Highburymark

At these superfast speeds, the biggest variable in a highly light polluted environment like mine is seeing/atmosphere. The difference from day to day can be dramatic, just like it can with conventional telescope astronomy. The other key variable of course is your tube specs. FoM, gain, EBI, SNR. Once you get down to really fast speeds, these other factors become much more important than trying to push the speed up further. It keeps things interesting though - never know quite what you’re going to get each evening. I guess things are more predictable if you have darker skies. Every time I’ve taken my gear outside London I’ve had more consistent performance.

I’m the same Gavin - haven’t used a reducer since the 67mm adapter arrived.

I’ve been surprised just how sharp the Epsilon is at F/3.3 - though Gavin is right that the edges are a bit ragged with TV Plossls - with Panoptics they are much neater. But as I’m not imaging, it doesn’t bother me that much. At such low powers I’m normally focusing on the central two-thirds of the fov. Interesting, more affordable alternatives to the Tak fsqs posted above though. Hadn’t seen either of these scopes before. There’s also a Sharpstar superfast Newtonian, though reviews have been patchy to say the least

Haha - I’d also need a second night vision eyepiece/tripod/mount too - think I’d have to clear that with Mrs Highburymark......

Wow - very nice, but wallet bruising, that’s for sure. Wonder if the extender will be usable with the 130?

Thanks John. Not easy to distinguish between some of these early modified designs. The sketch I posted looks like it has a slight concave shape at the bottom of the triplet, unlike the convex design you posted.

It should be good for globulars if you don’t have too much light pollution. But its very slow focal ratio isn’t ideal for night vision - you want fast optics to suck in as much light as possible. My main NV scope is F/3.3 for that reason. However, slower scopes can work very well if skies are reasonably dark and you target brighter objects like M13, M92, M3 and M5.

Agree that Six Nations is a welcome distraction from rain - but England making heavy weather of it...... Congrats to Scotland though.

I have a pair of Zeiss microscope eyepieces for binoviewing - model: OPMI 10/22B with T coatings. I’m intrigued about the optical design. There’s a long thread on CN which delves into the fascinating world of Zeiss microscope EPs, during which one contributor says it’s a triplet design (see drawing of cemented triplet - sketch by Madrid Sky). Does anyone know what this design is called? Can it be classified as an adapted Abbé ortho? It’s certainly super sharp and bright, but has a wider (50-55 degree) fov than a classic Abbé.

Good thread - and a subject most British/northern European amateur astronomers can identify with. Working from home most of the year I’ve had well over a hundred solar observing sessions during 2020. And the Sun is just starting to ramp up to several years of increased activity. It’s a great way to stay engaged with the hobby - constantly changing details from day to day. I know the north and Scotland haven’t had as much clear weather this year, but if the OP is located in the south west, it should be a perfect place - and perfect time - to enjoy solar observing. And with more sunspots emerging, there will be lots to see in both hydrogen alpha and white light.

Younger eyes are able to see some detail with Ca-K, but if you have a good HA scope and you’re only interested in visual, there’s no reason to invest in Ca-K. With the Sun’s activity growing again, your Lunt 50 DS will provide endlessly fascinating views, but if you’re looking for another dimension then Stu’s advice is spot on. High magnification white light can be very impressive, particularly with a wedge, good optics, and sympathetic seeing.

Nice report. The Denks come highly recommended but I’ve never had the pleasure of trying them. The 32mm Celestron plossl is a great eyepiece for the money, but maybe a bit outclassed in this company. I still keep mine and use it quite often. And I agree with your comments on the Panoptic 24mm. Unless you need very long eye relief, I don’t think there’s a better all round eyepiece on the market. Superb for binoviewing too - even solar ha, they are as sharp as orthos, but much more immersive. And night vision goggles. That’s just cheating.

Great minds and all that Dave - I had thought about this as I’ve contacted Denis before. You’ve given me the nudge I needed. How is your binoviewing going? Must be glorious through that beautiful 5” Tak.

I know what you mean. I’ve discovered that one of the clicklock eyepiece holders on my Mark V isn’t perfectly attached to the body of the BV - can rock it a fraction. Doesn’t in any way affect the collimation, but it’s one of those annoying cloudy day/fettle issues. Trouble is the Mk V clicklocks are much less user friendly than the MBII’s. Although there are also tiny Allen screws which can be seen on the attached pic - they don’t release or tighten the EP holder apparently, and Baader warned they should not be fiddled with. Can’t find anything on web which reveals what the screws are there for.

Excellent detail of a very interesting active region Marty. Clouded out in London.

Interesting Paz - I’d seen a thread on CN about this. I’ve been happy with my MBII so far. They are really excellent value for money in my view - as long as they’re collimated properly, so your guide will hopefully help other owners get the best out of them.

That’s a beauty Garry. I know we shouldn’t be too bothered by looks but have always loved the design of the Edge series. I’d very happily reacquire the 8” I had if I only had the space for it.

Goodness knows. After this week’s breakdown in communications between U.K. govt and EU, it looks like we’re heading for no deal. That would mean U.K. moving to WTO rules for EU imports, obviously making things more expensive. We have just signed a free trade agreement with Japan..... though not holding out much hope for Tak prices coming down. 🤣🤣

PS - try and develop the impression that Takahashi is a French/German/Italian manufacturer......

Could go for the cheaper DC? £1,800 for the ota. Same optical quality. 2.8kg. You also have the “impending no deal Brexit, imported telescopes to double in price from January 1st” argument to roll out if things get difficult?

This is fascinating. I knew about prominence viewers produced by various manufacturers in the 80s and 90s - Baader and Beloptik and Criterion (any others?) - but it’s really interesting to see how early they were being used, and how much they cost. A few dedicated solar enthusiasts still collect these devices. I’d love to have a look through one of them in the future. But in the meantime, thanks v much for posting.

That was the only negative that struck me about the new CC range too. Excellent value, good optics - I’d definitely consider one over an SCT, but just a little heavy for those of us with knackered backs

I always found German much harder than French for some reason. Never got used to sticking the verb at the end of the sentence. Guess we all share the same language problems though.

Deal sounds very dodgy. But onto the translation. We often get it’s and its wrong ourselves in English. Even twice in this thread. Pedants’ corner I know. But it’s = only used as a shortened version of it is. Never as a possessive. Otherwise, use singular possessive = its. Even the spell checker wants to change it to the wrong version, so I know it’s a tough battle.

I’ve been through a silly amount of diagonals. Of the decent ones, there was no perceivable difference between the 2” Skywatcher, 2” WO or 2” Baader models (priced around £80, £130 and £199 respectively, though the Baader comes with the clicklock). I think the Baader T2 Zeiss prism and BBHS ones are probably a step up, but not life-changly so..