mikeDnight

It's a great image!

Thanks for the lens pic Paul. I must say it appears highly lickable. I'm sure jeremyS will be along soon doing at the mouth. 😋 I also love all the paper goodies you've got with it too. 🙂

That's a more atmospheric photograph than many of today's images. Thanks for posting it, it really is a great photo.

It looks fantastic Paul! What a great package with that fabulous case. I like the look of that rotator on the focuser too, which I imagine will be a joy to use with your binoviewer attached. Shame about that dust speck between the finder dovetail clamps. 😅 Can't wait for a clear spell so I can come and play. Do we get a lens pic', or do you have to buy that seperately?

Thanks for going to the trouble of finding that photograph. Obviously in my mind Venus and the comet were closer together than they actually were in reality, and the comet wasn't as vertical as I remembered it, but that might have been due to my letterbox view through the two cloud banks? I'll have to try and find the original sketch of the comet as seen through the binoculars. It's hard to imagine all those years have flown bye as in my mind it seems like yesterday. I haven't forgotten the pain I was in either, but I drove home very contented. 😊

I remember it as if it was yesterday despite it being 2006. There was thick cloud above and a thick cloud against the horizon, with a thin strip of sky low down separating the cloud. It was blowing a Gale and snowing, but Venus was visible in the twilight sky and I was determined to catch a glimpse of this Sun grazing daylight comet. Just as I found it Paulastro phoned me to say he'd just found the comet and it was then that I realised how cold my hands were and I struggled to release my grip. I made this sketch to commemorate the adventure, but leaving out the snow which was blowing almost horizontally.

Go for an ED if you can, even if it means dropping in aperture. If you can get a 120ED for under £700 then grab it and run. The cool down time is minutes and it will wow you not only on the Moon and planets, but also on brighter deep sky too. Something along the lines of a Starfield 102ED would also deliver beautiful views of the Moon & planets, and brighter deep sky. And the AZ4 is a greatly under rated mount in my view. I used an AZ4 with my FC100DC back in 2016 to observe Mars when the planet was so low it barely rose above the roof tops. 300X was no trouble when the mount was clutched gently. Pretty solid too!

I can't remember anyone complaining about the cool down time of a TSA102 although I'm sure it would take a little longer than a doublet. But visually it's still one of the best visual refractors ever made. I'd imagine the Askar 103 would also be a splendid visual refractor. I'd like to play with one and see just how good it is.

I've sat in my garden on countless cloudy nights waiting for a sucker hole and have been rewarded with some amazing views of the Moon and planets. I've even observed a comet low in the west when it was thick cloud above, and I was so cold I couldn't move my fingers from my binoculars, and it was snowing. Defeatism is for wimps! 😉

I COULD LIVE WITH THAT! 😊

That's a blast from the past. I lusted over those pic's for months on end while I saved every spare penny I could so I could buy myself a FL102. Just looking at those beautiful telescopes still makes my heart race. I imagined that once I had the money I could go to a telescope shop (remember those?), and buy one off the shelf. A FL102 with GP mount with AL tripod, two or three LV eyepieces, finderscope, and RA drive was in the region of £2,200.00. For me it would have been the ultimate set-up. Unfortunately Orion Optics were the sole Vixen importer, and they couldn't have cared less! And that's the only reason I turned to Takahashi, but you couldn't get a 102 fluorite Tak on a Tak mount for anywhere close to the incredible Vixen price. I still believe Vixen offered the best refractor deals of all time.

It's definitely been fun John and there's very little that I regret. I've been so fortunate to have had so many wonderful scopes, and also a few wonderful friends who have shared the fun along the way. And a wonderful wife who understood my need for toys despite me vowing that each scope would be the last I'd ever need. I bet I'm not alone in making such promises.

The F13 Vixen was amazing! It gave me the best view of M82 that I've ever had through any telescope, but my skies were significantly clearer back then. I bought it second hand and couple of years ago I met with its first owner, who said that letting it go for a bigger reflector was one of his biggest regrets. I sold it to fund college books. Thick or what!?

That's true. I loved my original FS128 and regretted letting it go, but I got greedy and grabbed a FS152. I've had some of my most enjoyable observing experiences however with scopes around 4" aperture. They are quick and easy to use, and for me at least they are great performers. I'd never want to be without a 4" refractor.

You do like to stirr the pot Jeremy. I was trying to steer clear of the T word. 🎌

That's because the sand in the hour glass is running out fast these days, so I can remember the distant past much more easily than I can remember what I did yesterday. I'll remember yesterday in a year or two!

I've just been reminiscing about all the scopes I've owned over the years and thought I'd share my list of acquisitions here. It just goes to show what a powerful hold the telescope can have on someone, possibly more addictive than astronomy itself. So in order, between 1980 until now: 40mm table top tasco refractor. 60mm Astral refractor 12×60 binoculars 150mm F5 home made dobsonian 100mm F10 Cosmotron achromatic refractor 200mm F10 Maksutov Cassegrain 150mm F3 Schmidt Newtonian 102mm F13 Vixen achromatic refractor 150mm F13 Scmidt Cassegrain 115mm F8 Schmidt Cassegrain 120mm F8.3 achromatic refractor 150mm F8 achromatic refractor 128mm F8.1 Fluorite apochromatic refractor 102mm F5 SW StarTravel 15x70 Celestron binoculars 152mm F8 Fluorite apochromatic refractor TV NP101 IS refractor 15x70 Celestron binoculars 120mm F8 SW ED refractor 120mm F8 SW Equinox ED refractor Antares 105mm F14 achromatic refractor. (I almost forgot about this lovely scope, but it now has its place on the list). 100mm SW ED refractor 120mm F8 Equinox ED refractED80 80mm Equinox ED refractor 100mm F7.4 Fluorite apochromatic refractor 200mm F6 Newtonian 4.5" F8 Newtonian (current)* 100mm F8 Fluorite apochromatic refractor (current)* Coronado PST (Current)* TV 101 SDF refractor Sky90 Fluorite apochromat SW 72mm ED refractor (cerrent)* 60mm F12 Carton achromat (current)* 10X50 Nikon Binoculars (current)* 128mm F8.1 Fluorite apochromatic refractor (current)* 150mm F5 Newtonian (current)* I think that's it, though I may have forgotten some. Ultimately thousands of pounds have poured like water through my fingers, which may otherwise have been spent on pizza and Indian Takeaways, so in that sense, telescopes can have major health benefits. Some people would think I'm crazy; may be you're one of them? Or may be you're just as crazy, or even a real straight jacket case?

If a refractor, then if it's capped and the lenses are dry, you should have no problem keeping it in a shed. A friend of mine kepped a 6" refractor in a ror observatory which was little more than a larch lap garden shed for years without any problems. The trouble starts when a scope is capped while moisture is on the lens, so if after a night of observing the scope is covered in condensation, or the lens is missed over, it's best to take it indoors uncapped and allowed to dry out naturally. Once thoroughly dry you could then put it back in the shed. There must have been hundreds of refractors left in basic observatories/ror sheds for decades, yet they remained in perfect working order, especially if they had a caring owner.

That's true! Many but not all, and suggesting using a blackout blanket to achieve good dark adaption could help some to get far more out of their telescopes. Having said that, years at the eyepiece is no guarantee of observing skill. I recently recieved the Web Societies latest journal in which the editor immediately begins by mocking the deep sky observing skill of some Cloudy Nights sketching contributors who use small telescopes, implying they're seeing too much detail. When I first read it I had to check that I hadn't joined the BAA by mistake.

The trick to getting the best deep sky out of a smallish refractor is to get as well dark adapted as possible, and to observe an object at length from under a blackout hood or blanket. Ive seen some amazing subtle detail through my 4" refractors using this method, even seeing M13 as an explosion of stars right to the centre. The greatest challenge for me isn't the aperture of my refractor, it's the overlying haze that kills the view.

I love the Tak prism! It's optically excellent and quite a bargain considering it's by Takahashi, who normally expect you to sell at least one kidney before making a purchase. The only drawback can be with deep undercuts on some eyepiece barrels.

That's a great scope you have there Matthew. We're all glad to have been of assistance in relieving the internal pressure in your wallet of course. I'm sure you'll get over the financial shock eventually. 😂

I seem to have had quite a lot of clear skies, or so it would seem. They are usually not perfect but as I'm primarily interested in the Moon, planets, and double stars, so a light haze isn't too destructive. I was out with my dog late last night and stood for a while admiring a beautiful milkyway from my front doorstep. I've done that several times over the last couple of weeks! I didnt take a scope out but I do think it's helpful to keep a scope permanently set up rather than in a case or bag as it just makes things easier when clouds suddenly clear, even for a short while. My 4" refractor is always on a tripod and ready for action, even if I'm not.

Moderator alert! GTom mentioned "SCT" in the telescope discussion forum!!! 😲 Is that allowed, and do they count as telescopes? 😉😈

I'd most likely go for the Starfield 102 FPL53 and forfeit the extra 10mm aperture of the StellaMira. The price difference is too close to be of much influence, so I'd go for the better optics over the minimal aperture gain, plus at F6, I imagine the StellaMira may be pushing its limits for colour correction. I'm sure it would be a nice scope for star fields and brighter deep sky though!