jetstream

Check out the true, not advertised central obstructions between them. Then maybe check out some generic MTF's based on average SCT and Mewlon specs...

Me too.

I too had a Tasco 60mm and used to open my bedroom window on the old 2 story house and half crawl out on a porch roof below to use this bad boy in the very early '70's.

This is a delicate beautiful object with many "circular" lanes revealing the "Rose". This is a goto favourite object. M37 in Auriga is another spectacular object that likes mag and a widefield.

Absolutely true. also @Orange Smartie this object likes mag with a widefield eyepiece. Try upping the mag once the smattering of stars is found IMHO.

I wonder who makes this zoom?

Excellent! We have similar dobs, did you track somehow to image this? native or barlowed? I'm going to try imaging soon I hope and might try my dob.

I need no filters to view up to 15"- the 24" is too bright for me. I use binoviewers in my scopes which "halves" the light to each eye. Low power bino views are amazing.

Youre welcome Goran! The dark nebs are a hobby in itself for me, from seeing those around the NAN and also in it, over to Aquila and there are some very nice displays.Then the area around M24 has splendid dark ones to see. I just checked the size roughly- what size is the DN B14? I think I need around 3 deg to see it properly.

Excellent Goran! Thanks for the map identifying these- I'm going to check and see if theres a chance visually on this, size basically.

My south view over looks Voyageurs NP, 5 km away across the lake, Quetico is not far, the boundary is about 40km so yes I live in the dark skies of NW Ontario. I sure hope we can protect these types of skies across the globe Jeremy.

Very good news for the world- Quetico has been awarded the IDSP designation along with our neighbours to the south including Voyageurs NP and the Boundary Waters Canoe area. We need more, and not just in national parks. NW Ontario Canada and northern Minnesota still have pristine skies that need protecting. https://www.darksky.org/quetico-provincial-park-awarded-international-dark-sky-park-designation/

Lots of time in the future Vlaiv, no rush. Shack Hartman or Zygo? and... do we really want to know how bad or good are scope is anyway? one thing for sure- if the test results on a scope aren't that good- look out! the test or tester will take the blame... Actually I eagerly wait for you to figure this out so I can try it.

Heres one of the maps from NASA https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/Scripts/big_image.php?date=2021-02-20&hem=N&section=HOME

Great report Stephan, your 12.5mm eyepiece is also a favourite of mine- very high transmission and contrast. Markarians chain... what an excellent visual object set, congrats for a fine session!

Hardly any traffic and limited industry but I looked at the ozone map and its was a big swath across much of the west, coming from the north and over in Russia too. It was yellow on the map, I'll try to find it again. I don't know much about ozone but I do know its good high up and not so good down low.

Excellent! thanks for mentioning this. We actually had a "poor air " warning because of this- ozone somehow came very close to the ground on a few very cold nights. I could notice it as climbed my hill.

Thanks Bish, it has warmed up to -1c right now a nice and needed break from the cold. I talked to some buddies here yesterday and they all said the same thing. Spring and early summer are fantastic here, cant wait!

Have you tried the Docter 12.5mm UWA Jeremy? While not a significant step forward compared to a range of top eyepieces its uniqueness brings it forward IMHO. Its unique in the sense that its contrast equals or beats the Ethos/Nikon HW, is sharper than the Delos class and has low scatter in a similar league to Vixen HRs, not quite but close. It also has an 84 deg AFOV that seems larger than it is IMHO. Eyeplacement is the one area where it gets beat by a bit but to me its a small price to pay.

Very nice! Stability and settling time?

I'll be honest no matter how good the optics a 5" scope has it will not show the same detail as a larger aperture with good but average optics... including my TSA120. Starting around 8" aperture, detail seems to start opening up- its just light physics, the larger the aperture the larger the spacial frequency (detail size) range. My small central obstruction offers very little in the way of hindrance.I'm not a fan of over 30% CO. The main thing is having fun observing- I wouldn't care if I had 2 Coca Cola pop bottle bottoms taped to me eyes if they gave me good views!

Going from what I hear the 30mm UFF is the eyepiece to have. Some respected astro colleagues have given it high praise and one had the 30 ES 82 to compare it to- and it left...

Lol! The views were so good that I never thought about it. The Tak does punch above its weight however. I also like the Binotron 27's a lot- I told Russ that I don't want to figure anything out about fitment and I wanted binoviewers that would work in any scope, plug and play- and he delivered. These are so easy to use and the powerswitch is a must have in my books. Many use zooms but Im fussy about matching fl's and also tuning the eyepieces together, which is easy with them.

I've been blessed with 4 fantastic nights of seeing and with the moon in its prime. The first report on Hercules and Atlas with TSA120 speaks for itself. The next night brought Theophilus and Cyrillus into the sweet spot of the terminator. What a great set these two, with Cyrillus splilling onto Catherina in fine form. Very nice detailed ejecta between Theophillus and Cyrillus which looks headed to the former, really nice stria here. Enough about the TSA120 views, its time for the 15"/21%CO/binos to go to work. Anyone notice how much detail is visible at low mag with binos? The 32mm TV plossls are the goto eyepieces here, running with the powerswitch. And run they do... Up to Aristoteles now on the 18th, in line with Hercules and Atlas and this showcase crater shows massive 3D detail in the 15". From the radial striated ridges surrounding the crater to its internal wall ledges, this feature is one of the best IMHO with so much visible near it and out from it. The whole area has a 3D appearance- kudos to the Binotrons 27's/TV plossls. And now the real show tonight.... The mountain ranges are 3D again with high peaked gross features and very fine features about them Stunning, just stunning. Nestled between the terminator and the mountains were 2 (and more) favourites- Archimedes and Aristillus. These 2 craters offer opposing views of their exterior. Archimides with its tight steep looking exterior wall to the wide radial ridged exterior of Aristillus, what a view! Massive detail in both but my favourite craters offer massive radial exteriors. Under the right conditions the detail is jaw dropping. And the conditions were right tonight

I think Im going to try that K70.