics to the Starfield etc ( I used to have the Tecnosky version pre Starfield launch) then I'll be more than happy. For me the Askar has several useful features I particularly wanted, particularly multiple mounting points for finder and other kit, a handle, binoviewer friendly etc. It will be very Starsense Explorer friendly which is important to me. In terms of fit and finish I'm delighted with the Askar, though I'm aware the Starfield is very good too of course. If weight is important to you, note the Askar is heavier, though it was within my requirements. Looking forward to first light to see it's night time capability.
  6. Thanks John. It does seem it has the potential to satisfy all of these requirements. I read a good review on u-tube which compared it's imaging capability against three other four inch scopes and to me it seemed to do all right, and I think the others were all more expensive. This is it, sorry haven't got a link.
  7. I was in the market for a four inch refractor mainly for visual use. So why did I buy this one? When I've had it a while I'll write a full review. So if your wondering, you'll have to wait to find out why I bought a triplet rather than one of the many fine doublets with an FPL53 and Lanthanum element such as the Tecnosky, Starfield, Altair etc. It only arrived today, but its certainly a striking looking and we'll made scope with a 3.5inch R&P focuser, detachable tube section, x2 fitted finder feet, a handle to which further finders or other equipment can be fitted and a rotating (graduated) image facility. It also comes with a nice zippered soft carrying case. The new 103 triplet and the 120 triplet are tested at FLO on an optical bench before dispatch as all the Askar triplets/lenses are. This is reassuring when an optic is new to the market and not yet in the hands of many customers I did point the scope outside through a double glazed window and looked at fine detail on trees, branches and lovely autumn colour leaves against the sky. Using a Morpheus 17.5 and ES 24/68 the sharpness of fine detail was excellent, and no unwanted colour that I could see. Rain stopped me going outside. All good signs prior to testing on the night sky. Nov 2nd. Lens Pic added, plus paperwork. OK Mike? 😅 Here you are Mike 😊 NOV 4TH FIRST LIGHT. Had some brief clear patches between 2.30-3.30 when it clouded completely. Conditions variable cloud and good to poor seeing. This is only brief as I'll do a fuller review after a few sessions, which may take a while because of the poor weather. 1. I didn't do any serious star testing, but out of focus the stars were perfectly round, and in focus nice tight sharp images against a very black and contrast background when there were no intervening clouds. Used an ES 24/68 series and Baader Mk111 zoom. 2 Jupiter exceeded expectations as the seeing was better than I expected at times. Four/five belts very contrast and sharp, good detail including the shadow of Europa at around 3.10. A good enough view that eases any concerns I had that it may not be as good as with a FPL53/Lanthanum doublet. I could not recall seeing better in the Tecnosky when I observed with it. Very pleasing. Used Baader Mk1 binoviewer, x2 18mm Baader Orthos, x2 Celestron X-Cel LX barlow and Baader Contrast Booster for both Jupiter and the 61.4% illuminated Moon. 3 Moon. In better moments as good as I can recall in any doublet - verging on that fluorite look in the best moments. Future testing will involve some comparison tests. Includes a comparison with Mike's Tak DZ when we can arrange it. If anyone has any questions that can't wait until testing is complete send a PM and I'll answer if I can.
  8. Elp I agree you don't 'need' a triplet for visual, though the Tak TSA120 with FT I had some time ago was pretty good 😅 I don't think many astronomers always only buy scopes because they 'need' them - for many it's a case of 'want' - for all sorts of reasons 😊.
  9. Good luck for clear skies tonight. Be sure to let us know how you get on 🙂.
  10. As a non-imager much of this discussion leaves me feeling cold, though I do understand enough to know it's important for my imaging colleagues. As a visual observer, I'd be more interested in which would perform the best visually - the Askar 103 triplet or one of the 102 F7 doublets which use an FPL53 element and a Lanthanum element. The price difference is to some degree mitigated by the fact that the Askar has the removable tube section, which I believe would satisfy the requirements of most if not all airlines. Also it comes with two Vixen finder feet - many of the doublets don't seem to come with one, never mind two. Also a handle is supplied with the Askar. PS Vash, I love your image. Your comments on its visual performance are also much appreciated, thank you.
  11. Many thanks Josef. I agree, and over the years S&T seem to be better than most. Alas, I can't buy S&T locally any more and the subscription is rather a lot to pay in one go.
  12. Many thanks Stu. Yes it's always a special time every year when I have my first good look at the winter constellations in the early hours off a late September or October morning. My first look at M42 is always a magic moment for me.
  13. Posted this in Observing Deep Sky, and thought it might be of interest here. Thanks, Paul https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/414900-october-25th-a-star-hop-in-the-heart-of-orion-courtesy-of-alan-m-macrobert
  14. Awoke at 4.30 am, and from the landing stairs I could see Orion showing well just past the meridian. Quickly dressed and was outside setup with the Celestron Starsense Explorer 10 inch Dob by 4.55am. I was keen as I hadn't had a good view of M42 yet this Autumn. This usually happens at Kelling but I hadn't been able to go this year because of medical issues. I spent most of the time looking at the Orion Neb, and other objects in the vicinity. The views were stunning. In the 10 inch the complexity and extent of the nebulosity were wonderful . Also the many background stars including variables I used to observe regularly going back over fifty years, mostly with a six inch reflector. I used 17.5 and 12.5 Morpheus eyepieces, a Baader zoom and x2 barlow giving mags from to x50 to x250. This enabled a wide range of different field sizes. The 17 .5 and barlow probably showed the best detail, providing a mag of x136 and a field of close to half a degree. I also looked at some other objects briefly including M37, M36, M38, M35, M1 and M41. Venus was irresistible, showing a small gibbous phase, just over 50%. When I came indoors around 6.30am, I checked what I had seen in an article (same as this posts title) by Alan MacRobert which I had kept from the January 1998 issue of Sky & Telescope. It is a wonderful guide to the many objects in the vicinity of M42 and I'd recommend it to anyone interested. I've only included one page of the article below as I haven't asked permission to reproduce it in full. Its five pages in total.
  15. I would have thought most people would have heard about it (using a dark cloth) as its hardly a new idea - though of course, there's a difference between knowing and doing.
  16. Mike, I think many people on this forum do have good observing techniques and a lot of experience. Even some people who may think four inch aperture scopes don't cause an explosion of stars right to the centre of globular clusters 😊.
  17. I agree John. They are by far the clearest indication of the resolution of scopes of different apertures. However good a four inch telescope is, it doesn't get beyond the fuzzy snowball stage for me when looking at globulars. I feel that for a good all round telescope, a six inch aperture is the least that gives good views, of some examples, of the majority of different celestial objects.
  18. And Dobs of course Peter. A cannon will always be better than a pea shooter for deep sky. I keep my pea shooter (80ED) mainly for the sun. 🙂. In the dark world of imaging of course, a 50/60mm scope seems quite acceptable.
  19. I suggest you sell all but one of your scopes. Problem solved 🙂
  20. Don't you mean 'it's been a good year for cloud' ? 😊
  21. If you sell it, you'll find the clear nights increase ten fold. Scopes don't mind waiting for the next clear night - they are more patient than humans.
  22. Out of curiosity, a question for you refractorphiles. Would you choose 110mm f6 StellaMira (£799) with 'FPL-51 equivalent', or the Starfield 102mm F7 FPL53 (£899)? Presumably, according to the numbers of each sold most peoples choice is the latter? I know what I think, though I'm not in the market so no money is involved 🙂.
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