FenlandPaul

Well I'm really quite jealous of some of the aspects people have got here! I'd hoped mine this evening would be fairly good at the allotments (about 180 degree uninterrupted view centred on south and slightly raised up) but it's far too windy for that tonight. So here I am set up and ready to go in the back garden.

Absolutely stunning, John - many congratulations.  I assume this is a stop-gap to take you through the 20-month lead time for the real prize: http://apm-telescopes-englisch.shopgate.com/item/383633

23 hours ago, D Wright said:

Here is my Orion GX250 f4.9 with mods I have done myself

Nice. But if you have a problem with stray light I think I know why!!!

1881 is the date on this lovely book ("Half Hours with te Stars"), salvaged from my great aunt's house, although not sure where she got it from:

Not seen this before, but now I know its interesting components it's definitely worth a look.  Maybe even tomorrow evening, which is set to be clear and moonless here..... hooray!!

4 hours ago, DRT said:

 

 

That finder really sets off the Skylight, Derek.  @Chris Lock will be proud!!  Beautiful.

Those are "The Goons" (Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Michael Bentine). Bluebottle was a character in the show voiced by Peter Sellers. One of his catch phrases was "You dirty rotten swine you" usually when he had been blown up, shot or otherwise "deaded".

I think it was your "knotted string muscles" reference that made me think of him

Sill available nowadays on BBC Radio 4 Extra!! Always makes me chuckle.

Thanks - that's really helpful. I was only looking at an ST-102, so it sounds as though it would manage that no problem.

I've also used the aluminium-legged AZ4 with an ST120 (same scope as Chris) and it was a great match.  I also had an ST150 on it, which was challenging in all but the best conditions, and a SkyMax 127 Maksutov, which was also a great match.

You'll have no problem at all with the ST-102.

Paul

Thanks Paul, likewise with the AR127L and Skytee

The AR127L is beautiful.  I'm taking it with me to a talk this evening to the local cub scouts.  I think they'll recognise it as a "proper" scope!

My latest frac setup is a Startravel 120mm f/5 and AZ4, taken in part ex for my 5" f/9 Bresser plus Skytee. It's on trial at the moment to see how it performs with binoviewers. Well, now that Fozzie has helped me find a way to get it to reach focus with BV's It balances well which is a good start!  

 Hope it works out well, Chris - looks good with the binoviewers! 

That's a thing of beauty, Helen!

LB16 oldie.JPG   This is NEB, my goto LB16 -  I have a lot of fun with it... just roll it out back, do the 2 star align, and get after it.

Paul

As of yesterday I was the very happy owner of this:

Was hoping to take a shot with it next to my "stealth" ST150 but I need to get the right bolts for the dovetail plate before I can fit it.

The 127L is a beast - it seems as though it's beautifully made. Really stirs the soul to look at it! Thank you to Chris for the trade. But not for the days of overcast weather that have come with it....

Paul

...or wood effect Fablon

A bit slow off the mark on this one - sorry. Here's my recently acquired ST150 on my AZ4 with 18" extension pier.

I am new to fracs, unless you count bins and finders. But from the few sessions I've had so far, including a lovely dark-sky session a couple of weeks ago, it's a very enjoyable scope with nice contrasty views. The jury is still out on whether the mount can really cope; it worked a treat for the wide field deep sky stuff I did a couple of weeks ago, but last night ramping up the power (modestly) on the moon it was a bit too shaky for my liking, especially when focussing.

I also have an ST120, which I'm running alongside this for a while until I determine which is the one I use most.

Both scopes acquired from jolly kind gentlemen from this forum.

Paul

I've been excited about joining this thread for weeks! This evening, on my lovely son's 7th birthday and on the day he broke up from school, I had first light with my StarTravel 120. Quick session on the moon and Saturn (so not what it's intended for) but still stunning! And then I have a ST150 arriving later this week, to drive them side by side for 6 months or so and then decide which to keep. Thanks to the previous owner of this (Baggywrinkle) and the ST150 (BigSumorian) for passing on these lovely instruments!!

Great topic and some seriously lovely looking bins on this forum!

Here are my incredibly-good-value Revelation 20x80s, set up half an hour ago for a quiet gaze at the moon while my wife was out. These bins were all I had for 4 or 5 months after I sold my old 8" newt, and it was a really special time of observing and getting to know the night sky in a different way.

I'm not an imager so I rarely dabble in these parts of the forum. But I am so glad I just did. That is absolutely sensational - many many congratulations, chaps. That's just stunning.

I am just about to deck out a new study. I most definitely want a print of this on my wall. Amazing.

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Wow. Can't believe I've not seen this before. Incredible - well done and thank you for sharing.

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Hi Steve

I used to very dismissive of bins when I had my 8" newt as I just didn't see the point of using lower aperture. A few months ago I sold the scope in order to pave the way for upgrading to a larger dob at some point (I don't know why, but just felt I had to sell my existing scope first). To fill the gap I bought some 20x80 Revelation bins, which I think are identical to your Celestrons. I have to say I haven't regretted it for a second. I see things in a completely different light - not necessarily better, but different. It's interesting to me comparing the descriptions of my views of messier objects in my scope with what I now see in my bins. I had some 50mm bins beforehand, and these are miles better. So what I'm saying is "don't be disheartened".

In terms of tripod, yes you obviously need one. I can't manage more than a few seconds without one. The one thjat came with mine as part of a package isn't terribly heavy duty (I think it's called the Astro 185 from Telescope House), so I don't think you need to spend a whole lot of cash to get something adequate. It's rubbish for the zenith, but goot up to about 70 degrees altitutde.

Good luck

Paul

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Funnily enough I came across a letter in the December 1997 copy of Astronomy Now in defence of Tasco, which at the time was always subject to ridicule from the Meade and Celestron mob.

My folks bought me a 4.5" Tasco reflector for Christmas back in 1993, back when the Argos catalogue stocked a fast and slow variant. It was a massive sacrifice for them but I think they'd seen how keen I was and it would keep me off the streets during my teenage years. I was so excited and it was a great introduction into "proper" astronomy. It's amazing what I managed to see when I consider that the finder it came with was next to useless. I still have it in my shed - unused and unloved for 15 years since I upgraded after lots of paper rounds to an 8". I keep thinking about cleaning it up and giving it to my lovely 6 year old, but I'm slightly worried that as a newt and also on an equatorial mount it might be a bit tricky for a littl'un to use.

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