Highburymark

That’s what I’d expect too. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons Tak hasn’t replaced the 128 with a 5” fluorite doublet. And if they were to produce a (for example) FC-125DZ, it would no doubt be in the same price bracket as the TSA-120. The business case doesn’t stack up. Still, it would be an interesting comparison - I think both scopes are about as good as it gets within their market niches.

Good stuff! It’s always interesting how different objects respond well to different scopes and apertures. Having owned refractors from 60mm to 120mm, and Maks/SCTs from 4” to 8”, I think a 5” apo is very hard to beat on Jupiter. I know the very best Cats like Mewlons and some Maks can deliver exceptional planetary views, but Jupiter through my TSA-120 is in a different league to my old C8 Edge, for example. I like sharp, high resolution optics (including planetary eyepieces) to really draw out detail on Jupiter, and 5” apos often seem better matched to prevailing seeing conditions than less precise, larger scopes. I also love trying higher powers when seeing allows - even on Jupiter. A few occasions a year, I get up to 300x and above as you did - it’s not always ‘empty magnification’ when you can resolve small Jovian surface features. Hope that one day I’ll get to experience an FS128 myself.

I saw a yellow tinge on the Moon the first night with my TSA-120. Disappeared the next time I observed. If you’re not seeing any colour when the lunar limb is centred, then it’s almost certainly eyepiece-induced. Sometimes prism diagonals can cause it too. But it’s clear from the rest of your report you’ve got a great telescope.

Still haven’t seen it with any of my refractors up to 120mm - I suspect because it’s so low and I observe from the city, so I’m not expecting anything this winter either. But I’ll continue trying. Would definitely rank among the more memorable ‘firsts’ in astronomy if I do manage it one day.

Excellent report! Jupiter really benefits from that 4” to 5” jump, I agree.

Lovely sketch as always Mike.

Yet it’s a real thing. It’s Jeremy Corbyn’s chief interest outside politics. Just Google “Jeremy Corbyn collecting manhole covers” and enjoy.

Nice first sketch! I tend to start with a 5mm eyepiece for 180x on the planets, but the scope will soak up magnification with no image deterioration if you want more scale and conditions allow.

What energy crisis?

That’s the orientation I’m using with the MBII and 1.7x for best views, but my GPC is quite old - maybe Baader flipped the lenses for newer GPCs?

There’s some confusion about the orientation of GPC lenses with the MBII - I was used to inserting the 1.7x GPC in the BV body with the Baader MkV, but had to turn that around with the MBII - ie GPC pointing away from the scope. That’s almost certainly the problem here. You should be ok using a prism diagonal with that scope, though they’re not advised for faster refractors - ie below F/7

That’s the catch - but it does seem to be a game changer, whereas the narrower (7nm) Continuum filter from Baader is of borderline benefit, according to the imagers on other forums.

Not sure it’s been discussed much here, but the Altair G-band 2nm filter is getting some great comments from white light observers and imagers elsewhere. Significantly improved faculae and granulation, from the images on Solarchat.

Agree. I’ve got a 60ED which is very mushy one side of focus in the star test - it’s a cracking little telescope. Nice and sharp with false colour well controlled. It’s why the best star test is in focus, using your own eyes under the night sky. The Askars look excellent to me. You can see how much attention to detail they’ve put into the package.

Then there’s the pattern which graphics like the above rarely seem to show - clear, consistent rings on one side of focus and a mushy, blur on the other, making any rings difficult to see, which shows spherochromatism, and which the majority of ED doublets display to some degree.

Fair point. Solar cycles do tend to make us ponder the future! I bought my Solarscope filters direct from Helmut - there are no U.K. dealers. It’s an unusual system I agree - I couldn’t believe prices were almost equivalent to Lunt when I enquired a few years ago. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your SV50.

Where are you based Peter? Solarscope prices within the UK are dramatically lower. All export market prices when I bought were almost double - just ask Helmut.

It’s pretty svelte - 6.7kg OTA - but still requires a fairly robust mount. I mostly use a Skytee II, on a Gitzo 5-series tripod.

The Baader BBHS T2 is pretty remarkable. I can only just perceive a tiny ‘spike’ with a bright artificial star. For lunar observing at high powers it’s top notch.

Sorry to hear the SV50 still isn’t fully performing. If you do go ahead and invest in a new set up, it might be worth asking Helmut for Solarscope new prices. In my experience they were very competitive with Lunt. I bought double stacked 70mm filters (full aperture, external) for the same price as a double stacked Lunt 80 - which features smaller (50mm I think) internal etalons. As Nigella says, Lunt prices are silly. I wonder if a SV60 DS might be not much more than a Lunt 60DS?

It’s a full 1kg lighter than the Tak TSA-120 triplet, which is among the lightest in its class. If the optics are good this looks like a great package, though I’m presuming it doesn’t have FPL53 or equivalent glass for the ED element, as the Esprit does.

Have a look at the TeleVue 85 too, which has a very narrow tube - seems to make sense as long as there are no vignetting issues. Reduces weight - and for the TV85, means it’s easy to grasp the tube with one hand to carry the scope. Both the Askar 120mm triplet and FC-100s are very light for their apertures. Great that some manufacturers are prioritising weight.

Instead of DSOs, consider DSEs. Do something else.

I might be tempted by a pair of 12.5s. Must confess to having an huge amount of 25mm/20mm/18mm eyepieces, especially orthos, so the 12.5mm TPLs are the most attractive. Going to have a big eyepiece cull in next few weeks.

It does sadly. Solar minimum means we can go for weeks with very little, if any activity. And that pattern lasts for several years. There’s normally something of interest to see, particularly prominences, but just as active periods are remarkable, it’s equally remarkable just how little activity is on show when the Sun’s sleeping.