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Captain Scarlet

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Captain Scarlet last won the day on July 21 2023

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    slidingseat.net baltimoreastronomy.com

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    Baltimore, West Cork, Ireland.

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  1. I have an az-eq6, and I regularly mount my 12” newt on it. Although these days it’s always in alt-az mode, I did initially balance it all up in eq mode, see the attached picture. The scope shown, a steel-tube 300p, was 28kg with attachments, significantly heavier I think than the OO12. The mount was quite happy with it, though as @John suggests, it does take a while to cart it out and set it up (and pack away afterwards!). cheers, Magnus
  2. Skymax 127. My very first scope was a Skymax 180 (which I still have) but for light-polluted use in London my wife shortly afterwards bought me a Skymax 127. Then a member here offered a straight swap for a Skymax 150, which I accepted, so the 127 departed. Skymax 150. A somewhat battered Intes M603 (also a 150mm Mak) came up on here, which I restored (and still have). So the Skymax 150 was sold. Skywatcher 200p. I bought this as the largest aperture likely to be useful from London skies. But the tube was flexible, changing collimation as I changed altitude, and the secondary was smaller than the principal light-cone, so it was really only ever a 7” newt. Luckily just then a VX8 1/10 (which I still have, though re-tubed with carbon) came up, so the 200p went. Skywatcher 300p, sort of. This one’s a bit involved. I’ve got rid of almost all of it in several stages. Trigger’s Broom one might say. Bought from here as my dark-sky larger-aperture companion to the skymax180. As it was it served me very well. But I later replaced the mirror with an OO 1/10. I replaced the tube with a Helmerichs carbon. I replaced the cell with an OO cell, and the secondary with a Hubble Optics. Only the spider and secondary boss remains (they’re quaking). I’ve just sold my Leica Televid 62apo spotter to a friend here. I occasionally used it as a super-finder on my skytee2, but since I got my extraordinary Kowa 883 a number of years ago I’ve not taken the Leica out for birding. That’s it I think. Cheers, Magnus PS I’m eagerly anticipating @Stu1smartcookie’s response. I reckon it’ll take him a few days to compile 😁.
  3. Yes that’s right, AZ-EQ6 in alt-az mode. My most memorable planetary moments have been Saturn/Mimas recently with my 140mm refractor, and Mars, at opposition, just when I first got the mirror which is now part of my 12” newt. At that time I had just evicted the SW mirror from its 300p blue steel tube and drilled a lot of holes to provide temporary accommodation for the longer-FL OO mirror. Mars that night was like an atlas-map with the 12”. I have observed Jupiter through it but seeing hasn’t cooperated. The best I’ve seen Jupiter has been through its smaller sibling, my 8” newt. Magnus
  4. I’m lucky enough to have moved to a lovely dark-sky place, and although I have some enviable scopes, whatever I take out there is always a tinge of regret that if I had my 12” out, it would be better. So my “one scope” would be that, my 300mm Newt. Magnus
  5. A lovely Spring clear day so I set out my LZOS 105 hoping to catch Mercury. Sadly a stubborn patch of cloud remained just where Mercury was. I consoled myself with some surprisingly good but very brief views of Jupiter and all four moons flung far out from the planet. As soon as I switched from 93x to 217x, same cloud started to dim the view. Scope remains out, though.
  6. I have a collection, mostly TeleVue, including some very high-end eyepieces. They are almost all very good indeed, to my reckoning, but only one has totally blown me away with its capability, showing me one particular object one night that others could not. It was my Baader BCO 10, showing Mimas easily at only 94x through my 140mm refractor. Barlowing with a Celestron Ultima 2x continued to show it, but I could not see it at all through my TV Delos 6 or Tak LE 5. Returning to the BCO again, there it was. In that test, the best eyepiece I own, and the cheapest! I have a BCO 6 in transit, it’ll be interesting see if it matches that performance. Magnus
  7. What is about John Nichol mirrors that makes it so difficult for them to become actual telescopes? That’s two I count in this thread…
  8. I have 7.5 scopes at the moment. - Intes M603, a 6” f/12.9 Mak which I hardly ever use. - Skymax 180, f/16, flocked inside and silvered outside, which gets occasional use. - 200mm f/4.3 Newtonian (which used to be your OO VX8) and which I re-tubed with a Helmerichs carbon tube. I use it more often than the Maks. - 300mm f/5.4 Newtonian also carbon-tubed and OO-celled. I use it as often as low-Moon skies, time, energy and weather permit. My first choice. - LZOS 105/650 f/6.2 refractor. Used frequently. - Stellarvue SVX140T f/6.7 refractor. Lovely scope. Used frequently. - my half-scope: a 20” f/3.7 mirror-set, which I plan to build into a Dobsonian. - an 88mm spotting scope, used as grab & go and birding, a Kowa TSN-883 ive just sold my small spotting scope, so only 7.5! Cheers, Magnus
  9. I optimistically put out my SV140 this evening on the off-chance of enough cloud gaps. In the event it was actually clear, the first night for weeks, and almost no wind. But Capella twinkling high up to the west didn’t bode well for the seeing. But beggars … etc. Tegmine was first. I’ve never failed to split this before, perhaps because I may have only ever observed it through my 12”. No split at 134x with the DeLite 7, at 208x with the Delos 4.5 or even at 268x with the Delos 3.5. Not even close. Algieba was of course easily split but not very pretty, a wobbling orange pair. The Galactic Wanderer far-off globular NGC 2419 was fairly easily seen though, a dim smudge at the end of a trail of 3 brightish stars. NGC 4565 Needle Galaxy in Coma was obvious, as was NGC 2903 a mag 9 galaxy just off Leo’s nose. Izar was split but to confirm the poor seeing I went to eps lyrae and for the first time ever was unable to split either pair. I was still very happy to get out after so long, and those two galaxies were firsts for me. SQM-L 21.66 as I packed up. Magnus
  10. Excellent addition to my Spring List - thanks. Should be readily doable on the right night with my 140. M
  11. I knew I was going to get called out on that 😃. Anthony Davoli Machining, now I know
  12. Not at all Dave I too feel the same frustration for the same reasons. Thank you - yes they’re always on my list, some of the very few that I can always remember.
  13. Lovely report. I have Telrads and I’m afraid I’ve moved on from them, for the very reason you mention: they fog up before anything else. A shame because when not fogged up, they’re superb. Baader SS V is what I use now. Next up try M51 and M81/2 both in Ursa Major. They’ll be fabulous where you are in a 10”! Cheers, Magnus
  14. Thanks John. I’ve seen it a few times in my 12 inch, where your description “faint and indistinct” still applies, although in that scope it’s not difficult IIRC. Good you’ve got it in your 4 inch. It’s on my Spring list so I’ll definitely give it a go with mine next clear night!
  15. In my 7 or so years of observing I’ve never got organized enough to put together a seasonal List _before_ the season. Occasionally I’ve compiled a list more or less after the event, then forgotten it for the next year. Now, thanks to @Stu’s latest session, I have already got a good list going. I want to add some PNs, a session for which I’ve never actually done. See the screengrab below. What else should I add, and please share your list! Cheers, Magnus
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