kev100

That's a cracking image, Peter. I really enjoyed the evening, and it was great to meet you, @AdeKing and Martin. Looking forward to next time. Kev

Cool. You too

Shall we make it the carpark on top of the hill? I'm thinking about getting there for nine ... ish

Hi Ade, Just wondered if you (and anyone else, for that matter) are still on for Saturday? Weather's looking promising, and although the moon will be bright, I'm still up for giving it a go. Planning to bring the 250PX and possibly my 20x80s. Kev

I'd definitely be up for that, Ade.

Hi there. They'll work fine in the 8 inch, but the longer focal length BSTs will struggle in the 10. I have a 5mm BST, and use it regularly with my 10-inch no problem (but then the fov is smaller, and I'm focussing only on the very centre of the view. I have looked through longer focal length BSTs in a 250PX and found the view to be poor (to my eyes): pincushioning and distorted stars around the periphery. However, I know others aren't bothered too much by these things. I would suggest you get the scope you want first (for all the right reasons), and then get the EPs to suit. You should get a good price for the BSTs to fund further purchases. Kev

Hiya, you can definitely do better than the stock EPs, but don't have to spend crazy money to get great results. BST starguiders are relatively cheap, and are highly regarded, but there are lots of great EPs available second hand too. For what it's worth, my advice would be don't rush it, see if you can try different EPs at a club meeting or star party, just to get an idea of what will be best for you.

Hiya, Much of what makes for a great eyepiece is very personal to the user. In general spending more will get 'technically' better EPs, but whether they will be equally appreciated by all users and in all scopes is debatable. Can you tell us more about your setup? What scope do you have, and what you enjoy looking at most? A reasonable quality EP in a good scope will give tremendous views, and spending more on EPs may be a case of chasing ever diminishing returns. Kev

I'm afraid not. Closest I got to there is the carpark overlooking Creech. Sounds promising, though :)

Hiya. I'm sure that if you search the site you'll find plenty of recommendations for this scope. In short, though, it very much depends on what you want to view, how able you are coping with the weight and size, and what your budget is for eyepieces ... Perhaps if you offered a little more information ... Kev

Hiya, Have a look at the Awesome Astronomy party here: https://astrocamp.awesomeastronomy.com ... talks, quizzes, a common area for setting up scopes, a pub and cafe nearby ... Kev

Cheers Nigel, and I really have to hand it to Celestron for their customer care. Extraordinary!

Hi all, Although I've owned a pair of Celestron Skymaster 20x80s for over six years now, but because they went badly out of collimation, I haven't used them for ages. I sent them back to Celestron, but, apparently, they couldn't be repaired. Amazingly, though, they gave me a brand new pair (!), and these arrived yesterday. Once mounted on the tripod I took a look at the 69% waxing Moon. Absolutely incredible view! Sharp, bright, big, three-dimensional, and only the very slightest hint of chromatic aberration. Kept coming back to this over the course of the evening. Next up M31 and M33. Although quite washed out by the moonlight (as was everything I looked at), I was amazed at the brightness, the size, and the hint of detail in M31. Again, the three-dimensionality was obvious. M33 was only just visible. Open clusters: Double cluster, Owl cluster, Coathanger – all were fantastic, with a variety of star colours obvious, and only a hint of distortion around the edge of the fov (really had to drag my eyes away from the objects in the middle of the fov to experience it). The Coathanger pretty much filled the fov, and was pin sharp and bright. Double stars: Epsilon Lyrae, a very easy split, as was Albireo (again, the different colours were obvious). Mesarthim was just too tight to split. In passing, one of the things that amazed me the most last night was star colour. Mirach, Algol, Vega and many others were all pin sharp, bright, and their colours were very obvious. Globulars: M15 and 92 were small and dense fuzzy balls, M13 bigger, brighter, and with just a hint of granulation to it (like the Moon, I kept coming back to M13). Ring nebula: The ring shape was obvious, even at x20, though small. Being a work night, I was back indoors by about 10, but although just a brief session, it was hugely enjoyable, and a real buzz to be using 20x80 bins again. Cheers, Kev.

Hi all, just reporting back. I went for the 50mm Revelation item, and it's streets ahead of the standard item. So much better! Thanks for the tip! Kev

Carrying on with the research, I think I'll have to measure how much of an extension I actually need. I may be able to get away with a 35mm extension like this one: https://www.365astronomy.com/TS-2-Extension-Tube-with-35mm-Optical-Length.html ) thus reducing the overall distance the EP will extend from the focuser ...