davhei

It is really fun to read about how people get a sense of wonder and excitement when engaging in our common hobby. Does make me appreciate how special the experience can be and encourages going back to an object to reflect on what we are actually seeing. Oddly enough, and perhaps fortunately considering the limitations of visual astronomy, the less striking objects are often those that have stuck with me the most. I recall vividly the profound feeling of space and time when seeing a few photons from a distant quasar. Objectively speaking not much to look at, only a flicker of light when using indirect vision, but the realization that light emitted billions of years ago from the accretion disk of a black hole was destined to be absorbed by my retina in a different part of the universe almost made me fall off my observing chair. The feeling of getting a glimpse of a vast reality beyond the limited point of view that we usually have. It can be like a spiritual experience, and that feeling doesn't come around all that often.

Welcome Seb!

Welcome Derek. Enjoy your re-discovered hobby!

I'll give the Pan 27 a go since one came up for sale. Be interesting to compare the 24 and 27 and decide which one stays. Cheers

Thanks! Do you know the differences between the Vixen and the 22 mm T4 Nagler? I would assume there would be similarities and the Naglers are always held in high regard. Do the Nagler need coma corrector to get sharpness across the full field while the Vixen albeit with a smaller tfov has sharp stars almost to the edge?

Welcome to the lounge neighbour! Let’s hope for some clear nights ahead, way too much cloud these past months.

Would make me look a proper pro wouldn’t it. Some boffin playing with binoculars and setting everything on fire. 😁

Could I hope to see anything by projecting on a piece of paper or cardboard through 8x42 binos without filters? And importantly, could I damage the binos by doing so? Wouldn’t want to crack a lens or soften up interior cementing or the like.

Thanks! The tfov will be pretty close to my limit where I start to get lost when starhopping though. Will have to try and see how narrow a field I would be ok with. Given that this would be my higest focal length EP I would like a bit larger field of view.

Welcome to SGL. Enjoy the scope! Sounds like you have the possibility of really dark skies not too far away.

Another viable option could be the ES68 24 mm. Longer eye relief than the Pan but perhaps a bit less well corrected, heavier, but still light of course. Doesn’t hurt that it gives some cash to spare.

I thought about it but I would never hear the end of it from my wife 😆

Yes the 22 T4 Nagler keeps coming up, would love to try it out. Perhaps pick it up on the used market and compare it to the Pan 24 for a while, see which one (if any) comes out on top for me. I guess somewhere down the road I’ll arrive at a point where I can better understand what aspects are most important to me and which ones are easier to make compromises on. At the moment I think comfortable viewing and good correction across the visible field trumps tfov. Pincushion would be ok. Not keen on having to add a paracorr because of the cost and added weight. I have heard many state you ”need” a paracorr with the 22 mm T4 Nagler in fast scopes but I think that would push the total weight to over a kilo. If the Pan 24 just had better eyerelief I think it would be a nice fit. With that said, since I haven’t put it through its paces properly yet I shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Perhaps I’m exaggerating the problem. The process of choosing is pretty fun though.

I’ve never looked at Lunt EPs before, certainly never through them. Have heard them mentioned a lot though so worth considering for sure. Thanks! As far as eye relief goes, no less than 15 if there is to be no lens contact, more would be even better. ES 82 30 mm is listed as having over 20 mm and that felt good. Delos as well obviously.

A focal reducer, that’s interesting. Never thought of that Kev, thanks. What are the drawbacks of those? I’ll have to read up a bit I think!

Thanks Louis, much appreciated! Problem with the 31 mm NT5 and I guess Ethos 21 as well is the weight. Just unbalances my scope too much att certain angles. I would trade some tfov for a lighter EP. With Ethos there’s the question of eye relief as well. Realise I may have to compromise with a few things, no such thing as a perfect ep I guess.

Hi all, Have been pondering low power eyepiece options for some time and would really appreciate some good input. A few parameters: I’m using a 10” f4.7 dob without paracorr. As this will be used to find objects by star hopping I believe I need a minimum tfov of around 1.3 degrees. Have had balance issues with EPs weighing in at 1 kg so it needs to be lighter than this. I do not observe with eyeglasses but have long eyelashes and would like more than 15 mm eye relief if they are not to brush against the glass. Good contrast. Compared the ES 82 30 mm to the ES 68 24 mm and the difference in contrast was striking. Really appreciated that. As well corrected as possible. I am not hyper sensitive to coma though. Have had an ES 82 30 mm and tfov was great. Weight, contrast and off axis less so. Just got a Pan 24 that might be a good match, eye relief causes some concern though and I need to evaluate it a bit more (when I get clear skies, sigh). Pan 27? 22 Nagler? The other EPs in my case are Delos 14, 10 & 6 mm plus a x2 TV barlow. All of these are great, it’s the low power finder EP that I need to nail.

Having never done any AP (yet), sticking to visual only, it is interesting to consider what makes an impact on me when observing through the eyepiece. A number of occasions come to mind, seeing Jupiter in high magnification revealing cloud bands and the galilean moons, the veil from a dark site, crisp lunar vistas with long shadows. Oddly enough, and perhaps fortunately considering the limitations of visual astronomy, the less striking objects are often those that have stuck with me the most. I recall vividly the profound feeling of space and time suddenly becoming clear in my mind when seeing a few photons from a distant quasar. The realization that light emitted billions of years ago from the accretion disk of a black hole was destined to be absorbed by my retina in a different part of the universe. The feeling of getting a glimpse of the vast reality beyond the limited point of view that we usually have in our daily lives. Of our place in the universe. Truly a spritual experience. That feeling doesn't come all that often, but when it does it stays with me and is certainly part of the fascination I have with observing the skies.

That is an absolutely magnificent sketch. Did you use ink? The stars look jet black and very rich in a pleasant way. Sure you will make many more great sketches if you continue like this. Really adds another dimension to observing, go for it! Edit: Right I see the pencil now, nevertheless a nice deep look to those stars.

I use an app on my phone. There are probably many out there but I use pixlr. I first snap a picture of the sketchpad, preferrably in overcast daylight, then adjust the colours to zero on the phone image editor to get greyscales. Load the image into the app, make a few adjustments to contrast and then invert the colours. A more ambitious person could probably work miracles in photoshop but sadly I am not one of them. 😀

Fantastic! Makes me very glad that I was able to inspire and that the sketch actually helped. In general I have found that people’s sketches at the eyepiece are a great aid for visual observation, perhaps more so than images of the same object, simply because they provide good references for fields of view and magnitude of visible stars.

That’s an awesome suggestion and a what a tutorial! Thanks for this Ruud, much appreciated!

Thank you Ruud. Yes indeed, it really adds a dimension to observing. I see some people add a touch of colour to their sketches as part of the finishing at home. Have to try that at some point, probably fairly simplistic on a phone app, me not being into photoshop and the like. Looks great for colorful stars.

Thanks Rob, a toothpick really helps to get the thin lines. I believe someone on this forum provided the inspiration, can’t recall who it was though. Anyway it works well and I will thank that person if I run into the post again.

Made an attempt to sketch a few of the brighter stars, seeing as the full moon was out and the sky wasn’t suitable for deep sky observing. Experimented with diffraction spikes on Vega, Capella and Arcturus to get a nice bright look to imitate the view through the reflector scope. Overall very enjoyable!