mikeDnight

Same here, very obviously! And as I observe without glasses, does this play a part in seeing planetary detail more easily?

Unlike man made laws, paying lots of money can't alter physical laws. However, considering first the different qualities of various scope designs, then choosing to pay for the best optics available in that design, will result in superior performance on nights of good seeing and transparency. On mediocre nights you may see scopes of similar design give similar performance, but when the conditions for high performance allow for it, the higher end optics will pull away from the good but run off the mill optics. And as many can attest, mere aperture is no guarantee of superior performance.

If you're thinking of sticking with 1.25" eyepieces, and keeping in mind the fact that the 72ED is an excellent visual scope but with a relatively small aperture, I'd suggest getting the best diagonal you can afford. The bright and beautiful Baader BBHS immediately jumps to my mind.

Does that still fit you Jerremy?

ADC - essential for planetary? It seems the answer is no! That's saved me a few bob!

If you feel uncomfortable with the 2/3rds general rule, especially as you're concerned about the electronics and he's your friend; why not have a chat with him. Half new price may be more reasonable, especially considering the age of the scope, but whatever you decide upon, it seems a shame to leave a scope lying around unused when there's someone there who could put it to good use. Perhaps any amount is better in your pocket than leaving the scope standing!

Here's a little trick to add to your curiosities collection Andrew. I'm not sure of the reason why, but when observing linear features such as the belts of Jupiter, if I turn my diagonal so that the belts are vertical, detail becomes just a little more certain. For whatever reason I see vertical lines better defined than when they're horizontal. It could be just my eyes, but I seem to remember a science documentary going back many years that end me to believe its more to do with how the brain works. Anyhow, its worth trying just to see if it enhances the view or not.

She's gorgeous, and the lemons add that fruity zest to the pic.

You no doubt have an excellent refractor Sunshine, and there are many out there, not all are Tak's. Personally, I don't worry about the math or science, I know what an acceptable image looks like, and I instantly know when I've tipped the scale. I'd say continue pushing the mag and increasing the image scale. Things will vary according to seeing conditions and the chosen target of course, but more often than not, being adventurous in this was will pay off on many occasions. A few nights ago i observed Mars while it was still relatively low in the east and in less that first class seeing, yet I was able to use 400X on my 100mm frac and still retain an acceptably well defined image showing some really nice detail. Crazy isn't it!

Hi David, I follow Peter Drew's view, that there's an approximate 4X amplification due to the extended light path of the binoviewer after the 2X barlow. So simply multiply the magnification af the eyepiece by 4X. So with the Jupiter sketch the 18mm Ultima's giving me 44.44X were multiplied by 4 as I was using a 2X Ultima barlow giving 177.7X, rounded up to 178X. ☺

I agree it is often quite difficult to interpret maps of Mars and relate the markings to the real life view through the telescope. For that reason I decided to make maps of my own based on observations I made at the eyepiece, rather than having to struggle along trying to flip images in my mind. Also, the view at the eyepiece is often far different from that of the maps. My first map was drawn in 2003 using a 5" refractor.but I didn't use a diagonal so it's south at the top. Mars back then was 25 arc seconds and high in the sky, and I made all my observations using a 7mm Nagler giving 148X. If I remember rightly it took 20 sketches of Mars to enable me to complete it. The southern hemisphere was tilted towards us back then just as it is this year. My 2016 map took 36 observations to complete and shows the northern hemisphere in more detail than the 2003 map. I've also made a number of Mars globe's to help with identifying features as seen through the telescope. Below is the 2003 map showing south top, followed by one of my Mars globe's from the 2016 apparition showing north top e/w reversed.

Hi Lee, Saturn's rings cast a shadow on the globe as they cross it, but also there is a fine equatorial band that can sometimes be seen. You may also have seen the Crepe ring at that point, but I always find it easier just inside the ansae on either side of the planet. It often has a Smokey appearance and can be overlooked even though its usually in plain sight. Once seen you'll wonder how you could have missed it! ☺ Perhaps you could drop the magnification slightly to between 180X and 200X just to sharpen the image a little and improve contrast & definition. It may help even though the image scale reduces.

That's a great sketch Lee and you've caught some interesting detail, depicted very subtly within the darker albedo features. I can see in your sketch that you've recorded a perfect outline of Solis Lacus ( the Eye of Mars) right on the central meridian. Along the bright limb you have undoubtedly included the bright cloud around Olympus Mons, shown as a brighter indent at around 2 o'clock, and there are bright regions coming onto the disk that when combined with the morning haze and thin cloud in Mars' atmosphere creates the bright limb. You have a very keen observing eye. Thanks for posting your sketch! Attached is a 2016 cylidrical grid map of Mars showing the latitude and longitude of Martian features with the same reversed orientation as in your telescope which you may find helpful. You can see some bright regions i mentioned to the right of Solis Lacus, and Olympus Mons at 130° visible close to the limb in your sketch.

Refractors are probably the scopes least affected by seeing conditions, and their relatively small aperture doesn't create an overly bright planetary image, so detail can appear better defined. They are still limited by their aperture in terms of resolution, but their sharp images often present a more pleasing view, often revealing detail lost in the glare of large aperture scopes. And because of their ability to sharply define detail, the observer can often increase the image scale by using high powers to reveal a greater discernible level of detail. Try enlarging John's image of Mars to find the sweet spot. The same detail is in the image at every stage, but I find enlarging it to between 8 & 10mm gives the best discernible amount of subtle detail. Frac's are good at this as they take magnification well!

I've wondered about getting the 4mm TOE to add to my high resolution eyepiece collection Mark, but I've tended to shy away from them because they are Tak eyepieces. It sounds silly I know, but I've been let down by a number of eyepieces from Takahashi in the past and its left a nasty taste. I haven't used any of the TOE's up to press but have heard great things about them. Over the years I've had both the Hi LE's which both had ghosting, likewise with a 5mm LE that many rave about, but it turned out to be the worst eyepiece for ghost images that I've ever used. Then I bought the 30mm LE, but it was a poor eyepiece and was thrashed by an old Japanese 32mm volcano top Erfel which had far superior edge correction, and even by a 28mm RKE. Loyalty to a brand doesn't always pay off and I felt the legendary Tak scope quality doesn't translate to their eyepieces, despite their high prices. The TOE however still has some appeal to me, but whether I bite the bullet remains to be seen.

It seems that Vixen have decided to cease production of their HR (High Resolution) eyepiece line. This has been suspected for some time as the HR's are more of a specialist eyepiece designed for high res double star and planetary viewing, so it's target audience is relatively small. On CN its been suggested that Vixen are ending production because most who are drawn to this specialist 42° eyepiece with 3.4, 2.4, 2 and 1.6mm focal lengths have probably already bought them. Plus they are superbly engineered internally to eliminate any stray light and so are not cheap. However, it seems that FLO are still able to obtain them at the moment, so if you've been sitting on the fence with this one, there may still be a chance to grab them. Vixen have apparently already stopped producing the 3.4 and 2mm, and the 2.4 and 1.6mm are to stop in October. If in doubt, read Bill P's Vixen HR review on CN.

I look forward to seeing your sketch Chris! As for my observations being early on, I try to catch the Planets before they reach the meridian because the nearer to the south they get, they also become affected by poorer seeing. I have a high south southwest tree line that hinders observations when the planet's are low like Jupiter and Saturn currently are. Most of my sketches are made while the planet is either in the east or high in the sky. I do seem to have consistently good seeing in the east so I shouldn't grumble.

Thankyou John. I'm genuinely struggling to know what to say after such a compliment. It is nice to know my sketches are enjoyed by others.

Jupiter was in turbulent air but a couple of nice shadow transits stood out like dots of Indian ink. Meanwhile Mars was rising behind a low bank of haze and cloud, and so i made three seperate sketches as the planet rose above the murk on the horizon. Each sketch was made using a different magnification and each has its own merits. The same 100mm refractor was used for each. My personal favourite is the high power view given by the 2mm Vixen HR at 400X for which I've also included a labelled diagram of the features shown. As a diagonal prism was used the sketches show north top, east west reversed. Preceding is left.

Last night's sketches of Mars began with a low altitude observation looking through haze and thin cloud using my FC100DZ and a 5mm Ultrascopic. Then as the planet rose above the murk, I made a second sketch using a 2mm Vixen HR giving me 400X. Surprisingly the view was intermittently very good. Then the final sketch of the night was made using a barlowed binoviewer and a pair of 25mm pseudo Masuyams. The views are as seen through the refractor using a prism diagonal, so north is top with e/w reversed. Each magnification gave a pleasing yet slightly different impression of the planet, so take your pick which you prefer.

The LE's are generally thought of as being excellent eyepieces and the 5mm is often highly regarded. Tak use ED glass in its design. I bought one year's ago but the one I had suffered from significant ghosting, but this must not be a regular fault as the 5mm remains one of the favourite eyepieces in the LE range. The 18mm LE's are superb!

Here's my DX in Altaz mode. Not bad for £50 including the HAL tripod.

Have you been covering yourself in Immac again Jeremy? Its a mental picture i didnt really want!

Around 2004/2005, not certain which, paulastro and myself delivered a large aperture Vixen ED to Damien. I wonder if this is the one? I remember that we'd set off early and arrived at Damiens much earlier than anticipated (before 6am). Being the more considerate out of the two of us I suggested to Paul that we wait for a while before knocking on the door, but Paul wouldn't have any of it. It think Damien and his wife/girlfriend thought it was a raid! The house was ruled by cats not catadioptrics, and the poor refractor was shoved into an old coal bunker attached to the house, after which all three of us drove to Cambridge to a BAA bewilderment day. I also remember during that drive extolling the virtues of a good refractor to Damien, who listened intently. Looking back, it may have been that between Paul's Brummy and my Lancashire accent poor Damien might not have had a clue what we were talking about? Just checked the date I wrote in a book I bought at that BAA event - it was 2004.

Simple - he uses computer software to taxidermy the mushy Schmidt images, so no need for the sharp refractor optics of the discerning visual observer.