Highburymark

A couple of other under the radar EPs I’ve enjoyed over the years: Baader Hyperion 10mm - admittedly I didn’t use it in any superfast scopes, but it was an excellent all-rounder - sharp and bright. Meade 12.5mm (or was it 12.4mm?) 4000 plossl - my main planetary eyepiece for best part of a decade. Celestron 32mm Omni plossl. Even better - Celestron 30mm Ultimas - lovely binoviewing pair.

The GPCs aren’t just there to reach focus. They also correct aberrations introduced by the binoviewer. Because they go from 1.25x to 2.6x, they provide lots of power options.

Your W-Pl 10x/23 are right up there among the best Stu. It was your WL reports that sparked my interest.

Amazing - what a lump. But a very useful lump, at far less than half the price of a Panoptic. I still have a 36mm Hyperion aspheric which I bought for night vision (it’s one of the few non-TV eyepieces that accepted the NV adaptor). I keep reading reports about how poorly it performs in fast scopes, but I’ve seen far worse.

Would be interested to see any pics you have of the Scopos Louis

Very nice Jeremy. There’s one for sale at APM in Germany for a considerable sum - 330 euros or thereabouts. First one I’ve ever seen for sale in Europe. Just looked it up and the 3.8mm appears to have 5 elements in 3 groups (same as 5.1mm XO), though the other XPs have 6/5 configuration. And like the XOs, the shortest FL XP actually has more eye relief than the next shortest. Yours apparently has 2.7mm ER, though the 8mm XP only has 2.1mm.

Entering the murky world of microscope eyepieces can be a little daunting for astronomers. You have to familiarise yourself with complex numbers and names (what on earth is a pl-10x/18 444132-9901?). You have to deal with 30mm barrels - 1.7mm less than 1.25”. And then you have to work out where to buy them - virtually all the best and most affordable models usable for astronomy must be sourced secondhand from eBay, or the many dealers in pre-owned microscope gear. But it’s worth the effort. The three binoviewing pairs I have are exceptional, easily outperforming my long focal length astronomy eyepieces. First - Zeiss OPMI, based on an Abbé ortho design, were made for medical operations. Then I have two pairs of Leica HC Plan S, with different AFOVs, which I understand are revised Konigs. Hunt around, and you can find excellent examples of Leica HC Plan S 10x/22 for £200 upwards, less than a pair of TV Plossls. Best place to start researching is CN - there are a number of long threads there. Most pairs are the equivalent of 25mm, and between 40-60 degrees. So they are specialised tools. But when people are paying thousands to buy a pair of ZAOs, these offer a much more affordable route to eyepiece nirvana.

Spectacular - fantastic capture and thanks for posting

Ok got them - well done on some great captures!

How do I access your screenshots Nigella?

Very nice Peter. The Lunt 35 etalons do seem to have been mostly excellent, but I didn’t know they were compatible with PSTs.

Wow - spectacular - it’s gone now

Not from you they’re not. I’m out.

Baader wedge. Binoviewers, pairs of orthoscopics, GPC and Barcon, mostly. Used same kit for all my scopes. The 80ED was great for 80-140x in mediocre seeing, but the extra grasp of a well figured 4” really delivers WL definition when conditions allow. I tend to do white light at 160x-240x now. You need minimal levels of SA and CA to resolve penumbra detail and granulation to provide sharp views at those powers. And in my environment, you get a lot more out of a 100mm scope. Seeing is different everywhere - what works in one place might not work in another.

I had an Equinox 80 for a long time. Excellent scope, but I saw a considerable improvement in white light views when I moved to a slower 4” apo.

I haven’t read this whole thread, but from reading Neil’s first post, I’d say go for the Starfield. It will do everything you want it to do and more, and will be a significant step up from the F/6.25 Equinox 80, particularly if you enjoy solar. If money’s not an issue, then go for an FC-100. Wonderful scopes. But, much as I loved my DC, I’d be just as happy with any of the excellent FPL-53 4-inchers available these days, from the reports I’ve read.

I use mine visually - but only for night vision, with magnifications rarely above 30x. Apart from the fast speed, its main strength is showing vast swathes of the night sky - so it’s perfect for imaging or viewing large nebulae with night vision. I’ve had a few glances (during the daytime and once at the Moon) with a traditional eyepiece (Tak TOE 4mm for around 100x), and the views are surprisingly good for an F/3.3 scope. But that was more to test the eyepiece’s ability to handle fast optics than establish the Epsilon’s visual credentials. Of course it also has an ED corrector which significantly reduces aberrations, and the owner’s manual does in fact include a section on visual, but much as I love the scope, I can’t imagine using it as a serious visual instrument, particularly for high power work on double stars.

Didn’t take any photos, but yesterday was very busy. Widescreen, FLO (and to a lesser degree RVO) stands dominated proceedings on each floor - all three now pushing their own in-house telescope ranges. Nice to spend some time with the night vision contingent - including Peter and Steve in this thread.

Looks great Alan. I had to send my old Lunt 50 back to Bresser in Germany to sort the helical focuser, which had jammed tight. I think the quality has improved since then. But one option - to avoid using the stock focuser too much - might be to use a Baader clicklock 1.25”with fine focusing diopter adjustment.

It’s actually an ED refractor - since Lunt went modular they’ve stopped using achromats - though I think the 60mm is FPL-51 rather than 53. So CA should be pretty well controlled at F/7. I have an F/6 60ED which is a decent all-round scope so the Lunt should be too.👍👍

I agree. 2.8kg makes it the lightest 4” apo on the market. Just to give an idea of what 20mm more aperture means in size, here’s the DC next to a TSA-120 - itself a light triplet at 6.7kg - but two and a half times heavier than the DC.

The 3mm Delite is a fine eyepiece - you’ll love it. Nice 62 degree field and super comfortable, so you can remain relaxed over long sessions. As good as any Delos or XW. On good nights, however, the TOEs will show quite a bit more detail. I wish I knew more about the optical design (six elements, so far from minimum glass), but they are supremely capable planetary eyepieces. So the 2.5mm would make an ideal, if indulgent, companion to your Delites.

I always enjoy Astrofest - should be lots to see this year. Tough on the organisers and exhibitors that the rail strike coincides with the opening day. But I wonder if there might be a modest post-Covid bounce after so many people were introduced to the hobby during the pandemic?

The image of the night sky you posted shows signs of astigmatism, but it’s difficult to diagnose the problem without more images - as Adam says you need more diffraction rings on both sides of focus, and the artificial star placed further away. You might need to use a more powerful eyepiece with such a large scope too.

Great shot! And those spots are spectacular.