mikeDnight

Many years ago I loaned a white Vixen GP to a friend so he could mount his Meade 127mm Triplet. It was heavy scope, but the GP was mounted on top of a steel pier similar to mine. The damping time was less than 3 seconds. And below is my 6" F10 mounted on my GP. It could perhaps do with a Hargreaves strut, but otherwise the mount has no issue carrying the long heavy tube. When a GP is attached to a solid base it is a phenomenal mount. Any weakness tends to be in the choice of tripod.

For me it's my trusty pier mounted Vixen GP which has proved itself time and again by carrying everything solidly, even my long and heavy 6" F10 Edmund's Scientific refractor without issue. Below with the Genesis SDF.

In order of favouritism: Takahashi 1.25" prism diagonal. Baader Zeiss BBHS 1.25" prism diagonal with 1.25" micro focuser and 2" nose attachment. 2" Televue mirror diagonal.

That's a seriously beautiful scope Den. Carton is a very highly regarded brand and quite a collectable. Well done on finding it. Some of us would give their right arm for a vintage beauty like that.

If you're looking at Orion, then after the clam shell of M42 you could have a go at M78 to the left and above the belt stars. Then down to the left-hand belt star Alnitak and see if you can see the Flame nebula alongside Alnitak. After that and still in Orion, you could drop down below M42 and study the star field carefully. Do you detect nebulosity around any of the stars?

I bought the Helios version of the 120 back in 1999. I promised my wife it would be my "last ever scope, honest!" ( I've made that promise many many times). It was a really nice scope that did well on everything I turned it on.

I think a 6" dobsonian, or better still, 6" Newtonian around F6 on an AZ5 would be an ideal scope for both deep sky and planets. The SW 102mm, 120mm, & 150mm F5 rich field refractors are great for wide field and brighter deep sky, but are not good as planetary scopes. One suggestion that will certainly please as a great all round scope is the Starfield 102mm F7 ED apochromat available from FLO.

I've always had a love of small refractors and started my astronomical adventures over forty years ago with a Prinz Astral 60mm. I can't remember all the details but it was sufficient to ignite my enthusiasm which has lasted ever since. The 60mm Prinz Astral with my best (Now late) friend Michael standing alongside. (March 1980) My next refractor was a Vixen 102mm F13, same as that shown in the image below. The one below was rescued from a skip by a fine fellow astronomer in the US. It's hard to imagine anyone discarding such a stunning instrument, but such is the mentality of some these days. Other small scopes that have come my way over the years were a terrific little Equinox ED80 A SW 72 ED And a blast from the past, a 60mm 1960's Tasco which I still have. Complete with moon map etc. 💙 Other current small aperture refractors I use are a Genesis SDF having a focal ratio of F5.4, and a FC100DZ at F8. I think what I like most about small aperture scopes, is that with the right eyepiece, they always seem to punch above their weight. Even the humble 60mm Astral and Tasco are pretty nice scopes all things considered.

Initially when you said "flash", I thought it could be a head on meteor entering the atmosphere, but it seems what you saw was longer lasting. Possibly a satellite catching the Sun as it rotates, and may be then going into the earth shadow where it becomes lost.

Often, even when the clouds are thick and fast moving, there can be large sucker holes that can offer amazing seeing conditions. So patience coupled with a positive attitude definitely pays off in this game. Also, having varied interests can be a lifesaver. Planet's are dynamic and ever changing and can really sharpen observing skill. And why avoid the Moon when the Moon is all you can see? Having a simple project in mind can help, such as looking for albedo differences on the seemingly featureless flat floors of walled planed craters such as Aristarchus, or tracing fine rilles around the shores of mare and seeing where they lead you. It's amazing how much detail can be seen when we have a purpose.

A loveley report Dave, and quite an adventure with your Tak. I'm sure it will appreciate the chance to play under the stars just like you have. I managed a couple of clear nights over this last week with Tuesday being the first, but on that occasion I was more concerned with how my, new to me, Edmund's 6" achromat was performing after I changed the lens round. It turned out its front surface was facing backwards. Anyhow, all's well now and I'm still extremely pleased about it's excellent colour correction. The clusters in Auriga were among the targets examined by the 6", as was M1, M45, M97, and of course M42, where the Trapezium along with E & F looked like tiny bright needle points in the backdrop of nebulosity. The bright and dark nebula itself was wonderfully complex and I spent ages just soaking up the view. I'm now hoping to find a Fullerscopes mark lV EQ mount or similar to set this gorgeous refractor on.

They are great rich field scopes aren't they Paz! May be its time to give it a place in your signature instruments list?

Here's one for all the deep sky fans.

Thanks for pointing that tiny detail out Hawkeyed Louis. I hadn't seen that, as I was just thrilled to find a matching eyepiece. I fell in love with the first 32mm Erfle, which belonged to a friend at the time, after it gave a better observing experience and sharper stars across the field than my 30mm Tak LE which cost a relative fortune.

This morning I received from Starman53 a 32mm Celestron Erfle, which is an identical match to the one I already have. These are really little jewels, and can run rings around more pricey name brands from high end suppliers. Obviously these two will now be used as a binoviewer pair, and should be sweet in my 6" F10.

6" F10 refractor excitedly anticipating a rare clear spell.

That looks like a superb rooftop observing site Michael. Was it an unusually warm day? I notice there were no leaves on the trees.

I think you'll see things in a whole new light once you look through a 150mm reflector. Don't believe the old 3" refractor = 6" reflector nonsense in good old Patrick Moore books, it simply isn't true. There may have been a little truth in such a claim back when mirrors were made of speculum metal, or made by an inexperienced amateure over the kitchen sink, but not today. A 150mm reflector will have superior resolution and light grasp, and will be able to use higher powers. Don't worry about secondary obstruction, as it has very little effect to the light recieved and essentially no effect to the scopes resolving power. In the same way that a 4" refractor offers a genuine sweet spot in refractor apertures, so the 6" reflector is the often under rated workhorse of a serious observer.

Thanks for all the info Don. You're a wealth of information and an international treasure. 🏆 How I wish we had catalogues like Edmunds today; with yesterday's selection of goodies and at yesterday's prices.

I don't suppose you have any pic's Don? I don't think I've ever seen the earlier version. It was amusing at a local star party a good few years ago, when a fellow observer walked over to my FS128 to take a look at the double cluster. He'd used the scope many times and he'd seen the double cluster hundreds of times no doubt, but when he looked into the eyepiece he was momentarily wowed by the view. The double cluster looked as if it hung in free space right before his eye and he asked "what eyepiece is this?" How I wish I'd have had my witt's about me and said "it's a new line of TV eyepieces." Instead I blurted out the truth - "it's a 28mm RKE" I said. His interest was immediately lost, but his initial reaction was priceless and told the real story. It makes me wonder how many people lust over eyepieces merely because of a brand name, and conversely, dismiss them on the same basis?

It's definitely a beast! I don't think alythal had much chance to use it, as he didn't expect it to be as massive as it is when he bought it, and didn't have a mount strong enough to carry it well. I genuinely believe it was sold to me in good faith, and he was happy for me to remove the lens to see if it was in backwards. Also, he was more than happy to refund the money, so he was a thoroughly nice chap throughout! I'd imagine with a Vixen scope that a previous owner had been messing around, as some tend to do, and toppled the lens? It's hard to believe Vixen would send one out like that.

Hi Jeremy, It should be interesting to see how things progress. I'll update things as they develope.. The equatorial mount is what was termed a Cygnus mount, manufactured back in the late 80's by my friend Phil who ran a kind if telescope business. I bought it from a chap in Preston for £25. I replaced the rusty old steel shafts with stainless steel and gave it a clean up, then used it for a number of years to carry my Equinox 120, for which it was ideal. Then after buying the FC100DC I passed it onto Peter Drew at the Astronomy Centre, only to pick it up again a couple of weeks ago with the intention of double mounting my DZ and SDF side by side. My friend originally built this mount to carry a 8" Maksutov Cassegrain, but its struggling to handle the heavy 6" F10. I think the ideal mount to suit this scope would be a Fullerscopes Mrk lV, which I'll probably put an ad out for when funds become available. Phil did make a larger version of the Cygnus, designed for a 12" Maksutov Cassegrain and 6" F15 refractor. It was a massive beast. I'd love to find one of those!

Well its a work in progress, and so far I've had nothing to do with the build process, but it is technically a home build as far as I'm aware. On Friday last, I picked up a 150mm F10 achromat at a very reasonable price. It's a Heinz 57, made up of various bits and bobs from other scopes but its functional. After getting the scope home I laid it on the kitchen table, aimed it through the double glazing at houses across town and thought it was very good. The main thing that amazed me was the high level of colour correction. It wasn't until darkness fell that things turned out to be not so good. Still on its kitchen table mount and looking through double glazing, I aimed the scope at the street lights at the other side of town only to see the worst spherical abberation I'd ever seen. The Ronchi lines were a strong barrel shape, while alongside the 150mm, and aimed through the same double glazed window, my Genesis SDF and FC100DZ showed perfect street lights and perfectly straight ronchi lines. Later I was able to mount the scope in my observatory and take advantage of a clearing sky. Again the star images were surrounded by a destructive spherical blur that prevented any kind of true focus. I remembered in Leslie Peltier's Starlight Nights, that Leslie had the same problem with a 12" Clarke refractor, so I re-read the relative paragraphs, then e-mailed Peter Drew for his expert opinion. It appeared the most likely cause was that the beautiful Edmunds lens had been installed into its cell facing backwards. It was getting late but I couldn't wait until morning. I struggled to remove the glue blobs holding the lens retaining ring in position but eventually the ring unscrewed freely. I carefully removed the lens group, and to my immediate relief saw the thicker edged flint was indeed at the front. To reinforce my belief, I then noticed written in pencil on the lens edges the numbers 4,3,2,1. The lens had been fit in reverse. I cleaned the outer surfaces before refitting the lens back in its cell. The clouds had rolled in by now, so back to my trusty street light through double glazing test, and what a relief it was to see sharply defined street lights. I went to bed very happy! Tonight, after 48hrs of first heavy snow, then torrential rain and high winds, the sky cleared briefly. I set the scope up in the observatory and aimed it at a bright star (several in fact). Wow is this a beautiful lens! The diffraction pattern at both sides of focus was identical, while in focus it was perfection at X333. As I mentioned at the outset, this is now a work in progress, and now that I'm convinced of the high quality of the lens, I can now start working on it to turn it into something beautiful. Not certain how it will end up looking, but I'm hoping it's going to be a heart stopper. Below is the Edmund's 150mm F10 achromat as it stands at present.

I think Baader were the most recent to supply a 35mm Eudiascopic, which is truly an awesome eyepiece. I seem to remember they were £150 new, so £100 may be just about right for a second hand one. I suppose the five element design might put some off who are unfamiliar with the design, imagining they won't work well in short focal length scopes, but at F5.4 in my Genesis SDF the views are mouthwatering. Incidentally, the Masuyama's are available through FLO though they now tend to be around 80°+ for some strange reason. They are high contrast, high definition on axis, but i think to do this newer wider field version justice you'd need a long scope. Could be great in a Cassegrain. Expensive though!

That's a great choice of scope, and very capable. I think youre going to love it, not just because of it's capability, but also because it's so easy to use.