glafnazur

I've ordered a few scopes from FLO, including an Esprit 100, and all have arrived very well boxed and in perfect condition. I'd certainly have no problem ordering another from them.

I have finally managed to get first light with my Vixen A80MF Achromatic Refractor and I must say I'm quite impressed 🙂 I set up on the drive which is not ideal as there are two LED streetlights, however I managed to position myself so my ever burgeoning magnolia blocked off the light from the nearest one. I started off with the moon and I was blown away by how sharp the moon appeared. I started with the Morpheus 17.5mm (x52) and I could see the whole of the moon and the detail was exquisite. I followed up with the ES 14mm (x65), Morpheus 12.5mm (x73), Morpheus 9mm (x101) , ES 6.7mm (x136) and finally the Morpheus 4.5mm (x202). Views through all eyepieces were superb except the 4.5mm which I think was pushing it a bit too far. I then moved onto Saturn and again I was surprised at how much detail I could see, and Titan was easily visible. With the higher power eyepieces I could see a belt quite clearly and the Cassini division. I spent a long time on Saturn. I then had a quick look at Albireo which didn't disappoint, pin sharp stars and when I defocussed slightly the colours stood out more. I scanned the milky way enjoying pin sharp star fields and then decided to pack up - work tomorrow 😞 As I was about to pack up I noticed that if I moved the scope I could just catch Jupiter above the tree opposite on the green. So I managed a quick look at Jupiter and the four Galilean moons before I packed up. All in all it was good first light and I am looking forward to using the Vixen in earnest.

That looks really nice 👍

That's looking good 👍

Another super image Goran, love the little PN and blue reflection nebulae.

Great image Alan, I zoomed into the image as far as I could (500x ) to see if there were any more weird objects and I found a few more stars with 'horns'. There weren't many but interestingly they all appear on red/orange stars. These were on the right hand size of the image and these were on the left hand side I must say your focus must be near perfect as I zoomed in to 500x and the stars still have great shapes, I found this cute little cluster of different colours that made me smile.

That's a fantastic image 👍

I've had a Sega Toys Homestar Flux (Satin Black) Home Planetarium Star Projector for around 5 years now, I bought it with some birthday money. I quite like it but the price has shot up since I bought mine.

You've got me interested in this, I hope someone somewhere has one and responds. Reading the blurb on the FLO website it sounds great. I like the fact it has a segmented lens tube design to make it suitable for binoviewing.

That's beautiful 👍

Nice one, another object I've never heard of👍

I've still got my copy of this, it must date back to the early 70s. Collins. Stars and Planets was mentioned earlier and it is one I'd recommend too Draco - Collins.pdf

That's excellent, really well done. They are great images 👍

Stunning image Goran 👍

That's really good 👍

That's brilliant 👍

I get their Electronic News Bulletin emailed to me, I think it is every two or three weeks. It's quite informative.

That's nice, I like seeing dark nebulae against the background filled with stars.

That's nice, looks like a lot of star forming regions in there.

That is truly awesome Olly.

That's coming along nicely 👍 What equipment are you using?

I am meant to be downsizing my scope collection but somehow I couldn't resist this second hand Vixen A80MF Achromatic Refractor, 80mm f11.4 achromat. It's in great condition and I've bought it as a grab and go for double star work 🔭🌟🌟

Wow, that's as a good an image of the Elephant Trunk as I've seen for a while. The cropped image has an almost 3D feel and I love the mono image 👍

The glass tube that surrounded a signal plate had a 1-inch diameter, although the photosensitive area of the tube was only about 0.63" in diameter – or around 16mm I failed to read this in Vlaiv's earlier reply, In TVs they only count the actual screen size, so yes it does seem strange. and misleading.

It's like TVs, they are measured diagonally too. They might advertise a 60" tv but is only something like 52" wide and 29" high.