mikeDnight

If it continued for around 15 mins it was moving too slowly for an irridium flare. As you say it was orange, I'd suspect it may have been a weather balloon reflecting sunlight.

Thanks Paul, I got the same mag but had doubts because the view was remarkably steady and still relatively sharp. I'll give some thought to upgrading to a full four inches, as having only three point nine inches is giving me an inferiority complex. Pathetic isn't it!

There doesn't seem to be a way of editing the above post. I meant to say "steer clear" and not "swear clear".

I tend to use eyepieces having around a 50° apparent field in my binoviewer. For most deep sky targets i prefer to observe without a binoviewer given my scope has only 100mm aperture. The binoviewer is spectacular when viewing the Moon and planets, and I usually use a binoviewer with a 2X barlow which amplifies around 4X due to the extended light path. I've found that my 18mm Ultima's and 16.8mm Orthoscopic's are the ones that I use most. My 25mm Parks Gold (same 5 element design as the Ultima and Tak LE), give awesome wide-ish lunar views. I believe that Parks Optical still sell the Gold series eyepieces. Baader Eudiascopic are the same, but you can also get the Takahashi LE's which are also great. Televue Plossl's are beautiful for lunar and planerary in a binoviewer, but I'd steer clear of the shorter focal lengths and use longer fl's along with a barlow instead. That would give you more eye relief and greater comfort when observing for long periods.

I've felt the same lately. I think its something to do with being out shone by all these 102mm & 103mm apo's. Tonight however, I mustered up the courage and got wrapped up, then set my puny 100mm refractor on its mount in the obs'y. Honestly, it was like a sudden oxygen overdose as I felt my red cells come to life. The Moon tonight was beautiful, and although there was a mild undulation of the image, I still enjoyed a very nice and detailed view. Anyone care to hazard a guess at the magnification? I was using my 100mm F8 FC100DZ with a 1.6X extender -Q making the system 1280mm and a 2X Ultima barlow with a binoviewer and paired 16.8mm orthoscopics.

The yellow off axis sounds like it may be coming from your eyepiece. Many eyepieces exhibit lateral colour in this way.

If the mirror were covered in scratches it would cause light scatter and smear the view, but from how you describe them they sound like sleeks. These may be the result of careless cleaning by the previous owner, and if they aren't that evident they may have little impact on the image.

We did have some laughs over the years! I must have brought him so much joy each time i placed an order.

Hi Keora, Unfortunately, many scopes are made down to a price and that usually means the mount provided tends to lack stability. I know what you mean about the limitations of the red dot finder. They can be frustrating when looking for more challenging targets. Still, on the bright side, you've been using binoculars for over a year which is a great way to start out and familiarise yourself with the night sky. Many observers use binoculars on solid mounts at which point they become very serious tools, and are great fun too. The fact you found Uranus both in your binoculars and in your telescope tells me you're a good observer. Sometimes the image can black out when our eye moves off axis, but like all things worth doing, observing with a telescope is a skill and sometimes a challenge. From the little you've told us I'm certain you've got what it takes to become a very good observer. Perhaps it may help if you check all the nuts, bolts and screws on your mount to make sure they are not loose, and so minimise any unwanted movement. A 6X30 optical finder might also make a much more useful addition rather than the red dot finder. Other than that, just keep on observing and challenging yourself and your telescope.

The AZ-EQ5 would definitely carry your 4" refractor well. Sometimes though, less is more. It could be that having to carry out and set up a hefty AZ or EQ might stop you from observing as often when you just feel like a quick observing session. One of the beautiful things about a 4" apo is that it makes a fantastic, quick grab and go set-up. I'm not trying to put you off the AZ-EQ5 as it may be exactly what you need. It's just that there can be advantages to a lighter set-up.

I think that Nick may have retired. It's sad as he's such a thoroughly nice chap, and I'm sure he'll be missed by many loyal customers.

I love globes and have seven of them. I've even made four or five globe's of Mars, as seen through a telescope, some of which I gave to my observing buddies. I like maps and charts too. I've also made a few of those over the years. But I'm a bit old school and not really into electronics and technology. I'm in my element sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by star charts and lunar atlases. Having only a 3.9" refractor I need to take advantage of every photon my scope funnels towards my retina, so looking at tablets or computer screens really doesn't have any appeal, as it must have some detrimental effect on dark adaption. Instead, I pre study star charts and I know the night sky reasonably well, so I rarely ever have to refer to a chart or star atlas when observing. If I were to choose just one astro related gadget other than my telescope, that i consider to be the biggest game changer above all others, it has to be my binoviewer - at least for lunar & planetary observing.

I used to watch Sky at Night every month and didnt miss an episode. Patrick was a national treasure and a force of nature. Today, I don't bother with Sky at Night anymore and haven't done for a few years. Can't stand the multiple presenters when it only needs one. It's like watching a tennis match - to me to you to me to you. It's wearysome! The only one on the programme as far as I'm concerned who's worth his salt, is Pete Lawrence. The BBC haven't got a clue!

That looks fantastic Carl. I'm pretty certain you're going to have a lot of fun with that.

That would be great fun Jeremy. I've already acquired a virtual balcony from which you and I can heckle.

I've owned a Gibraltar mount on a beautiful walnut tripod. It looked great but it wasn't a good fork. The mount wasn't solid enough and it was difficult to balance my scope. The altitude axis was difficult to lock, and when changing to heavy eyepieces, the fork struggled to hold position. The best fork I've ever owned was a Hercules Helix (below), sadly nolonger in production, but it would carry a hefty 5" or 6" refractor without breaking into a sweat. I wish I hadn't sold it, but like many others, I'm not immune from making stupid decisions.

Feel free to poop away Paul! ☺

I really dislike the Vixen Porta mounts, I've owned two and used many. They vibrate like tuning forks and there's little you can do about it. I'm also not keen on altazimuth gyro style mounts that use counterweight, as you're increasing the weight of the set-up. You can't really beat a well made altazimuth fork for solidity and simplicity, but it seems that nobody makes a true fork mount anymore, - at least not one that's worth its salt. Although not perfect, I find the Skywatcher AZ4 a reasonably solid Altaz mount, but preferably not on the Chinese aluminium tripod as it has plastic components. You'd need a steel tripod, or if you can find an old, tall, Japanese aluminium tripod such as those produced by Vixen back in the 80's or 90's, you'll have a solid mount. For general sweeping of the sky the AZ4 isn't too bad. I've used 474X on mine while observing Mars, which although not ideal, it was still achievable.

I'm smiling to myself Fedele. You've really been bitten bad by the Tak bug. Sorry to inform you that there is no cure - its terminal! All you can do to ease the itching and pain is to keep reading about, using, and buying more Tak stuff. 🇯🇵

I think that everyone who buys from Takahashi feels they have an instrument that is just a little bit special. I'm sure the company takes its hard earned, privileged position at the top of the telescope world very seriously, after all, Tak make scopes that other manufactures try hard to emulate. And if you needed their help, I'm equally sure you'd receive it. The only difficulty being the language barrier and the fact your scope may need shipping back to Japan. I don't know anyone personally who's needed to return their scope, but I seem to remember on CN some time back, where someone either suffered coating damage or bought a second-hand scope having coating damage; (no idea how that happened)! They sent the scope to Takahashi, after waiting in silence for some time, they received their scope back in 'as new' condition. That's comforting!

If its within its warranty I'd send it back, but if not, I'd remove the back cell from the tube and take a look. Avoid touching the mirror and make a note of which screw hole is which for when you put it back together. The problem is likely to be a clip, split pin or nut that's come loose and become detached. It's very likely a problem that's easily resolvable .

I've used a friends FS102 for many years. It's a truly great scope in every way. I sincerely doubt you'll have any regrets. I can't wait to read about your adventures you'll have together. ☺

I'd imagine Canon Optron produce all the refractor objectives, as they produce large multi element camera objectives, not always fluorite. Plus they are a known quantity and so could be relied upon to keep the very high standard required.

Who are AP, TEC and Televue? Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

It really makes you appreciate how much personal care & attention goes into each telescope. Thanks for posting the video!