Highburymark

Beautiful scope! Just in time for planet season too. I was also unhappy with just two tube rings. Although mine fitted tightly around the telescope, there was a degree of sag when I fitted the scope onto my Skytee mount. I eventually moved to a three ring set up, which might seem like overkill, but is much more robust.

I’d like to see a comparison between the T6 11mm and the £££££ Apollo 11mm. Bet they’re not that far apart.

I thought the 11mm T6 was the best in the range Alan. And the most comfortable to use. But at 10mm and below I’d stick with XWs unless weight is a major issue, or unless you need the extra fov.

Last year I acquired a pair of Leica microscope eyepieces - HC Plan S 10x/22 M (507806). Basically this translates to a 25mm eyepiece, with a 22mm field stop. HC Plan S are Leica’s best range, and they really shine in an astronomical binoviewer. The 22s can be tracked down on ebay for around £200-250 for a mint used pair. I believe they are over three times that price new. Although you have to add 1.7mm to the barrel (I just use paper and tape) to fit a 1.25” binoviewer, it is worth it. They are the sharpest and cleanest 25mm eyepieces I’ve ever used. This week I received the wider model - the HC Plan S 10x/25 (507808). So far I’ve only used them for solar Ha and white light, but they are exquisite. I know there are a few people interested in these eyepieces on SGL, so thought I’d share a few pics.

Very nice - eye lens looks nice and clean. Look forward to hearing how they perform.

Agree. Maybe it’s my ageing eyes, but I don’t get a great deal out of white light observing under 150x. 200x is a good day, but ideally, and seeing only allows this rarely, I push for 250x and higher. Penumbra and granulation detail only reveals itself to my eyes at these powers, so obviously the optics need to be capable of delivering it. But it requires a lot of patience. And I only get the WL scope out if I already know that seeing is excellent in Ha.

Thanks Roy. Sun was incredible today. Four epic filaments as well as marvellous active regions

My LS50 focuser (with original run of the scope 7-8 years ago) just seized up, so it was unusable. Would hope they’ve improved the consistency since then - as long as it functions ok and you don’t want it to cope with heavy weights you should be fine.

Very nice - you’ve picked up a lot of detail.

Just go with the flow Stu. If you don’t feel like observing for the next six months, nothing wrong with that. Just make sure you keep enough gear for when the mojo returns - don’t sell the DC and those lovely Zeiss eyepieces!

Good choice chaps - glad you managed to track down copies. Mine’s already out in preparation for a holiday in Menorca at the end of this month.

The type of binoviewer you are buying will also determine whether you can use wider eyepieces at all - the cheaper Chinese units mostly use small prisms, which will vignette widefield EPs. The good news is that if they are collimated well, they give on-axis views on a par with far more expensive binoviewers with larger prisms. But important to check this before you make final decisions about BV/EP pairings.

My most used book (Patrick Moore’s Exploring the Night Sky with binoculars) might seem completely impractical for someone using refractors from an urban location, but actually it’s perfect - it doesn’t waste time on objects I can’t see. it gives me most of the information I need, particularly on individual stars in each constellation - all presented in an accessible and economical way. If I need more, I then use Sky Safari. There’s something about Patrick’s no-nonsense approach, coupled with an enthusiasm which never faded, that makes him an excellent companion when stargazing. Whenever I take my telescope abroad, this book is also the first item in my suitcase. I’d also recommend Stargazing Under Suburban Skies, written by the Loughton Astronomical Society team, for light polluted locations. It’s one of the best Springer publications, and very thoughtfully laid out.

They are more expensive than I thought - at this level they are getting into night vision territory, which in my view is the better visual option because it delivers live views just like a normal telescope. I can see why the eVscope is popular for public events, but I’m sure there will be much cheaper options coming onto the market in the next decade or so.

Mega? Though not sure that suggests anything greater than ‘hyper’, which already sounds painful. Thankfully the Delites were a return to lighter and smaller eyepieces after several decades of increasing size and weight. Doubtless it’s one of the reasons why the T6 Naglers have endured so long.

Indeed. David Lunt started Coronado in the 1990s, and was responsible for making Ha solar scopes affordable to amateurs. After Coronado was sold to Meade, David’s son Andy started Lunt Solar - and he’s still running the company today.

I’d class them all as medium-wides, perhaps allowing myself a little bit of poetic licence with the Delites. They certainly feel like more than 62 degrees in a binoviewer.

It’s an experiment really, knowing I could easily sell on the extra eyepiece if things didn’t work out. So far have just tested the TOE 4mm pair during the day with 60mm and 120mm refractors in two binoviewers - Zeiss and Maxbright II - and all combinations merged very nicely. I was slightly conscious of a little eye strain at first, but that feeling disappeared after a few seconds. If binoviewer isn’t perfectly collimated though, I can imagine that using 4mm EPs or similar would be an unpleasant experience. Floaters seemed to be well controlled. The major issue will be dimness - hence will only be usable on the Moon, and I hope, bright planets. I’ll try them with a Herschel wedge but think I’ll be happier with longer eyepieces for solar.

Optically, you can’t go wrong with Delites, Delos or XWs. I’ve used all three extensively and it’s incredibly difficult to split them. That’s why in the many forum threads dedicated to examining their various merits, most comments are about ergonomics and personal preferences. If AFOV is important, go Pentax. If weight is important, go Delite. They are both about as good as modern medium-wide eyepieces get.

Good question. The Lunt’s air spaced etalon works well at F/10. The Solar Scout would work better at F/30 and above - the same as Quarks. That’s why some imagers stop down the aperture, even though resolution is affected. Solid mica etalons are designed to work with slow systems. But with fast focal ratios, surface detail is lost. That’s not to say that all Solar Scouts are bad - but it is a compromise with the design that’s worth being aware of before making a purchase.

That question’s easy for me to answer Jeremy - all down to weight. If Tak released an FC-120DC/DZ at 5kg I could see myself eventually moving to that. Only through necessity due to dodgy back though. I will hold on to the TSA as long as I possibly can, and if my back holds up, I will never part with it.

I’ve read reports from people who love the Celestron diagonal, so I’m not surprised to hear your experience Ags. For what it’s worth, I’ve had a couple that were below the quality of the WO and SW dielectrics I had at the time. Particularly in transmission. I suspect Celestron may have upgraded the prism in recent years.

Very nice sketch! The huge filament has now started to show as a prominence, so should be even more impressive ‘filaprom’ tomorrow

Sorry I missed this - sounds amazing Peter

Glad it’s worked out so well. Painful at first but worth it, and should last a lifetime if looked after. When I think back to the monstrous steel tripod I started out with……