F15Rules

Well and truly frozen to the bone now, and enjoying a nice hot chocolate and water bottle, but had a nice 90 minute session with the old Vixen. Seeing was very good for the most part, while transparency wasn't so good. The Moon was wonderful, like an etching at times. Targets were predictable I suppose.. The Moon, Jupiter, Rigel, Alnitak, M42 and surrounds and Sirius. Using 80mm of aperture instead of the usual 128mm of the FS128 did highlight the large difference in object brightness, but nevertheless the contrast and sharpness of the Vixens' older achromatic objective still impressed: this size of scope was genuinely aspirational in the 1970s when I was a lad. At F15 focal length, the scope has very little false colour, and a nice depth of focus. I used a variety of eps as mentioned in my earlier post, and all performed well. Standouts were the Tak Abbe 12.5mm ortho barlowed to give c154x (nice split of Rigel and excellent control of light scatter on Sirius - but no Pup!), the Pentax 8-24mm zoom for its' good image quality and versatility, and thirdly one of my favourite eyepieces, the Axiom LX 23mm UWA 85 degree 2" "lump"..an 80mm F15 refractor is never going to be a widefield scope, but the Axiom 23 delivered wonderful spacewalk type views of M42 and it's surroundings. No E & F at this aperture, but lots of wispy filaments, dark clouds and the 4 main components of the Trap in all their glory. That's 2 good sessions this week and it's been so good to be outside with 2 very different but both enjoyable refractors😊👍. Dave

Thanks, Tim 👍 A 10x70 pair of these would be awesome! As you know, I also have a nice pair of Vixen Apex Pro 8x32 wide angle Roof prism bins, which I also use quite a lot. The bigger IF 7x50s go that bit deeper, while the lighter 8x32s show even wider vistas and can be handheld for much longer..so, between them they give me the best of both worlds! Dave

I've owned this beautiful pair of Vixen binoculars for a while now. I bought them, in pristine, little used condition, from another SGL member, and I've used them for both daytime and night time viewing.. Known as a "B" Type Waterproof model, these bins have a nice 7.3 degree fov, and a 7mm exit pupil. I think they are c 20 -25 years old. The lens tubes have multiple ridged grooves along them, to help control scatter, nice blue tinged coatings and Individual Focusing , (IF), making them ideal for astro use. I do use these handheld in the day, but I mainly use them for astro viewing mounted on my trusty Amazon essentials Tripod, as they weigh well over 1 kg. They are built like a tank! Whilst setting them up for photos this afternoon, I noticed the moon already climbing in the east.. I have reasonable Bortle 4 skies here, so the 7mm exit pupil doesn't hamper my almost 68 year old eyes noticeably. Stars focus down to tight small round points, with great background contrast, and colours on stars such as Betelgeuse, Aldebaran etc showing very well. CA is almost non existent. These binoculars excel on lower power, wide views of clusters such as the Pleiades, Double Cluster in Perseus etc. The Milky Way is stunning! Highly recommended, should you see a pair up for grabs! Clear skies, Dave

Not quite in action yet, but my Vixen 80mm F15 refractor is ready to go a bit later - after our Tesco home delivery shop has arrived!🤦.. I'm planning to use some or all of the eyepieces shown below, some of them quite old.. Back L - R: Pentax 8-24mm Zoom, Takahashi Abbe ortho 12.5mm, Carton Japan 10.5mm SWA 67degree, Circle T Japan 6mm ortho (used with winged eyeguard). Front L - R: New to me B&L Criterion ASP 30mm (see below), 10mm no-name Plossl (possibly Tal?), unknown make vintage brass old eyepiece (looks like c 8mm or 10mm FL, c 45 deg fov and short eye relief, pretty sharp though), Baader Zoom 2.25x barlow and W.O. 1.6x barlow. I hope all of you who can get out tonight keep warm and have great sessions!😊 * ref the 30mm Criterion above.. it cost me just £13 used, and I was just curious about it..it's about 50 years old and in immaculate condition. Only about 40 degrees fov but late this pm in daylight a local church tower Parapet looked nice and sharp in the Vixen. It'll be nice to use a 50 year old ep in a 40+ year old scope! Dave

Masochism??😋

..but at least that way you don't "crash and burn" your credit card..🙄🤭

I'm afraid you "felt" wrongly, Mike.. no "slightly guilty conscience" in these parts... Nice try though!!🤪😂.. Now, if someone were to start an appeal to invite JeremyS to the "Practical Handle Show"...😁

Thanks Mark😊. I did get out last night for about 2 hours in total, with a hot drink break to thaw out a bit.. The best view I had was early on..the sky was transparent, and I put in the Axiom LX 23mm 82 deg (its actually been measured on Cloudy nights at about 85 degrees!!) to look at M42 and the Trap: after such a long layoff due to bad weather mainly, I hadn't yet had one single decent view of my favourite constellation.. I was genuinely shocked at the view in a real "Wow" moment..in the FS128 the 23mm gives 45x magnification, so the Trapezium looks quite small. But in such a large field of view, the overall vista was just amazing..black sky background, sparkling stars everywhere, from iota Orionis, the Nebula itself, looking so sharply defined around the Fishes Mouth, to the NGC1973 area..just beautiful! I think that single view made it worth getting togged up for the Arctic conditions! Dave

Part 2 of the session saw thin, high cloud spreading across the sky from the North West, and within 30 minutes of going back out I could barely see the 7 main stars of Orion..oddly, though, Jupiter showed a lot of detail at c 150x even through the cloud, and the seeing was much improved. So good to be back in action! Dave

A nice night here when I came out at 8pm. The crescent moon was getting low but looked nice in the binoviewers at low power..although seeing not great, so higher powers not viable. M42 a beautiful sight in cyclops mode with Axiom LX 23mm 84degrees UWA giving 45x in my FS128. Going a bit higher with Pentax XL Zoom at 8mm (x130), I got E & F in the Trap intermittently, which was pleasing. I dont think Sirius and the Pup will be on tonight though, sadly. Its very cold.. about minus 1 already, so came in for a hot mug of soup. There's a band of high thin cloud to the west, am just hoping it will stay away for another hour or so! Just GREAT to be out under the stars though after a lengthy lay off..👍😊 Dave

Having had hardly any sessions for several months due to the appalling weather, but now with the real prospect of some clear skies this week, I decided to give my eyepieces and optical accessories a proper clean today with my trusty Baader Wonder Fluid and cloths.. (Dis)Organised chaos on the kitchen table! First job to empty the two cases and get rid of bits of fluff, dust, foam fragments etc.. Firstly cleaned my 3 binoviewing pairs..back to front: Meade 4000 32mm, Carton Japan 10.5mm Wide angle 67 degrees, Tak Abbe Orthos 12.5mm. Plus not shown Baader Zoom barlow 2.25x and W.O. 1.6x nosepiece. Back in their case with a couple of loose 1.25" eps and winged eyeguards. Next, the "big guns"..all used in 2" format for cyclops viewing: Left to right: Orion Japan 2x Big Barlow, Pentax Japan XL 8-24mm Zoom (wears a 2" to 1.25" clicklock to aid in equalising weight and scope balance), decloaked Axiom LX 23mm 84 degree UWA (think Vixen LVW 22mm on steroids), and decloaked Axiom LX 31mm 82 deg UWA (truly breathtakingly sharp super wide low power views in my FS128). Hopefully, most or all of these will see starlight in the next hour or so! Clear Skies, All!😊 Dave

Had lovely blue skies here in Lincolnshire for most of the aftrenoon..the inevitable evening clouds arrived as the sun set, so all is normal!😜 The Met office app is predicting some clear evening skies for Monday and Wednesday nights..frankly I'll believe it when it happens..🙄 Dave

Mike, You just attend the Kettering venue like last year and all will be fine...😁 Dave

Cloudy, damp and misty in the Lincolnshire Wolds. Potentially a couple of clear nights could come along between Monday and Wednesday next week.. we will see!🙄🤞🤞 Dave

Nice report Ian.. What scope(s) were you using for the session? Dave

Don't hold your breath John..🙄 Dave

I think a one roomed bedsit in Bortle 1 skies, with a ground floor patio for putting the scope, er, sorry, deckchair on would be ideal for us, sorry, her!!🤦‍♂️😄

No, I must admit I haven't.. You may be right..but at the moment I'd settle for a few nightime sessions in the dark..ironically, it's clear tonight, first time for weeks here..and I cant get out as I have to get up early.. it's my wife's birthday tomorrow and I am taking her away for the a night in a nice hotel!!😱😂. Dave

Fascinating scope and back story, Stu.. I've got to be honest, solar observing isn't my thing at all (for me, Astronomy takes place in the dark!🤦‍♂️😂), but I genuinely found your story interesting and informative..and that big 6" F10 has an interesting history. And I second your assertion that Peter Drew is a legend in his own lifetime..I had the pleasure of meeting Peter c 15 years ago when he helped collimate an Intes Mak for me, and wouldn't take anything for his trouble: and again last year (or was it the year before?) at the Practical Astronomy show at Kettering. A real gent, and fount of knowledge of all things Astro related! 🫡🫡 Dave

You're correct Jeremy.. ..in fact, I often go into that space on cloudy evenings to watch reruns of Spooks!!😱👽

Actually, no, not yet..I havent had a session here for weeks due to the appalling weather and busy December.. I will try it when conditions allow and come back to you..😀 Dave

"Show us your set up in action at night." Ok..☺️ Tak FS128 & Vixen 80mm F15.. What?? Dave

Thanks John, that's a very useful article, especially the section on the importance of preparation of both scope and the equipment such as eyepieces and other accessories. I've been lucky enough to see the Pup just a few times, with a Vixen ED103S 4" refractor and my current 5" Tak FS128..interestingly, I've only managed to definitely see the Pup once with my Tak 5" in Bortle 4 skies here in Lincolnshire, compared to 3 or 4 times with the 4" Vixen back in the Midlands with Bortle 5 skies. This, I think, shows that a whole series of factors need to slot into place, just as stated in the article, not just darkness or aperture: seeing, scope cooling and air temperature all have to come together at the same time - something that sadly doesn't happen that often in the UK! But perseverence definitely pays off. I wonder if any of our colleagues here on SGL have seen the Pup in Binoviewers?.. I certainly havent!🤔 Dave

Nice photo.. ..but what's that clear bluish coloured area running along the top of the photo from middle to the right?? I know it sounds ludicrous, but it almost looks like, er, cloudless sky??🤦‍♂️🫣😲 Dave

That's a wonderful looking telescope..I especially (and genuinely!) love that handle!. But it seems to weigh in at over double the weight of my FS128, and would need a much bigger and heavier (and much more expensive!) mount. For someone with a permanent observatory and funds to equip it, I would say "go for it".. but I'm very happy that my current Tak will do me for my remaining orbits around our planet🔭🌏😊. As for the video itself, I couldn't help thinking that the speaker could have spent more time discussing the scope's actual performance rather than the size and cost of his eyepiece collection? Happy New Year everyone..😉 Dave