F15Rules

Nice report Dave👍.

The bright moon is a real game changer, isn't it?

These days I tend to concentrate on doubles etc when it's so bright, but you did well to cover so many varied objects in less than ideal conditions!

..and the moon is going to be much less of an "intrusion" over the next few nights..😊

Dave

17 hours ago, Franklin said:

2099? Have you got a time machine Dave?

The earliest decent zoom I can remember is the Vixen LV 8-24 from the 2000s? I still have one and although there is some internal dust it is still a very good, useable zoom.

Well spotted, Tim...I've corrected my typo, thanks. 

Actually, a time machine for Astro related stuff would be very welcome. I could:

- revert my eyes to their optical efficiency when I was 20..

- undo the selling of a lot of scopes and eyepieces etc in the quest for astro Nirvana..

- undo the buying of a lot of scopes and eyepieces in the quest for astro Nirvana..

Dave

18 hours ago, Highburymark said:

In terms of high quality zooms which rate alongside fixed eyepieces, I remember a Meade 4000 zoom from the late 1990s which cost around £240 at the time - over twice the price of a case of 8 Meade Plossls. I couldn’t work out why it was so expensive - only later found out it was made by Swarovski.

Wow, Mark😱!

You do realise that you've just probably bumped up the used prices of Meade zooms by a factor of 5 or 6 times?!😂

Dave

Hi Peter,

I'm in Look Norths' coverage area (Lincolnshire Wolds) and saw your clip in their short feature on the Wolf Moon last night..

Your shots of the Moon were excellent, and it was just a shame they edited down your speaking on camera to just a few seconds..(typical BBC soundbite journalism, sadly). 

One of the other still photos was from someone in North Cave, where one of my daughters lives😊.

Congratulations, let's hope next time they give you a bit more airtime!👍

Dave

4 minutes ago, John said:

No problem at all Dave - it may clear later but if not I think the prospects later this week might be hopeful 

 

Hope so John..I'd love a session with those exceptionally steady conditions everyone seemed to enjoy last night 🙏..

Sirius sounded wonderful last night, and it was a thrill to hear that Steve had seen the Pup several times on the one night with Foxy the Vixen!👍

Dave

Just now, Stu said:

Great session here, will post separately but here is the 8” f8 in action.

F8 reflector, Stu? Nice - looks almost refractor like!🤭

Dave

3 hours ago, vineyard said:

An other-worldly night last night sitting under the luminous Wolf Moon, w the STF7 and going on a double-star trail across Auriga.  Used an old Nalger 12T2 for much of the time until about 3" separation & then switched to a 9 Delite or Nag zoom.  The 12T2 was just lovely - a real porthole feel and pin point stars.  Gave a more intimate feel at the EP vs the Delite.  Seeing must have been v good indeed as managed to resolve 0.9" separation, a first for me.

PS @Nik271 thanks for that video link - those must be the Leibnitz mountains I caught in the second image here then (I was wondering whether they were mountains or just crater rims).

Sounds like a great session, Vin!

I too have a 12mm Nagler T2, my only TV eyepiece, and it's a cracker..great wide fov with lovely contrast, very sharp, and it barlows well to make a very capable 5-6mm high power ocular👍.

Congratulations on getting a sub 1" split for the first time too.

Dave 

48 minutes ago, John said:

........ and now clouded out

Oh dear, just saw this having just wished you a good session, John..sorry about that🥴

Dave

1 hour ago, John said:

My 22 year old Vixen ED102SS is cooled and waiting

 

 

Gotta love a Vixen frac John😊..

And Jeremy will love that handle!😂

Have a good session this evening, it's mostly cloudy here, but looks better for the next couple of nights 🤞

Dave

11 hours ago, Saganite said:

The seeing tonight is nothing short of astounding !

I have the Vixen out tonight with single UO Orthos and the 7.2 to 21.5mm zoom and barlow.  I have only been out an hour and the Trapezium stars presented as lovely diffraction rings with E& F clearly visible so I soon moved on to Sirius.  I was shocked when Sirius focused down to a tight Airy disc with diffraction rings almost complete circles, intermittent sightings of the pup, quite regularly. It appears to be between the 2nd and 3rd diffraction rings. It is hard to be certain since the diffraction rings are scintillating .  I don't think I have ever seen Sirius so tight before tonight.

Steve, 

Your reporting plus others posted tonight really underline the crucial importance of seeing conditions, and the rarity of such conditions, sadly, over the UK.

I think all of our scopes are performance limited far more by seeing conditions than by any other factor..perhaps this is why we sometimes get obsessed with wanting the very very best optics, when perhaps we should just be wanting the very very best seeing?

After all, most of us own scopes nowadays that, however modest, are far better optically than those used 150 years ago to make many exciting observations and discoveries🤔👍..

Let's hope the rest of this week delivers more good seeing, so more of us get treats such as described here tonight, very motivational!

Dave

Lovely scope pairing Stu..proper "Eye Candy"!!👍😊

Dave

On 15/01/2022 at 09:04, SuburbanMak said:

Mak 127 hunting moonlit Orion doubles on Thursday - was a a superb session. 

Lovely photo, Mark, glad you had a great session 👍.

Dave

The Night Sky Observers' Guides for Autumn/Winter (Vol 1) and Spring/Summer (Vol 2).

These were unobtainable/out of print for a good while and used prices were and are silly (often asking £100-£200 per copy) via Fleabay and used Booksellers etc.

I recently discovered they are available, new and in stock, from the USA, ShopatSky.com ...(part of Sky & Telescope).

I was amazed and delighted to order them both on 12th January, and they were safely delivered, today 17th January, just one week after ordering,  by DHL!

Cost $91.90 (£70) for both, including shipping..no import taxes (I believe as they cost less than £135).

Am delighted..hours of reading for cloudy nights!👍😊

Dave

35 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Yeah, it's quite a contrast!  The big one IS long, but there are members with 'scopes that make it look ordinary!  Despite the size, it is really easy to use - and the fairly large focal ratio has many advantages over a fast 'scope.  Just a great all-rounder!

Doug.

Very true, Doug! 

One of the best "bang per buck" refractors out there, and a very versatile focal length/aperture blend that can give great views of many, many objects!

Clear skies,

Dave

3 hours ago, Second Time Around said:

IIRC, there was a (Japanese?) zoom available late 60s with a focal length of 8.4-21mm. I almost bought one around that time.

 

Wow, that sounds like the earliest one yet?

Dave

3 hours ago, John said:

They go back to the 1970's as Steve says. I have a 1970's Tasco catalogue that has one listed in it. I don't think I'd want to try that though !. The old H.W English catalogue has something similar listed as well, probably of the same vintage.

I think the Vixen LV / Tele Vue 8-24 were the first ones that folks rated good performers for astronomy purposes followed by the Baader 8-24 Mk1 which raised the bar a little more I think.

 

 

I'd tend to agree John..so it sounds as if the Vixen)TVs may have been the first "serious" entries to the astro zoom market..

..and now they are a much valued tool for many visual observers, myself included😊

Dave

3 hours ago, Saganite said:

Hi Dave,

 

My Fullerscopes catalogue from 1975 or 1976, has one.

 

Thanks Steve, that's interesting..I do wonder how good that would have been, and what the fov would have been🤔??

But it does show how far back these things were being thought about..

Dave

Not a life changing question, I know, but I'd be interested to know when others can recall astro zoom eyepieces first becoming available, and what they were?

I think some of the first I can recall were the Vixen LV 8-24mm and the Tele Vue branded version of that came soon afterwards, but I'm not sure when that would have been..maybe the late '90s or early 2000's? And what about others?

I think the Baader zooms first came along around 2009-2010?

Dave

C'est la vie, I guess.. fortunately, I'm still basking in the glow of a great session 3 nights ago..am off indoors now for some hot chocolate and the last episode of The Tourist on iPlayer...what a weird series that is!!😂

Dave

At 5pm it was this ..

..at 8pm it's this..

..the tragedy is, that when I came out to set up at 7.30pm, although it was misty, the moon was SO still, fabulous seeing, although no other stars visible. Sadly it's now turning into a real "pea- souper"🥴..so I'm packing up as it's getting thicker by the minute!

I hope some of you are getting only the lightest mist..if so, you should get some superb seeing conditions!

Dave

Not technically dark yet, but looking optimistic for trying my BBHS Zeiss Prism plus 2" - T2 Clicklock with my 2" EPs..

FS128 shown with BBHS prism and Axiom LX23mm 82 deg UWA..really liking this eyepiece!

Dave

Thanks Nicola😊.

I can't believe the clear skies we've had since New Year's day..I haven't been out since the last session but am hoping to get out tonight if it stays clear..

The challenge now for the next week is going to be the brightness of the Moon..but if it's as steady in the atmosphere as I hope, the seeing could be good to go for some close doubles..I have a list waiting!😁.

Dave

Baader Clicklock 2"- T2 for use with my Baader Zeiss BBHS T2 prism: with its 35mm free aperture I can now use my  2" eyepieces, most of which have a field stop of 36mm or less👍. 

I also plan to try my recently acquired Astro Physics 2" Barlow with this combination..I know @Stu has had some success with a similar setup so am optimistic 😊..

Dave

20 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I wonder if prism vs mirror played a part in perceived brightness?

Interesting Mike.. last night I used my 2" dielectric diagonal Cyclops with some large 2" eyepieces for the first half of the session.

Looking at M42 with the dielectric and an excellent 23mm Axiom LX eyepiece, I could look to the North East of the Trapezium (right way up reversed diagonal view) and see the two faint stars immersed there in the nebula..the "right hand side" star was visible with direct vision, the left hand side star was visible only with averted vision.

Half an hour later, I switched to my Revelation binoviewer in a Baader Zeiss BBHS T2 prism and a pair of Kson 16.8mm orthos, and was very surprised to see both these stars, very clearly, with direct vision!

To be fair, I was using a higher magnification with the bv, which made the contrasting sky background darker, but set against that, the binoviewer is usually held to lose around 0.5 to 1.0 order of magnitude due to the light beam splitting..so, I tend to think that the BBHS prism was reducing light scatter and possibly having better transmission than my dielectric diagonal? I believe the Baader website claims 98% transmission for the BBHS T2 prism..I don't know what the claimed transmission of my Astro Tech diagonal is though..

Dave

A great read Stu, with some great "bits of bait" laid out for us to pick up!😂.

Ok, I'll have a nibble. A few thoughts:

- I personally much prefer the look of the Telementor..no disrespect to the baby Tak, but just as nowadays I prefer grown up adults to small children, I also prefer my Taks "grown up"🤭😂..

- From your photos, the Tak clearly wins on CA, and the Telementor clearly wins on detail seen- as you say, it could be due to the extra 3mm aperture!

- from a grab and go perspective, the Tak clearly wins, far more easy and practical to take on holiday, on planes etc.

- "Bang for Buck" value for money..an easy win for the Zeiss. A Zeiss scope for £200 is by any measure a snip!

Finally, when you think that the Telementor was designed and marketed originally as a "School Telescope", and sold in communist East Germany and beyond in thousands, it's just remarkable that even now 45-50 years on, it acquits itself so well against the best modern technology has to offer.

Full respect to El Telementor!👍

Dave (F13.3Rules)😋😊