Sunshine

Hello all, i find myself having to invest in a couple more eyepieces for my 115mm 805mm focal length frac. The drastic difference in power between eyepieces i had for my mak and this frac is drastic considering 

the huge difference in FL. It looks like i will need a couple of short FL eyepieces for higher powers, somewhere in the 4-6mm range. my question is, is it wiser to buy longer fL eyepieces and just barlow? not sure

if theres an advantage to either choice, either i just buy the short fl eyepieces or, higher fl ones and use a barlow. If it was just a matter of choice, i wouldn't be asking, not sure if there are any reasons why one

would choose one or the other for technical reasons.

Awesome image!

2 hours ago, cupton said:

I'm quite content with the smaller scopes I have and am able to get them in and out the door with ease.

For that reason, those scopes will always be your most fruitful and, most enjoyed scopes.

This may sound dense but, how about putting a very thin layer of baby powder on the rubber? not enough to cause any slip but, maybe it will have the same effect as when tape gets a bit dusty it doesn't stick anymore.

Forgot to mention, WHAT A SCOPE? a 160! sheesh!

Hahaha welcome cupton, no need to be shy, i'm sure some of us, myself included, also contribute to CN here and there, glad to have you here.

Is that ever beautiful! one can stare into such an image and get lost in all the detail, such fine points of light.

Beautiful! Unlike any lunar image I've seen, really, i have questions if i may, this is a very interesting shot, the detail is amazing.

Are the colours i see here false, to highlight different areas?

Are the natural colours which the eye doesn't detect but camera can?

You've inspired me to have a go at imaging Venus.

That is a big image! is it cropped? pretty awesome.

1 minute ago, celestron8g8 said:

I don’t blame you abit ! Personally if your limited to one scope i think it should be 90% viewing time and 10% or less imaging . Alot of newbies want to jump right into imaging but personally i think one should learn the night sky and what’s out there before imaging ever takes place . 

You are so right, though i have been observing since i was a boy, i still find a pleasure in just wandering through the sky that never seems to get old.

Just now, celestron8g8 said:

Congratulations ! Hope you have many great nights of viewing and imaging . Look forward to pictures if you get into imaging . 

Thank you! it will be a while before i jump into the supermassive black hole that is imaging, id like to keep what little hair i have a bit longer.

19 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

When its cloudy and raining you'll find yourself just sitting and staring at your beautiful refractor, with a slightly increased heart rate. 

Thanks you Sir! i have posted in another thread with some nicer images, link is below.

It was about time i finally jump on the refractor wagon, this Eon 115mm triplet is they only frac i have ever owned short of the 60mm toy i had as a child. Just yesterday i posted a response in another threat where a fellow asked "why a refractor", i will post the link to that thread below to save me from typing it all out again. In short, i will admit i have been missing out all these years, i now understand why some of you are die hard frac freaks, i acquired this beautiful scope just yesterday, i was tickled the minute i took it out of the case, i had a "this is what a telescope should look and feel like" moment. Last week i posted about potentially purchasing a used Orion Eon i saw in the classifieds, a 120, now that i see just how big this 115 is, i am glad i missed the opportunity for that 120. Maybe in my mind i just measured all refractors sizes based on the 60mm i had as a child, now that i see exactly the sort of girth a 115mm has, i shutter imagining what a 130 must be like and, how my Vixen GP just would not hold a scope that big. Thankfully it does handle this 115 very well, balances perfectly and is very stable.

The scope weighs in at 15lbs, it seems very well built, the focuser is a monstrous thing at 3", is very smooth with no slack or slop, i will not be loading it up with AP gear for a long time anyway. This is a front heavy scope being a triplet, i found myself having to rebalance once i extended the dew shield, a scary oversight, when i released the lock knob as the scope begins to move on its own, yikes! lesson learned. Once again, i was taken by the size of the glass on this thing, you frac owners have seen them all and may think "thats not a big frac" but to me, it is a cannon of a refractor, being my first i just didn't know what to expect. Once i nailed the dovetail bracket on....Kidding!,  screwed the dove tail on, i was ravenous about taking it outside for a cool down as the skies were clear but i knew clouds were coming on the horizon to ruin my first light, as though they know and plot agains us. Once the scope cooled for an hour, i put in my morpheus and went straight for the first bright star (i was so excited i didn't even check which star it was) regardless, the star test was beautiful. Perfect, concentric, centered, clearly defined rings on both sides of focus. When finely focussed, i saw the most perfectly defined point i had seen, as much as i love my mak as a planetary scope, it just could NOT focus stars to such a fine, orb like point, and so quickly, snap to, this was new to me, i was so used to searching for what i may have thought was fine focus. Now i know, what i thought a star looked like in any scope i ever had, was not what it should look like.

The optics seems to be great, as far as i could tell from that one test, next, the moon beckoned my attention, this is where i really let out a gasp, a wonderful creamy black void with the moon looking like it was etched into the dark background, razor sharp. Looking closer at high power i searched for any signs of CA, not the slightest hint that i could see, in any eyepiece, the definition on the lunar limb was beautiful, as though cut with a scalpel. Soon after the clouds rolled in, leaving me feeling like a child might feel if they had dropped their ice cream cone on the ground. This has been an eye opening experience for me, i feel like i am discovering the sky anew, i have said the same about my mak, i may sound a bit dense when i think about it but, i really haven tried a good frac and, spoke too soon. The field of view in this frac with my morpheus eyepieces is wonderful comparing to my mak, like floating in space in comparison. Wow, who would have thought i would find myself with my head spinning, butterflies in my stomach, thinking about my next session like a starstruck teenager (no pun intended). Surely, a bigger dob will show the fuzzies in greater detail but,  i think this frac will provide vistas with a purity which will be hard to beat, the future is bright.

Any suggestions from all of you experienced refractor owners will be taken as gospel, thank you!

14 minutes ago, Stu said:

By jove I think he's got it 😁😁👍👍

Couldn't have put it better myself. Simplicity, ease of use, grab and go but most importantly aesthetically beautiful views. I've had a range of scopes, over 50 in all I think. I have enjoyed the SCTs and Maks I have had, and do like my current Mewlon 210 but even the Mewlon doesn't have the same pin point stars that you get with a good refractor.

The Vixen Fluorite I've recently acquired is a prime example of how enjoyable the views are, viewing the Double Cluster the other night, even under quite light polluted skies was breath taking, the tiny pin point stars at the threshold of visibility are wonderful to view. Tighter doubles may be resolve able in a larger aperture, but I confess my enjoyment comes from viewing these objects in a refractors. I do frequently consider getting a 130 or 140mm sponsor for these very reasons.

Thanks, i cant explain it, for so many years i have been single minded regarding bigger bigger bigger for less money per inch of aperture. Using this triplet eon last night, as short as the session was, it was like i was discovering the hobby again. Its beauty and simplicity both aesthetic and, functional, was something i had never experienced before. The wealth of creamy dark space around the moon, the moon etched into that space so razor sharp was gasp inducing. Training it on the nearest bright star ( so excited i didn't even bother to check which star it was) i was struck by the most perfect concentric patterns i ever saw, both sides of focus. The star itself in focus was as tight and defined as the period at the end of this sentence. Wow, i feel like i am on a new journey of discovery, i cant wait for my next session, i feel like a caged rat right now with the bad weather here. Soon i will post more images in the refractor forum.

2 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

6 hours ago, Sunshine said:

 

This kind of sums it all up really. Especially the "love at first sight" comment.

I notice you have a Tak 100, that must be a real gem of a scope, I couldn’t be happier about my first refractor, feel like I found a soul mate.

Happy Birthday! enjoy the new polemaster!

I would love to put my two cents in, the OP's question could not have come at a better time, considering I just got my first refractor. I have had the good fortune of owning many scopes but, they were always reflectors of different types and sizes, bigger and less expensive has always been the deciding factor for me. My most recent has been a SW 150 Mak which has proven to be a very capable planetary/lunar scope but, it sure has its limitations. Having never owned a refractor short of a 60mm toy as a child, I have become so curious about giving a good refractor a try. Just hours ago I got my first decent frac, a 115mm Orion Eon triplet with 3" focuser, the minute I opened the case and held it, it was love at first sight, I was elated, it is beautiful and the sky was clear!. I set the scope out to cool, I can honestly say I have been missing out all these years, handling a refractor is so intuitive.  Never have I put a scope out for first light and everything was just perfect, I thought my mak was, I didn't know better. My mak just cannot bring stars to focus as quickly and perfectly as this frac can, snap to, perfect points looking like tiny orbs, the tightest points I have ever observed.

Don't get me wrong, I have had many memorable sessions with all my scopes but, I always wondered if I was missing something. Sometimes other scopes required too much fussing about to get them to work to their potential, time taken away from observing. Once my Eon reached temperature I immediately put in my most powerful Morpheus and did a star test, absolute perfect concentric rings on both sides of focus, identical pattern on either side, I never thought i'd be so overjoyed looking at an out of focus star. Next up was the moon, just razor sharp and, not the slightest hint of color around the edges, I tried to find it, tried all my eyepieces, no color fringing. Aside from the optics which seem to be great, I was struck by the FOV and contrast, only in my dob with a Zambuto mirror have I seen such a pleasant sight. To make things short, the clouds rolled in, leaving me with just under an hour for first light but, that's all it took for me to become a total convert. I have seen many scopes come and go, hoping each would be the lifelong scope, I think I found it. What a joy to use this frac is, I feel like a total noob all over again and its so exciting.

41 minutes ago, barkingsteve said:

53 Panels ?  are you a luna-tic lol   well done   

"Luna-tic" Very nifty, love it lol.

Well, good and bad news, by the time was ready to pul the trigger on the Eon 120, though I was sure it would be there for me, it sold. Arrrrgh, it was on the showroom floor on consignment for over a month but, I was hours late I was told. The good news is, just today I noticed an Eon 115mm triplet went up for sale with case and flattener, I jumped on it minutes after it was posted, I have to pick it up tomorrow. It is in pristine condition, I am so excited, it will be my first quality frac. Soon, I will be posting my first light report, based on what I hear, it is a very nice scope, I can’t wait to train it on the moon.

Between these two types of glass is the difference immediately visible at the eyepiece? assuming both scopes were compared on the same target of course. Is it another one of those instances where 

only the best eyes will tell? 

Love the orientation, gives me an impression as though i'm looking at some other world rather than our moon, so used to seeing moon images vertically.

Amazing cloud detail!  

That is a pretty scope, looks very well built, have fun with it! i see the skywatcher 80 has been replaced and is now lonely amongst other bits on your desk.

For some reason the image won't open, for me at least.

I haven't ever seen one but, i have seen a chupacabra, nasty looking critters!