Sunshine

Just now, Hendog666 said:

Newcastle upon Tyne???

Tyne? i live in Newcastle Ontario Canada and Sunderland is about an hour north of me.

Welcome!! and OMG lol, when I saw “Newcastle” I immediately assumed it was somewhere in the UK, but I see you mentioned Sunderland which is not far north of me. Here I am also in Newcastle, the port by the water, you mean I have an astro buddy mear me? I have been a member here on SGL (my astro family) for some years. How about we start our own astronomy club? 😂

4 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Hoping it remains clear for this evening’s GRS transit

Love this shot, looks much bigger than a 210 in this image.

Welcome!

Beautiful images! I particularly love the orange bubble thing.

Beautiful and ghostly image!

Welcome to SGL!

Does anyone else here use a camera rotator on their Tak scopes? it’s something I always thought about for my 102 but just couldn’t justify the $500 plus for. My 128 came with one and I find it fantastic for rotating the diagonal. But I also have a Baader click lock on there which is redundant but its what allows me to connect my 1.25 diagonal, i need to see if there’s an adapter from camera rotator down to 1.25 diagonal. Somehow I feel there is too much going on there, extra weight, if I could have the diagonal on the rotator by way of a ln adapter I could do away with the click lock.

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Great sketch @Sunshine 👍🏻

You are too kind 😂

14 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Good drawing @Sunshine, here is an image taken with a 7.5” Newtonian at roughly the same time for comparison….

Thanks, in your image I highlighted the string of pearls I noticed at the eyepiece, as though they were following the GRS, these were very pretty and well defined. These are features I have never been able to spot, before.

1 minute ago, Highburymark said:

Hope that one day I’ll get to experience an FS128 myself.

Your TSA120 should provide just about the same views as my 128, 8mm isn’t a huge improvement and your 120 being a fine triplet would pretty much level the playing field. One thing I would love to do is have my 128 and a TSA120 side by side, I don’t think there would be much difference, really.

Tonight I have had a night of fantastic seeing, Jupiter was my one and only target simply because it was a sight to see and my eyes could not be pried. Jupiter presented details unlike anything I have seen, no kidding! no shimmering or under water effect allowed for super fine details I never saw, before. Among them was tiny white circles in the SEB like a string of pearls chasing the GRS, in my dumb sketch below (can’t sketch worth beans) they are represented as dark spots but they were white, even the north temperate belt was an easy feature to spot. On the NEB I could clearly see dark wisps coming off the edge of the belt, there were three, one large and two smaller ones. Within the NEB and SEB themselves I could see the finer strands which these belts were made of, details within them which eluded me, in the past. Wow what a difference an extra inch of aperture makes, combined with great seeing.

Pentax 3.5 XW 300X magnification 

Having a closer look at this case which came with my scope, it is built like a tank and is heavy. It seems as though they make them custom as the 128 fits in it like it was laser cut for it, im confident in its ability to protect the OTA. Im thinking this case must have been a pricey investment for someone, glad they had it made.

In eight weeks I should have my TOA130 dew cap, I can put the existing one made of neutron star off to the side, i will use it when traveling with the scope.

On 07/12/2023 at 18:11, Nigella Bryant said:

Saturn and Jupiter session this evening. 

Somebody call NASA, ask if they’re missing a telescope! 

3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Sounds like all these chores mean that you are still in the doghouse for scratching the kitchen table. Hope you don’t need a hard hat

She is clever, she used the gouged table as an excuse for a new table, she is sneaky about spending, i would almost call her an amateur astronomer 😅

This night I was hurrying to finish a list of errands my wife had left for me, as I left every shop I would gaze up into the sky and I would notice the half moon and what seemed to be a clear sky, my pace would quicken towards the car. When I arrived I set my scope out and allowed it to cool for a good 45 min from a balmy 23C to minus 1. My first target was the moon, inserting my 9mm morpheus revealed conditions not as clear as I had hoped but workable nonetheless. Luna looked as though it was behind a curtain of rising warm air, its features wavering and deforming but not as bad as I have seen on some other nights, there were moments when seeing would stabilize long enough for a glorious sight. One thing that struck me immediately was the contrast, a sharp, smack in the face contrast I had never seen. My 102 was contrasty but this scope separates itself and it did so unmistakably and immediately, the black around the moon was so black, a liquidy black which became even more evident along the terminator (a fav movie btw) with the 5mm XO during those moments where seeing steadied the contrast between sunlit regions and dark was absolutely stunning. No particular regions were studied, examined, targeted tonight, my eyes were overwhelmed by the crispness and sharpness during those fleeting moments of steadiness as I slowly swept along the terminator. Did I mention contrast? it was striking and I can’t seem to let it rest, dark regions were blacker than the black background on which these words are being typed, I can’t recall ever seeing such a pure black, before. When seeing did steady, lunar details would jump out, it seemed as though I could see the tiniest of rocks scattered about, cracks on sloping crater walls, what seemed like hairline fissures radiating from craters, it was marvelous!.

On to Jupiter! This same contrast caught my eye as I observed jupiter, fantastic contrast which made Jupiter almost appear as a 3D globe, during moments of clarity I was able to make out something I have rarely seen in my 102 and then again not to this degree, the detail within the NEB and SEB, usually these two features are bands, just that, bands. Tonight I was able to see them as the truly are, featurfull bands made of smaller features, each band displayed some smaller components, light and dark beige and gray stands, dots (what must be swirls) and tiny festoon features. Aside from the SEB and NEB, multiple other bands were visible, I counted 7 but much thinner than the main bands and Jupiters north pole (apparent north I know the image is flipped) displayed a dirty gray darkening as though Jupiter was capped with darker clouds, there was so much to see. This night was not among the better nights I have experienced in terms of seeing, but regardless, the FS128 left an indelible mark, it hinted as to it’s capabilities on those few and far apart nights of great seeing and I can’t wait. 
 

My TSA-102 will never be forgotten and if I could get it back in the future I will, because it is what it is, a fine instrument. though it seems the 128 will not leave me yearning for my 102, it has proven itself even under less than desirable conditions,  it left its mark. Regarding any color or anomalies about the scope, I could only see one particular thing and I can’t attribute it to the scope itself,  around the lunar limb I could see the thinnest sliver of what seemed like a yellow tinge but, it was only when the limb approached the outer edge of the field stop, as I moved the moon closer to center, the tinge would slowly disappear until there was no more color. Jupiter displayed nothing like this, it was clean but then again, Jupiter is almost always centered in the field stop, when viewing the moon with my morpheus ot almost fills the FOV and only then did I see the slightest, thinnest sliver of yellow which would go away if I moved the limb closer to center. By 11:00 it got cold! and seeing worsened to te point where I could no longer focus, it was a wrap.

Moon is in an inconvenient spot but still reachable.

Itching to get home, the sky looks wonderful with a half moon, need to train the 128 on the moon but my wife has me out running errands.

Did I mention it has a huge, tunnel like dew shield? 🤣 fun with wide angle lenses.

1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

 Just one other worthwhile benefit of the much maligned manhole cover dustcap..😜😂

The 2"/50mm diameter circular section in the centre of the cover presses out to reveal a perfect 50mm aperture..

This then gives you a 1040mm/50mm = F20.8, 2 inch Fluorite refractor!!

The stellar images this setup delivers are incredible..on brighter doubles such as the Double Double in Lyra or the Mizar system, for example, the single Airy disk around a totally pure, colour free point source are exquisite. The moon at almost F21 with a Pentax 8-24mm XL zoom at 8mm (×130) is utterly compelling..

Try it!! 😁

Dave

Interesting! I never would have thought, you mean that comes off? I thought it was a handle.

On 07/12/2023 at 09:06, Saganite said:

Congratulations !

I have held one, but never looked through one , so is on my bucket list...

When you held it, you should have run with it! 🤣

Spent the better part of the evening mucking around with the Tak focuser making small adjustments while incorporating the MEF-3. Though I am not thrilled about the MEF3 I got everthing working more or less as smooth as can be, the MEF has a friction clitch ring which is held to the selected friction for the microfocuser knob by a tiny set screw. One would loosen said set screw and using the hex key while still inserted to turn the ring clockwise or counterclockwise for more or less friction then tighten the screw, check friction on the microfocuser knob and either repeat the process or leave it be if youre happy with the friction. 
 

One lesson I learned was to check the friction with your heaviest eyepiece with the scope pointed up near zenith, this ensures your selected friction will be enough to rack the focuser in with the microfocus knob without slipping. When I first set the friction while the scope was more or less horizontal it worked great, then I pointed the scope near zenith only to realize the microfocus wheel slipped while trying to rack the focuser in with my 5mm XW in the diagonal.  
 

Thankfully, the friction ring can be adjusted easily with the focuser installed and I was able to get the friction so it would haul my XW uphill without issue. One thing I don’t like about this dual speed focuser is that when focusing in while scope is pointing up the micro focus knob feels oike a crayford (not a fan of crayfords) It’s the rubbery backlash when letting gonof the wheel when scope is looking up and the focuser is at maximum stress. Letting go of the microfocus wheel in this circumstance causes a rubbery sort of backlash which feels as though the focuser moves back out again by a hairs worth, not a huge concern but I wish it weren’t that way. Under the stars will be real test of this focuser, I do hope O get on with it as dual soeeds are handy for doubles, but then again, I haven’t used one before for doubles, just a new toy to try out.

11 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Just to add, in case it helps with adjustments to your original 2.7" focuser unit, the following instructions were added to a CN thread by poster "TomCody"..

As an addendum to my post above, here is a more complete description of adjusting the Tak 2.7" focuser:

"To adjust it properly, you must first remove the cover from the rack and pinion. by unscrewing the small flat chrome screw on the bottom of the focuser (use a bent paper clip in the shape of a U or a pair of sharp tipped tweezers as a spanner wrench to loosen that chrome screw. Then remove the cover over the rack gears and LOOSEN the two screws that tighten the tension clearance on the gears ( you will need a small #3 Phillips head screw driver, get the clearance loose and sloppy, but still able to turn the focuser knobs and move the focuser in and out.

(WHY? The three screws along the top of the focuser adjust the play in the focuser tube by pressing the tube against the bottom of the focuser housing, if you do not loosen the pinion gear shaft, you are just pressing the focuser tube against the pinion gear, not the bottom of the focuser housing).

NOW adjust the three small allen hex screws along the top of the focuser (use a tiny drop of acetone to loosen the glue holding them) they take a 1.5mm allen wrench. Adjust the three screws while turning the focuser knob in and out until all slop in the focuser tube is removed and the tube still slides in and out without binding. (Start with the middle screw, then the front screw, then back screw).
Now go back and tighten the two phillips screws on the rack until you do not feel any slop when reversing direction of the focuser knob AND the rack moves smoothly without binding, (DO not over tighten this adjustment as it will cause rough movement and binding of the gears, also slop will only be felt as looseness or back lash in the gears and not hurt the scope movement, so a little loose is beter than too tight).
Replace the cover and screw and you are done.

EDIT: A few more points, the glue used to secure the three screws along the top of the focuser will re-dry in about an hour (if you don't use too much acetone to loosen them, if the stay loose? just use a drop of clear nail polish to re-secure them."

HTH,

Dave

Thanks, I have seem this thread and used it to adjust the focuser on my 102, some alcohol and clear nail polish are what i used to loosen and then resecure the three small screws on top of the focuser, I will be doing the same with the 128. It’s a delicate procedure getting the right amout of friction on the focuser tube.

13 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

@Sunshine was this you ?
 

https://www.businessinsider.com/fastest-object-robert-brownlee-2016-2?r=US&IR=T

😂 No, but when the TOA 130 cover arrives I will be selling the FS cover to a cruise ship company, it will be the perfect anchor.