russ

Amazing images. 

Just seen this here and on You Tube. Total shock. Only watched his comet update last weekend. Very much miss his You Tube videos. 

My sincere condolences to his friends and family

5 minutes ago, Flame Nebula said:

Thanks Dweller, it seems we have been on similar trajectories. The mount I have been considering, and that has been a constant compared to scope choice 😁, is the az-eq6, due to its az ability, in addition to eq. It is a bit more expensive than Eq6, but potentially more flexible, especially if I was to mount a 10inch Newtonian on it. I suspect the latter can give better planetary AP than the C8 I had in mind. I might swap the Askar scope for the StellaMira 125 though at similar cost. 

Thanks for taking the time to come up with these suggestions 👍

Also remember, what ever you decide to go with, it will be the wrong choice. It's a given. A couple of months or year down the road, you're start getting niggling doubts that you should have taken a different route. Then it starts all over again. It happens to us all.  

1 hour ago, Louis D said:

Have they improved the focuser on it recently?  5 years ago, I was looking at buying a used one that had been upgraded to a MoonLite focuser because the stock focuser was not so great.

For visual with lightweight accessories the original focuser is fine. But for 2" accessories it need swapping out. I just put the Astro Essentials focuser on mine and love it. As for a mount, the ED120 Pro is not heavy. If I can't be bothered lugging out the NEQ6, I'll use the CG5 and it works well for visual. In fact, I really do not know why I bother using the NEQ6 with the ED120. The ED120 Pro with rings, dovetail, diagonal and eyepiece, weighs in at 5.5kg. Very comfortably in the operating range for EQ5. And an absolute breeze for HEQ5. NEQ6 total over kill.

3 hours ago, Flame Nebula said:

Hi

Given these two choices, which one would you pick? 

Use for planetary and double stars predominantly. 

Thanks 

Mark

If it was me, definitely the ED120 if the price is similar. I'm sure the optics are very nice in the Starfield 102 but I know for a fact they are great in the 120 as I use one as my main scope. Detail on Jupiter this past season, when conditions allow, has been superb. Doubles are extremely nice. 

I have a few (ED80, ED120, C6, OO 10") but really, really fancy a C11 ota. My goal to find one for the summer and next planetary season.

1 hour ago, SuburbanMak said:

Baader Classic Orthos - now £54 each I believe and the 18mm & 10mm are as sharp and flat as I've seen, narrower field at 45 degree yes but stunning fidelity for the price. The 6mm is tight on eye relief but equally good if you are ok with getting up close and don't wear spec's to observe. The 18mm is my favourite eyepiece and always finds itself slipping into a pocket as I am heading out  

SVBony 3-8mm Zoom -  a new addition to the stable but really can't fault this considering the alternative is the Nagler 3-6mm zoom at over £300 more, I paid £120 on Amazon for the convenience of availability and speed but understand these can be picked up more cheaply direct from China.  Flat field, very sharp and contrasty (detail on Jupiter indistinguishable from my Pentax XW 5mm). Also a lightweight but sturdy form factor, brilliant value without compromising quality in my view. 

(& yes, my other top value find is the Stella Lyra 30mm UFF, stunning eypepiece & well worth saving up the extra £29 beyond the remit of this thread topic!) 

I second all of this. The Baader Orthos are superb and the SVBony 3-8mm zoom is my outright fav eyepiece, trumping the TV DeLite and Pentax XW in my collection. For all my planetary views in 2023 and my single only view in 2024, I reach for the SVBony over all else. So much so, that there was no place in the collection for the 6.5mm Morpheus and 9mm Delite. 

Also a shout out for the Baader 8-24 zoom but its just not as special as the SVBony. Baader has a variable AFOV, which is annoying and the build is not is the same league as the SVBony. 

That looks awesome, hope it's a cracking shower for you.

That was my plan too and the forecast was holding up and then suddenly yesterday all the forecasts changed and now wall to wall cloud until Wednesday next week.😭

1 hour ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Different people see pain and pleasure in different ways. I for one get great pleasure from observing DSOs through my eyeball.

some people like to do a similar thing with a computer and camera. I personally love the EP, like the camera, hate the computer.

Marv

That sums it up for me too.

The blurp sounds good and I did enjoy my LE 5mm and 12.5mm. Just not sure I want another straw like afov. 

The Starbase link is all Japanese and not much cop.

Here are the specs:

TPL-12.5
Focal length: 12.5mm
Eye relief: 9mm
Apparent field of view: 48°
Lens construction: 4 elements in 2 groups
Size: φ39 x 51mm
Weight: 90g

TPL-18
Focal length: 18mm
Eye relief: 13mm
Apparent field of view: 48°
Lens construction: 4 elements in 2 groups
Size: φ39×60mm
Weight: 110g

TPL-25
Focal length: 25mm
Eye relief: 18mm
Apparent field of view; 48°
Lens construction: 4 elements in 2 groups
Size: φ39×71mm
Mass: 140g

The more automated and high tech AP has become, the more I don't want to do it. And that's how i felt in 2008  

But I really get the appeal to those that love their tech. It looks absolutely awesome. 

On 10/07/2023 at 09:25, wookie1965 said:

Nothing because of this thing. 

I cannot view from home now and not found a place I can nip to, to be honest looks like I am going to sell up. 

I feel your pain as well. I have a railway goods yard at the bottom of the garden. They have a hundred of those lamps. Creates a massive light dome brighter than a full moon. I just limit myself to moon and planets mainly.

Our neighbour has also taken to growing huge tree like shrubs all down the fence line. They are currently 10-12ft tall and block my entire North East to South East horizon. I think he has done it to spite me knowing I go out with the scope. 

Lotto win is the answer. House with no neighbours in a bortle 2 sky. 

7 hours ago, Rob said:

Near 15 years to get to this point!. Super happy mind. Not shown but also have a Meade 5000 SWA 40mm in box…. It’s a beast!

 

Very nice Rob

8 hours ago, John said:

It is, but not last night. I got clouded out about 30 minutes after I took that pic 😬

That's a shame John. The forecast was a bit off that night. I set the alarm for 2:30am and woke up to total cloud cover. Was supposed to be 100% clear.

30 minutes ago, John said:

No electronics involved here but it suits me just fine 😁

Waiting for darkness on a warm summer evening.

 

Wow I bet that's stunning to look through.

3 hours ago, russ said:

Out this morning at 3am for Saturn, Jupiter and Moon. All were epic, especially Saturn. Which held up well to 300x using the SVBony 3-8mm zoom in the ED120. Moon was razor sharp. Seeing excellent. Paid for it at work today, felt pretty crummy around 3pm. 

Scope is ready to go for some deepsky action tonight. If i can hold it together that is. 

New plan. Can't stay awake. So getting back up for the planets and the moon. Spend Saturday recovering.

Really nice images Neil. Especially the mono Jupiter. Cracking detail. 

Seeing our way this morning was pretty darn good. I had Saturn up at 300x and a nice clean view of Cassini. Jupiter will be epic in a month or so.

Out this morning at 3am for Saturn, Jupiter and Moon. All were epic, especially Saturn. Which held up well to 300x using the SVBony 3-8mm zoom in the ED120. Moon was razor sharp. Seeing excellent. Paid for it at work today, felt pretty crummy around 3pm. 

Scope is ready to go for some deepsky action tonight. If i can hold it together that is. 

My fav is the SW ED120. Love it so much. Wanted one since the launch of gold tube model. Optics are epic, the tube relatively lightweight and the focuser works well for the most part. Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon were stunning in it this morning. 

8 hours ago, Clarkey said:

I have an HEQ5 and an AZ-EQ6. In terms of tracking accuracy there is very difference between the two (when within design limits). So other than weight, there is little benefit in terms of tracking.

This is my experience too. No tracking improvements, just a huge capacity boost. The big downside, as others have said, is the weight. I do dread the EQ6 setup routine. But it was a must to mount the scopes I have. The Evostar 150 and Orion 250 newt are both rock steady on the EQ6

Wow that's a stunner. Nice work. Can't beat a Glob image done well.

Superb. Great images. I have the scope setup but all i have is cloud and wind.

On 27/06/2023 at 18:44, Mr Spock said:

I did have an EQ6 Pro. But going through all the set up and menus just to get it to track was a real pain. Simplicity has its benefits.

Haha I can relate to that. I really, really need to be in the mood and know 100% it will be clear before going near the EQ6. Most of the time I prefer to throw out the little Star Discovery mount with the Starwave 70. Setup it seconds. Carry the whole thing one handed anywhere in the garden. So easy.