Ruud

Very nice sketches. Thanks for sharing!

Hi,

Extra magnifications means a smaller field of view and an extra big chance that you're pointing next to your target so that you can't see it in your finder.
I use the finder to find the area where the target is, not the target itself. That I see in the main scope once the finder points to the right area. The best finder for me is the SkyWatcher 6x30 RACI with a view of 7.5°.

Here's how you find the Ring Nebula with an 8x50 finder. The start is at Vega.
These circles are 5.4° wide. I get quicker results with my new 6x30 7.5° finder

It's amazing Agnes, the way you talk about your eyepiece is just how I feel about my girlfriend.

Wonderful images, Adam, and an attractive, artful presentation. Thanks for sharing!

1 hour ago, bomberbaz said:

Don't know if you realised Rudd but the post your answering is over a year old. Good information though.

I had no idea, Steve. It's weird, I wasn't doing a search or anything. Don't know why I ended up in this thread.

Stranger things have happened though!

Hi Rob, welkom.

For imaging with the zenithstar it might be better to use a Barlow instead of a powermate or similar extender.

A Barlow will at least partially compensate for the field curvature of a refractor. (I'm not sure what a powermate does in terms of focal plane flatness.)

It looks amazing!

These are fantastic images. That's a fine camera!

I think it may be the seeing that limits your observations. Check the link for Palmerston North. The seeing there  is somewhere between 1 and 2 arc seconds as I post this. Larger telescopes are hindered more by less than perfect seeing. That is because in the wide column of air you're looking through there's more traffic of warm bubbles rising and cold ones sinking.

https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/outdoorsports/seeing/palmerston-north_new-zealand_2185018

I just took a town in the region, you'll have to fill in your own for an improved forecast.

If you want to observe planets or the Moon in better detail, try using an off centre aperture mask. That narrows the column of air you're looking through and takes the secondary mirror out of the equation.

Ooh, I didn't expect that snake! So nice!

I mean, the Sun is nice as well, but ...

.. a bit boring maybe? Only in comparison  of course.

You're an artist.

Johnygail, do you already have a copy of stellarium?

get it from www.Stellarium.org

"Stellarium is a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. It's easy to use, and free."

It's good for getting to know the sky and planning your observations. If you use Windows you'll find a manual after installation in the folder C:\Program Files\Stellarium\guide

Nice pictures.

They're made by Kunming United Optics. Here they are on the top left of the 2011 UO site, when they still had the old twist-up eye cup :

On the new UO website most products have been moved out of sight. Pretty much anything they make is available from various brands for quite different prices.

As far as I know, these particular eyepieces were first marketed by William Optics as UWAN. Then others started selling them as Nirvanas for considerably less money, spoiling the fun for WO. I imagine this happened a lot with United Optics products, which may explain why they now longer show their full product line to the general public.

The Nirvana is a well corrected 82° eyepiece. For the 1.25" models I prefer the old twist-up eye cup. On the 28mm 2" the new eye cup is an improvement though: the old twist-up was so wide that it required cocking your head to get your nose out of the way.

Lovely sketches, Mike.

A wonderful sketch. Fabulous!

Wonderful images, especially the ones with Vallis Alpes and Rupes Recta. Thanks for sharing!

Hi, nice to meet you.

     Hello David,

Best budget buy would be the 16mm Nirvana. FLO has it: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/ovl-nirvana-es-uwa-82-ultrawide-eyepieces.html

But why not save a bit longer and get a 17.5mm Morpheus? That's a top tier eyepiece

Your telescope has coma which you may notice in ultra wide eyepieces, which both the Nirvana and Morpheus are. In the long run you'll probably want to get a coma corrector. Meanwhile it's only a bit of coma and will show up just at the edge of the field. Chances are it won't hurt your observation of most DSOs at all.

1 hour ago, Sterrenland said:

I was born in Belgium, but I'm British and live in the UK! I was struggling to think of a name!

OK. Anyway, we're happy to have you around.

Excellent images, both of them. Many thanks for sharing!

I've gotten used to the quality of your Jupiters, but the detail on its moons keeps amazing me! Great job, beautiful images.

Two impressive Saturns, Avani. I do love Saturn's pastel colours. So soft and delicate. Such a tasteful palette too.

Awesome! Totally awesome!