Geoff Barnes

I would say the barges I saw were as evident as the ones in this image, so maybe wouldn't be visible to you up there.....

Strange, there were two quite distinct barges on view a few nights ago when I was comparing the 4mm SLV and SW Planetary. I wonder if the poor seeing you currently have is limiting the finer details of such things?

Thanks Mark. I think because of the very high positions of the planets down here they would probably look good through the bottom of a glass milk bottle! Without a doubt though the SW Planetary EP's do punch well above their weight for such a low price.

Very comfortable Paul, both of them have long eye relief and large eye lenses which enabled me to study without any fatigue at all (apart from cold feet!). And it was a good 3 hour session not 2, to boot!

I had actually intended to have several sessions before posting but alas we are in winter here and the weather has turned ugly for the foreseeable future. Rest assured I shall definitely make further reports as and when I am able.

I think I would check the collimation before you have a look through it.! 🤣

I also agree, I think there is definitely some truth I this. I seem to recall reading a thread on CN about this very subject. There was unanimous agreement it seemed that Televue EP's worked well with any scope, but other makes and types were more inconsistent shall we say. For me with my 12 inch SW Dob I find my Baader Morpheus and Zoom both work wonderfully well, and yet my ES 4.7mm 82 degree EP I just cannot warm to even though it is a very fine piece, I can't put my finger on exactly why but the views through it just don't feel as nice as they do with the Baaders. Again, the views through the SW Planetary and now the new Vixen SLV feel really nice, maybe it is to do with eye relief and large eye lenses as much as anything?

Thanks Chris, not for me to say really, we all see things differently I suppose. Based on my findings with these two EP's I've decided to order the SW 5mm Planetary, which should give a sharper view of Jupiter than the 4mm which was on the borderline of being too soft. Got to make the most of these planets while they're up above my head! 😉

Thanks laudropb, I can imaging your SW 72 ED would give better views of doubles than my Dob, sharper and cleaner I would imagine. Bright stars through my Dob tend to have a fair bit of fuzziness about them, but colour wise it gives great views.

Thanks Pig, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to go any higher with the magnification, it was bordering on being too soft but the conditions were so good that it enabled me to see fantastic details. I did try my Morpheus 6.5mm at the end and it was much sharper than either of the 4mm EP's on Jupiter, but gave a much smaller image of course at 230x. Thanks Ed, you're right, the conditions and also the very high elevations were certainly conducive to the best possible seeing.

Who needs thousands of SpaceX satellites in the sky when you've got all those power lines cluttering your view, terrible!

This was a subject that has been bugging me for quite a while, are top class eyepieces better on axis than decent cheaper alternatives? Well the proof of the pudding is in the eating so they say, so armed with my new Vixen SLV 4mm which arrived courtesy of FLO on Thursday and a wonderfully clear sky with which to do some side by side comparisons, out with the 12 inch SW Dob in tracking mode and let battle commence! I only had two targets in mind to do the comparisons, Jupiter and Saturn, both very high in the sky and at or near opposition, so about as good as it gets for viewing. First in with the SW Planetary as I have used this a lot recently and been so impressed with its performance, especially on Saturn which takes higher magnification than Jupiter - 4mm in the 4.9mm FL Dob giving 375x. Jupiter at 74 degrees altitude was large and bright and the GRS was in the centre of the planet. I find 375x just a bit too much on Jupiter with surface features becoming slightly less sharp and contrasty than at say 300x. There was however great detail visible in the better more stable periods of seeing, all the main bands and belts both tropical and temperate, two big festoons digging deep into the equatorial zone, both with a distinct purplish brown hue. A couple of very dark barges embedded in the north tropical belt and one very bright oval. The GRS a vibrant orange and the faintest hint of the darker spot in its centre. Okay, that was quite impressive with the Skywatcher Planetary, now the moment of truth, in with the shiny new SLV. First surprise, almost parfocal just a tiny tweek needed and concentrate.....hmmm, looks exactly the same. Study all those main features again, could I see any difference? No I couldn't, not at all. Okay, back in with the SW, study hard on all the features, let the seeing settle to its best, give it a good 15 minutes or so to soak it all in and then quick swap back to the SLV, and concentrate...… nope, just the same. Swap back and forth several more times, still no difference. A bit puzzling, time to try both EP's on Saturn at 65 degrees altitude. Start with the SW Planetary which I knew gave me incredible sharp views of Saturn a week or two back. First impression at 375x is how much sharper Saturn is at this magnification than Jupiter, really tack sharp and clear. Cassini sharp and jet black, the C Ring as good as I've seen it, easily visible against the black gap between it and the disc. The Encke Division clearly there as a darker band. The B Ring showing subtle variations in brightness. Northern Equatorial and Tropical Belt a faint purple/grey tone against the white Equatorial Zone. A pale bluish tint to the North Polar Region, all in all a sublime view! Okay in with the SLV, this is where I expected to see it show its class, and...… again it all looked exactly the same, all the amazing sharpness and clarity was there, but not any more detail at all than the SW. Again swap back and forth time and time again, waiting for stablest seeing and finally had to accept there was absolutely no difference in the views between the two. Now I was only seeing both planets perfectly on axis with the tracking Dob, I had no interest in what was going on around the edges ( though the occasional glances here showed a little astigmatism with both), but I have to say I was really wanting the SLV to show an obvious improvement over the cheap SW Planetary and it really didn't in any way at all. The seeing was very good, the Dob was collimated very well (star tests were spot on), and I gave equal time to both EP's over the course of 3 hours. Conclusion: both EP's give superb sharp contrasty views in great seeing conditions and given the limitations of my 63 year old eyes I could not separate them at all in performance no matter how I tried. I had a wonderful 3 hours with two of the best sights in all the night sky, who could ask for more?

Amazing! Arrived today from FLO and only took one week (it usually takes 3 or 4 weeks). I am just a little bit excited! Potentially a clear night ahead and Jupiter at 74 degrees altitude and Saturn at 66 degrees, I am prepared to be blown away with the views through this little beauty in the 12 inch Dob. A bit of an experiment to see just how superior a top class EP like this is to my Skywatcher Planetary budget EP, which gives surprisingly good views for not much money. Results to follow in due course!

No disrespect to you Gina, but you don't look like the most powerful person in the world. Do you know a big strong man who could loosen those screws for you?

Gosh it certainly makes painful reading with what you poor folks are having to contend with up there. I won't gloat with the views I'm getting down here with Jupiter almost overhead (don't want to get reprimanded by Stu!), but think Astro Avani's images and you're on the right track! Good things come to those who wait!

Well done Paul. Always nice to hear when someone's had an enjoyable session, especially when unplanned. I'm supposed to be living in warmer climes down here but half an hour out with the 12 inch Dob and I'd all but lost the feeling in my fingers! However in that time I had another great view of Jupiter, counted a dozen separate bands on the disc from top to bottom and the GRS was in centre stage. With the Morpheus 6.5mm I could make out the pale border that has formed around it and had glimpses of the darker red spot in the centre. There appears to be another small darker spot up against the border of the GRS which I've also noticed in Astro Avani's amazing images. While in this region of sky I had a go at splitting Antares again and it was quite easy tonight. Also nearby was M4, the great cluster filled the EP completely with countless stars, not the densest of globs but a grand sight nonetheless. Clouded over at this stage and I was quite happy to go inside to warm up. Hope you all enjoy your warmer evenings and nights up there while they last, it does make for much more enjoyable viewing!

I do wonder if it is more to do with the eyepiece than the scope, with particular emphasis on the coatings applied. The other night I was swapping various eyepieces on Jupiter and settled on the Baader Morpheus 6.5mm, which not only gave me the sharpest view but definitely gave the most intense colour in the bands and the GRS. The Baader Zoom was a close second and obviously utilizes the same Phantom coatings as the 6.5mm, the Skywatcher Planetary 4mm and Explore Scientific 4.7mm did not reveal nearly as much colour to my eyes. I think Baader's Phantom coatings are really quite special for colour rendition.

I just have , and they did!

10pm Tuesday, the 12 inch Dob tracking Jupiter at about 60 degrees altitude. Fantastic steady seeing and with the 6.5mm Baader Morpheus I was able to see incredible details and colour - as will you poor folks up north in a few years.

Oh dear, from the reviews I've seen of this scope I think even if it is in focus the views will still be blurred. I have never read such terrible reviews for any telescope before. I think the only advice I could give you would be to save up for a much better scope. Once we know how much money you have to spend we can give you the best advice to help you get a good telescope. Sorry to be so negative but we all want the best result for all our forum members.

Yes Stu, has just 3 lenses apparently. Vixen quality optics though, I've seen a couple of reviews that were favorable. I can get it here for around $115 ..... https://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-014K.

Hi Ignoro, I think this might be what you're after..... https://global.vixen.co.jp/en/product/3847_09/.

Not a heads up as such as it has already happened, but I don't want to overshadow Helen's exciting news in the Astro Lounge. https://www.space.com/mars-fresh-crater-nasa-mro-photo-2019.html

Okay, so according to Wiki one light year is 5.8 trillion miles, so 12 light years is 69.6 trillion miles. The Space Shuttle would take 38,263 years to travel one light year, so to get to Teegarden b would only take 459,156 years. That is without any comfort stops too.

Welcome aboard Matthew from just across the ditch. Fire away with any queries you have and you can be sure of plenty of help on here.