mikeDnight

Absolutely gorgeous sketch Chris!! I observed Mars last night before midnight but it was like observing from the bottom of a swimming pool.

The case is very nice but the scope is absolutely gorgeous. Can't wait to hear about your experiences with it!

Thanks Stu. I think its time for my nap!

Johnturley posted a nice image he captured at 00.30 27/8/20 in the imaging forum, just a short time after my own observation, and states the CM to be around 250°. I imagine the BAA handbook to be pretty accurate, and with Syrtis Major coming onto the globe on the right of the image, it does place John's CM estimate to be approximately on target. So reading coordinates from Skysafari appears to be somewhat misleading. Maybe others can shed more light on this curious problem! May be Skysafari made the SatNav built into my car?

Not that I'm aware of Stu. I've attached a couple of images of a topographical globe showing the coordinates of Olympus Mons showing it to be W130° ish, and the Herschel crater at around W230°.

I'm not sure if its of any interest but I've attached the grid I made from 2016 showing the features which match the BAA coordinates. Folding the map round to roughly show the CM at the time of the sketch, Syrtis Minor appears to the right. The grid is mirror reversed and so is only of use to refractor or Cass users, as it shows how features may appear through the eyepiece of a small aperture scope. Details are as exact as only roughly, almost, approximate allows, but useful to me all the same. If 129° were the meridian Olympus Mons would have been pretty much central. The cylindrical grid chart shows the polar regions as they appear through the telescope.☺ In 2016 the northern hemisphere was tilted toward us. Looking at my 2016 globe from roughly the same angle as Mars now appears in 2020, the same meridian shows the features in the sketch, with Hellas on the lower right limb and Syrtis Major on the limb just coming onto the disk.

May be the likelihood of getting lumbered with a lemon is more in our imagination than in reality. In the last 20 years I've only seen three duff 4" apo's and they've all been high end. One TMB, one Astrophysics and one Tak FC100DF. The TMB didn't have good star images, the AP had a faulty focuser and gave very poor images of Jupiter indicating it had been treated harshly somewhere down the line, and the Tak DF had a mangled front baffle. Not bad really considering ive lost count of the refractors I've used over that time. So statistically there's a high probability you'll get a good scope whichever make or brand you choose to go with.

That high power claim was probably me John, but you have to remember I'm nuts! When my FC100DZ arrived, clear skies also accompanied it, which gave me an opportunity to push the magnification on binary stars. With a driven EQ mount, a 1.6mm Vixen HR eyepiece and a 2X Ultima barlow I managed an impressively sharp view of a double star at 1000X. I watched that double for about half an hour not quite believing the magnification. I must have checked the eyepiece I was using at least three times just incase I was wrong, but I wasn't. The view was better at 500X without the barlow, but even then it's a rediculously high power. Of course I wouldn't suggest using 1000X with planets or the Moon, but if the seeing is good a tiny Mars might benefit, and the Moon enjoys high powers up to 400X ish. Generally though, I find 180X is good for Jupiter, with Saturn a little higher - 200 to 250X. Venus takes higher powers well and can be quite a party trick at 400X plus. I don't think you'll find the DZ better on DSO's than your 127, or for general observing. The light grasp and resolution of the 127 is an undeniable advantage, and 5" is a real sweet spot in refractors. But the Tak is a jewel that I'm sure you'd enjoy. May be having both would be the way to go? Mike😊

Thanks Mark. The sketch above is a cleaned up version of the scribblings I make at the eyepiece, and each drawing represents between ten and fifteen minutes of study. It can be a little tricky placing features too, because over that time the planet noticeably rotates messing up my placement of features. I hope you keep up with the sketching Mark, as no matter what the finished result looks like, the process helps with concentration and I honestly believe helps you see more. ☺

Thanks for that Chris. I wonder if Herschel on the Skysafari map is referring to the Herschel crater? I did observe the planet at roughly the same time as shown in the sketch below, although I note it in universal time rather than British summer time. It shows how visually things can look a little different. Syrtis Major would be on the limb, just coming onto the disk, but it wasn't so obvious as on your map. I'm now confused further by the 103° noted on the Skysafari image. Don't be surprised at that as I'm of that age where most things are beginning to confuse me, so I could be misunderstanding things. I worked out the meridian to be approximately 233° which matches the detail on safari with Hellas on the right, whereas 103° places it on the far side of the globe. I'm getting old!

How I've missed this Poster Boy for Vixen pic' until now Alan, I really don't know. I can only apologise. Looking good! Hair is overrated anyway, and if you've any doubt about that just watch a movie or two from the 70's. Those hairstyles are cringeworthy!

Hi Chris, I observed Mars early on and Syrtis Major hadn't yet come onto the disk, so I missed that. You mention something I've never heard of, "the Herschel Zone". I haven't been able to find anything about it during a brief search, so I thought I'd ask you where and what it is on the disk? Hope you don't mind! ☺

Thanks Robert, With regard to the lighter or white features, I often look for those first starting with the polar cap and mists and clouds on the limb. I find that more often than not they lead my eye into the more subtle features. Not only Mars but bright cusps and spots along the terminator of Venus can help to reveal subtle shadings on the cloud tops. Although I didn't use any colour filters in my Mars observations, a blue 80A filter can really help to enhance the positions of brighter areas, while an orange 21 filter can bring out the darks. Could be worth trying! Regards, Mike

Rising in the east, the planet improved between the course of the two sketches, but I was eager to observe it sooner rather than later, as I'm getting paranoid about clouds watching my every move. Rotation was very noticeable as the observations progressed and the seeing was intermittently turbulent which made things a little difficult. I used a prism diagonal in my refractor, so north is top but image reversed.

I was pleased to see a clear sky last night, and the cherry on the cake for me was Mars rising in the east. I was eager to try out my new old Orion Optics 200mm F6 Newtonian, which has spent the last week mounted in the observatory in anticipation. The scope was thermally stable but with Mars still relatively low in the sky the view was bland. I expected a far better view through the 8" than the one that greeted me. I could see the south polar cap but albedo features were very washed out. Perhaps the 8" scope would be better as Mars gained altitude, but I wasn't willing to wait. I removed the 8" from the equatorial and replaced it with the Tak FC100DZ. Instantly the planet snapped into sharp focus with albedo markings immediately recognisable. I made a couple of sketched using the 100mm refractor which I've attached below. Not sure what to make of the 8" F6! Maybe ill keep hold of it a little while longer and give it another chance. It gave a nice view of M13, but Mars wasn't so good.

I had chance to check out the Ascent just over a year ago, but only in daylight. It's a beautiful refractor that could satisfy an intelligent observer for a lifetime. Similar is the AstroTech 102ED which I have used alongside a 100mm Takahashi fluorite apo. The AT was a delight to use and very capable! If you're finding it hard to find one new, you could always put out a wanted ad and see what comes up.

You must taste good. They never touch me!

This is interesting! I blame Covid-19, as if it wasn't for this lockdown I'm sure we would have long since had that long awaited Tak compare evening. For now you'll have to have that party all by yourself Dave. 😟 Still, there's a potentially great Mars apparition to look forward to, so exciting times ahead.

I took my eldest son's best friend to the Chiropodist this afternoon. The Chiropodist is a long term friend of mine who after performing a little minor nail surgery, removing an ingrowing toe nail, and only charging £20, he gave me this. I initially mounted it on a cheap camera tripod I had lying around but it wasn't up to much. So then I rummaged around in my garage and found a small EQ mount, which turns out to be ideal for the PST. I used a cheap 25mm Chinese plossl with a 2X barlow which showed plenty of detail on the solar disk and a nice prominence on the limb, so I'm happy with the scope. All in all its not been a bad day, paying only £20 for my son's friend's nail removing, (I felt no pain at all), and he paid me back, and finally to be given a PST and finding a mount to put it on.

I used smoothright wild thyme as a close enough match for my liking. I painted a couple of counterweight and a blue polar scope cover, which I think pretty close. I wouldn't hesitate to paint the entire mount in this colour if it needed it.

The 5mm LE is highly regarded and should give you essentially orthoscopic performance on axis, with the advantage of a wider field than the classic ortho'. Of course it can't match the wide field eyepieces in terms of width of field, but it will likely be sharper on axis than a wide field eyepiece.

I for one forget to look at the science section. Double and variable stars definitely need to be moved to the Observing section.

My personal favourite is Sky & Telescope, but even that is only a shadow of its former self. Astronomy Now is generally ok. They are all over priced as far as I'm concerned, or it could be that I'm just too tight to part with a fiver.

I might be that relatively few UK astronomers rate S@N magazine highly enough to bother. I know a small group locally who rarely ever look at it.

You bet your boots she doesn't know! She has seen the 10" though and knows it really belongs to Peter, so she probably won't notice the difference, until post pandemic, at which point I'm sure you wouldn't miss an opportunity to drop me in it. Nearly dropped myself in it just a moment ago as I read out aloud what I'd just written. Stopped myself just as she said "what did you say"? EEK!!