Captain Scarlet

Yes you’re right. My thinking was that because the focus-tube intrusion is a solid edge (rather than a thin stripe) it would be brighter shorter and dirtier than the vane-spikes and therefore make them less noticeable. Having said that I don’t think it’s the culprit. A couple of extra questions: do you wear glasses whilst viewing, which might be fine-scratched in one or more predominant direction from habitual wiping? Really grasping at straws here. It’ll be most interesting to see some star images. M

Very odd. Intrusive mirror clips would produce 3 spikes not two and should not overwhelm the 90 degree ones from the spider. The only thing I can think of is that a protubering (I just invented a word!) focus tube would produce a noticeable spike, and if there is a straight edge on the secondary mirror-silvering at just the correct angle, that might do it. Every non-super-premium secondary I’ve seen has such a straight edge, from where the mirror is held during coating. Can you show us a photo of your primary clips as seen from the secondary? I’m intrigued. Magnus

Could you also maybe show us a photo of your main mirror taken from the open tube end? Cheers, Magnus (another one )

I had a carbon-copy of that just tonight. An entire day of violent VIOLENT squalls rolling in one after another: hail, thunder, lightning, 50-60mph gusts, a power cut. And then, around 1030 it all stopped, the sky cleared and I had to get at least a pair of bins out. Almost the same target list as yours, wonderfully restoring for a few minutes. Magnus

Another word of warning about binoculars being a sensitive topic. I went to Oman a few years ago and upon producing my Leica Trinovid 8x42s, I was asked "do they contain batteries?". They did not, but he told me that had they contained batteries, he would not have let me bring them in. The risk being rangefinders/military use I guess. My recommendation for a very reasonable but excellent pair of bins would be Meade Rainforest Pro 8x42. I've looked through them and they are very good. Magnus

Sudden evening rain squalls prevented any proper prior set-up tonight but it was forecast and actually became clear but very windy, so I sat out after midnight on my sheltered side with my Zeiss 15x56 bins. I promised myself I'd go back in on the first meteorite, which I gave up on around 12:30 after none turned up. Then just as I opened the door to go in, Whoosh! from zenith to West. I enjoyed Orion; the Pleiades; the "S" around Mintaka; I Iooked for M1 Crab which I've seen through these bins before but not this time, I wasn't sure of the location; I noticed the Beehive become naked eye first time this season; Meissa ("Luger" asterism in my own parlance); I hunted around for M33 having forgotten where it was for a while then eventually found it, and in the process noticed a nice Open Cluster and bright wide double near Triangulum which I later ID'd as NGC 752 and 56 And. I finished off with M81/2 and just about found M51 in the lower-down murk. Nice session with bins, same tomorrow without the rain or wind apparently so I hope to get my Helmerichs 300mm out for the first time in 3 months. Magnus

That last photo ... Intes M603? I have one which I restored. Lovely scope. Magnus

Space wouldn’t be the only constraint: you’ll need shelf reinforcement too! I have a set, but need to dig it out of storage. M

… currently for sale on that popular auction site. One an old gold-tube offered for £600 and the other a newer one with start bid at the same level (having progressively reduced it over successive re-listings after no interest). Not mine I hasten to add, I’m keeping that! Magnus

For we Western Europeans, this is as good as a weather forecast: heavy cloud and rain on the morning of 8th December! Nevertheless, it’s in my diary and I shall be up early! Magnus

We all have the virus, and luckily it’s quite a benign one! More seriously: I often get asked “why d’you need more than one telescope?”. My answer these days is always “why does a photographer need more than one lens? - for different focal lengths and apertures.” That usually learns ‘em! Cheers, Magnus

Very much so. Not only do I use my Kowa (like your Svarowski) for astro, I have also used my MCTs for birding. Very high FL scopes are superbly useful across wide mud-flats in cool still air.

I've just migrated onto my laptop where I can see your sig, and as I suspected from the silhouette your spotting scope is a Swarovski, very nice! My GnG is a Kowa TSN-883, and yes I did get their astro adapter and regularly use my other eyepieces. It can take 150x quite happily, I haven't gone higher yet but I have just acquired a 1.6mm Vixen HR and plan to see what 319x looks like through it in decent seeing. Changing between non-Kowa eyepieces is a bit of a pain though, involving unscrewing the threaded 1.25" adapter, undoing the concealed grubscrew/s, swapping the eyepiece and vice versa. EDIT: I also notice you have the Swarovski 15x56 bins. I have the Zeiss Conquest 15x56s, which are superb ... it would one day be very interesting to compare side by side.

Well done. I’d too noticed that was due but no chance for me tonight, solid cloud to South.

I jest by giving you a “haha” emoji but that’s a really moody photo, very nice. Crop out the red lights and you could hang that. Also, a spotting scope I see. I too use a Kowa scope from time to time. Magnus

Weather here in SW Ireland the last few months has been terrible, and tonight has been my first more-than-a-moment session since the end of August. I've just come in from finally having taken advantage of Jupiter's altitude these days, and although I observed only Jupiter, it's been one of my more memorable sessions. I had it in my diary as Europa & Ganymede double transit (thanks @Simon128D ) with shadows to follow plus GRS in prime position. I saw it all, though I did have to drag everything back in hurriedly while a violent squall came through. I had my LZOS 105/650 on SkyTee2, initiually tucked right under my East wall to shelter from the 60kph wind gusts (it calmed right down a little later). The LZOS has a weird finder-mounting bracket, and it was only a few days ago that I got around to sorting it out and attching a finder: my APM 8x50 RACI . It does make navigating a bit easier ! And I also finally attached my slo-mo extensions(after 2 years of ownership), and they too make life so much easier. I mainly used my Ethos 4.7 to give me 138x. I saw Ganymede and Europa approach and merge with the disc, while simultaneously Io disappeared around the back on the other side. At one stage there were three bright white pimples attached to Jupiter's disc. Once the two moons were in fornt of the planet, they disappeared from view, I couldn't make them out against the bright disc. But the rest of Jupiter was far better than I've ever seen him before, lots of detail and subsidiary bands, and for the first time (for me) the GRS was RED! Amazing. Then the squall came and I rushed everything back inside. An hour or two later, all was clear again, so I quickly got it out again to see if I could discern any shadows. I could! And what's more, Ganymede had turned into a silhouette: I could see one sharp tiny black shadow, and Ganymede as a slightly less dark but nonetheless distinct disc. So: double transit, GRS as red, lots of detail, a shadow and a silhouette. A wonderful short double-session. As I write shortly after packing up, there's now heavy hail drilling against the window. I was lucky! Cheers, Magnus before the squall: second session after the squall:

Getting ready for the Jupiter double transit tonight. Sky is clear, but 60kph Westerly gusts abound, hence the scope hiding as close as possible to the lee of the house. No comments please about the state of the wall! First time I’ve ever used any sort of finder on the LZOS (weird mounting bracket), and first time I’ve attached the slo-mos to my SkyTee. They both make such a difference!

Tell me about the wind and rain!! Whilst they should remove spikes, unfortunately of course they will increase the total amount of diffraction 🙁. For stars and DSOs it should improve things but for bright planets, unfortunately not so. But if you can easily remove the masks, it will be interesting to hear your comparisons of with/without. Cheers, Magnus

I used to have the old supatrak az-gt mount and it quite happily handled on many occasions my APM-LZOS 105/650 which is around or a bit over 7kg with diagonal & eyepiece (I’ve just weighed it). The new version 2 mount I’d be willing to bet is the same structurally with improved gubbins, so actual usable payload will be at least 7kg. Magnus

I think you’ve basically described how the Skymax MCTs focus, with a threaded rod attached to a bulkhead on the sliding outer baffle tube on which sits the primary mirror, with the rod poking out through the back of the OTA and affixed with a knob.

If you look through the front corrector plate with a torch you might be able to see? You might be able to tell if a/the nut on the inside is welded or bonded to the tube. Magnus

The obvious explanation is that the SV-numbered ones are sub-contracted to Svbony 😜

Just in time for Orion season, I can now go HH hunting in wider field! Filter courtesy of @garryblueboy and my UK ex-neighbour who finally got around to posting it to Ireland.

I’ve read somewhere the 1.6 is the shortest available eyepiece anywhere. I’m looking forward to trying it on my Kowa spotting scope (510mm => 318x) and my LZOS 105 (650 => 406x), both of which are supposedly superbly figured so should be able to support the magnification. I don’t suffer from floaters AFAIK but we’ll see… I’ll report as soon as I can get to use it

Finally, thanks to my somewhat slow Sister-in-Law network, arrival of a Vixen HR 1.6mm, courtesy of @HollyHound . Magnus