Timebandit

Hello. Hope I do not put a spanner in the works. But if you can live with tighter eye relief. Then you could save yourself a considerable sum of money. You do not have to get expensive eyepieces to get cracking views with binoviewers and a pair of TV Delites are not cheap. I have found a decent pair of plossl or Orthos work just as well as more expensive eyepieces , something like TV plossl or Baader Orthos which I have used with excellent results. Hope this helps

Unfortunately light pollution is really a problem when it come to faint fuzzys. It depends if it is what I call "skyglow" pollution, that is due to the large amount of light in the area due to it being a town , city or such. Or localise pollution, next door neighbours lights entering your viewings space, as such a hood or blanket over your head does then help. But with "Skyglow" pollution then there is very little you can do. You can go for the brighter DSO and depending on the level of pollution then this is achievable. Or just accept for the time being that you will have to limit your observation to planets, Luna and double stars. No matter how bad your light pollution is there are always certain objects available to view. Concentrate on what you can see from your light pollution Sky's for the time being. But when you can eventually get to a "True dark site" then this wait will be even sweeter, as you will really appreciate how faint fuzzys just pop to the eyes under ink black Sky's , a treat for the eyes

Nice to hear you found an eyepiece that complements your particular needs with the Morpheus. I see you did not get on with the TV Delos, considering there strong support and quality that other members on this site feel towards the Delos. I think again it just shows how eyepiece choice is such a personal thing, this does seem especially true when it comes to eye placement and field of view issues. Enjoy

I would really like to have one of those new Skywatcher 150ED refractors Do you think Skywatcher will see this and take pity on me and send a complementary 150ED to me 😀

A Good 200mm reflector is really a cracking scope. Its until you use another scope then sometimes you do not realise how good the 200mm is . Great bang for buck and such a good aperture for most objects. That's why in my opinion it really does take some beating. If you do not get any joy with the 127 mak, then at least you know where to head next, another quality 200mm reflector.

If it was me I would save a little longer and keep a look out for a second hand 100mm ed frac. Something like a SW 100ed . Better on CA, bit more aperture, light gathering ability, great for planetary and for a ed scope then second hand sensible money. Can be mounted on something like a AZ4 . You would then have a very capable set up for planetary. Hope this helps

Personally I would certainly recommend some sort of outside obs. Some of the benefits are that the equipment is then at near ambient temperature already, so little or no cool down time for your scope. No need to go through the house carrying all your equipment outside. Saves you time, saves your back also and all the problems of moving kit . Lots of benefits to an obs Now what to go for. Well in my opinion depends if your mostly visual or AP. How much time you wish to invest in your obs. And how much money you have to spend. I needed something sensibly priced and functional. So I went for a standard shed (on sale at the time) and some mods to make it a sensibly functional obs for very sensible money. It also acts as a bit of a man cave I can go and hide in at times☺. But I do recommend some type of obs within your budget/time restraints, as it makes this hobby so much easier and more fun. Hope this helps

The focal length does not mean that longer focal ratio scopes necessary are better. The main factor is the quality of the mirror/optics. You can have a long focal length refractor with poor optics, but a sorter focal length reflector with a high quality mirror. The OOuk scope I have is considered fast at around f/4.5 but has a high quality 1/10 mirror. The OOuk is great for planetary as well as Luna , DSO. The quality of the optics/mirror are very important in the quality of the views gained and not just focal ratio Going back to the Op post. Check collimation of your scope may be beneficial and make sure you have proper cool down of your mirror. But the position of the planets can make a huge difference in views, because all the extra atmosphere you may need to cut through. And the transparency of the Sky's can also have a huge difference. Hope this helps

Hello. A gap of your 9mm to your 20mm is a large gap on eyepiece spacing when it comes to magnification availability ,and I am not a big fan of Barlow's personally. So yes I do feel you would benefit from filling this magnification gap. What to fill it with depends on your budget. But I would consider a second hand TV Delos 14mm with 72d fov or maybe consider a Vixen if you can locate one, a second hand Vixen LVW 13mm with a 65d fov. Two great mid range price eyepieces IMO . Hope this helps

In that case go for a refractor like the SW 80ED sensible money ,especially second hand. And well respected in the astro community for imagery. Hope this is more helpful😉 And to go the extra mile, the book every Photon counts

I thought it had been a while since we had the Refractor V Reflector debate. O well here we go again😀 Personally for a quick answer , Refractor has a slightly sharper clearer viewing experience in my opinion. And the Reflector you get some much more bang for your buck ,when it come to Aperture, light gathering ability. I try to say a bit lke having HD television with Refractor, compared to standard TV picture with Reflector Personally I have both,

Your scope is a quality instrument and should be fine with the 3.5 Nag. The limiting factors in the UK is usually the poor seeing conditions, that can limit the mags you can push. I find my 4 and 5mm eyepiece are used the most . Due to the atmosphere/seeing conditions. If you live in the states or elsewhere with better atmospheric/seeing conditions then can really push the mags more often..

It depends what you are going to use it for AP or visual. Aperture rules with visual as long as all other factors are equal. But size also can be a problem for some with more aperture for carrying the scope, as well as mounting the larger scope sizes. With AP you need to make sure you have a mount capable of taking a bigger scope, as otherwise a complete waste of time. Also with AP the bigger scope can act as a bit of a sail in the wind ,so again depending where it will be use and the mount capability with the bigger scope. Hope this helps

Hello. If you want a good first "proper" scope. Then I would keep it simple but effective and go for something 200 mm reflector maybe on a Dob mount, something like a SW 200 dob. This has no bells and whistles elec gadgets on it, but a great first scope for planetary, DSO , Luna. Probably the best bang for buck scope available

When it comes to the fainter DSO objects you can be looking straight at it ,and not realise it. Its basically invisible to the eye, sometimes adverted vision can help .Light pollution can really destroy the ability to find the fainter DSO ,and this is where a true dark site really comes into its own. A true dark site and good transparent Sky's can really really help in finding the fainter DSO and obviously aperture and good eyepiece's can also help. But if you really want to find the fainter DSO then you do need to travel to a true dark site, where the fainter DSO will pop to the eyes far more easily ,when in light polluted Sky's can be invisible to the eye.

Totally agree John. Get yourself into the middle of know where at a true dark site, and on a clear night it can be magical. All for the cost of Mark 1 eyeballs Don't let the secret out 😉. I have had a set of BGOs for years. Just Love them in my frac🔭👍

I have a SW 120ed refractor , don't see any diff spikes on that with stars, pin point stars that's one of the benefits a refractor should have over a reflector. Now the reflector I have, will show a slight diff spike, central obstruction, which is expected from the reflector. The CA on the moon is not really noticeable on my refractor when looking at the moon, handles CA very well. It could be a number of factors, scope, eyepiece, atmosphere, your eye's. Personally I would get another observer by the side of you one night ,get them to confirm if they can see they same view as you through your scope , and start ruling out your eye's, atmosphere, eyepieces, scope. A good well set up refractor should have clean ,pin point stars.

Hello. Unless it is absolutely filthy ,then I would leave it alone. Sometimes if its just loose surface dust then a non contact small air blower , just to remove surface dust is maybe a worthwhile exercise. I hope this helps

Is it the scope cooling ready for later😉 Or is it the beer at the base of the scope 😀

Well done with your social distance isolation 😉 Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon, Sun out , lovely setting , and scope by your side. You just need a glass of wine now. Happy days 👍

The BST Starguiders have a good reputation on this site. So would be the ideal upgrade in eyepiece, without breaking the bank As I see you are a newbie, I would also recommend you get the book "Turn left at Orion" this will give you a great start into locating some objects/DSO in the night sky. Have fun 🔭

Good on you 👍 Considering all things you may be in the right place. Not many people around you (social distancing) and lots of open country. Hope the Sky's are clear , enjoy

Personally for binoviewing you can get away with half decent inexpensive plossl or Orthos. I use these to great effect in my frac and get really good views. I would keep a look out for some used plossl or Ortho in the for sale adds on SGL. I personally use some second hand BGO , but the baader classic Ortho would be just as good. Hope this helps

I think you have aperture fever 😱 Best get those tablets out 😀 The 8" is a sweet spot, great aperture for drawing in those photons but still a manageable size for setting up and transportable. Will give you many years of pleasure. Great bang for buck. Like you I love my 8" ,such a usable scope.

Like most items when buying new, there is a drop in the value of the item after purchase. But buying second hand has been quite a good investment for me personally. Just having a quick look round at my second hand kit ,and comparing it to similar items that have sold on the secondary market in recent times. I have lost no money on the second hand items that I have purchased, if anything the second hand items that I have purchased through the years have increased in value. So I have had a fee free hobby ,that seemingly has made me an increased value in my investment. Can't really complaint about that. So a 👍 for quality used gear