Deisler

Yes. I will try to re-do the collimation over the next week. Clear Outside APP shows I will have no clear skies over the next 10 days so I will have plenty of time playing with my P200 inside!

@John @Stu Wow you guys are so knowledgable! Very interesting. I guess that is a no-go for me

This was the pic I took with my phone when I collimated it a week ago. Checked last night - it remained the same. I did it with the red Cheshire EP.

I can only see one faint 'galaxy'-like object at the direction of andromeda galaxy. I tried to search for others but no success. Because of the relatively small size of the object I saw (it was oval-shaped), I thought it was M32 or M110, as I expected M31 to be much bigger than that. But having seen your post made me realise what I saw was indeed M31, perhaps only the core of it. I did try to use my stock 10mm to see it, but the image becomes really poor. Will try with BST EP when they arrive.

Thank you. Certainly interesting stuff for me to learn. I did find 'seagull' pattern at the edge of the view - it did not bother me that much as I don't really look for them. Did not notice Coma - I will try to see if I can find them. Is there a way to mitigate the 'diffraction spikes' as I found them distract my view a lot, particularly for those dim stars next to a very bright one?

Just to report back to you guys: Today I received my Panaview 30mm 2'' used, bought from a fellow stargazer here and tried it this evening (-3 degree outside ). Gave my telescope 1 good hour to cool down. Good clear sky condition. Here is my take on Panaview 30mm 2'': Pro: Had a look through Panaview - the wide field view is amazing, much wider than my stock 25mm EP. I really enjoyed just randomly pointing my 200P to the sky and viewing those stars. I spent 30 mins or so, trying to find Andromeda galaxy - to my disappointment I did not manage to see it. But I did see a faint 'galaxy' near there - I suspect it was M110 but it could be M32 I am not so sure. Then I found M45 - with Panaview I can include entire M45 in my view - very nice indeed. I also saw the double star, Mizar/Alcor, although the flare (see below) was not ideal. Con: The view quality is not much better than stock 25mm (at least I cannot tell). I do find at the outer 20% view, the stars tend to have 'wings', which is completely expected as many people already mentioned that. However most bright stars also tend to have 'cross' flares, even when they are at the centre of view. I found it quite annoying. Not sure it is the EP or something else? Checked collimation, it looked ok. Conclusion: I am very happy with it, but could be happier if the flare issues can be resolved? BTW - I think I will need a height-adjustable bar chair - Finding andromeda definitely hurt my back! Also, my telrad got dew after a few minutes and I could not see anything through it, but I can already tell it is far better than my stock finder! Regards Deisler

Thank you guys. Very useful advice! I have ordered my BST EPs as early Christmas gift. I will look for some 2nd hand filters, which I don't think are essential to me now. I will probably buy a few , 2nd hand, so if I don't like them, I can re-sell them without losing too much money. I have also bought a phone holder from Amazon, inspired by @Stu and his luna images. Hope to do some with my Huawei phone. Cheers, Deisler

Back to my previous question regards filter, if I may - Last two sessions when I viewed the moon (close to full moon), I felt very uncomfortable as my left eye was left with a bright white spot even 30 mins after I came back in. I know it is not ideal to view full moon, but I think I might have to buy a filter to make sure my kids feel comfortable with the brightness. It would be great the same filter would work for planetary view too. Even greater if galaxy/large DSO, but not essential. I have seen many people recommended "Baader Neodymium Filter" which "Intensifies surface details on Mars, Jupiter and Moon – and enhances many Deep Sky galaxies and nebulae against the background sky.. ''. Sound ideal for me. Is it a OIII or UHC, or neither? Any recoomendation you can give for the problem I have. Regards Deisler

Bought it. Thanks! Now will order my BST EPs (5mm and 15mm) from FLO and they should make me happy for a while.

Baader Morpheus 9mm looks a great EP! Unfortunately I dont think I will spend that much on a single EP as my first EP. Maybe as my next upgrade.

Cheers both @John @Louis D And with John's review back in 2010 I am leaning towards Aero 2'' than Baader Aspheric 2''. I assume 30mm is better than 35 or 40mm, as 30mm is near the 'upper limit'?

@Louis D @John Hi I wonder if you have used Baader Hyperion Aspheric 2'' 31mm? Seen people recommended it as wide field low-power EP a lot. More specifically, how is it compared to Aero 2'' 30mm or even APM UFF 30mm? Cheers

Hi Louis, May I ask if the distortion at left-right boundaries of the visible part of the ruler was because of the image taken by a camera, or it will look like that visually? The Aero one does seem to have very bad distortion at boundaries. Cheers

Hi guys, Just to summarise what I have learnt so far from great advice you guys have given me and what I decide to do for my EP upgrade - 1) will get BST StarGuider 60º 5mm/15mm ED EPs - ~£45 each 2) will get a wide field low-power EP, currently leaning towards Aero 2'' 30mm (£100), but 32mm GSO Plossl (£33) is much cheaper but with some negative comments (like distorted view). 3) will get a filter - still need to research this topic, i.e. UHC v.s OIII; 4) Next, probably in a six months time, I will buy a TV barlow or a TV PM, depending on if I need greater eye relief on my BST EPs. Re. the wide field low-power EP, can you guys comment on 'Aero 2'' 30mm vs 32mm GSO 1.25'' vs other options' for my 200P Dob? I quite enjoy low-power view (through my stock 25mm) and found it very relaxing - so I want to buy a good one that will always be in my EP case. Any advice? Cheers Deisler

yeah that makes perfect sense. I think I will go for 5mm EP, skipping 8mm for now. Then if I really want 8mm, I can always get a decent barlow later.

I surely will! One quick question if you don't mind - re 'BST EPs' - do you think I should get a 5mm or 8mm, in addition to 15mm EP? 5mm will give me 240x mag, which I assume is for planetary view? Would 5mm also be useful for moon view? or 8mm maybe more useful for both planetary and moon? I probably will only buy one high-power EP at this stage.

Hi, May I ask if the UHC filter works well in light polluted sky? My postcode has Bortle number 5. Cheers Deisler

Yes sir. I bought it but not yet used it. I used the stock finderscope and found it very difficult to hop between stars. I tried to follow bright stars in Andromeda to locate the galaxy but it is almost impossible for an inexperienced observer to do. I heard Telrad will help me a lot, so I certainly look forward to using it! I am waiting for my plastic band to arrive tomorrow so I can fix it onto the tube. I don't like to apply the glue thing straight away as I fear I might do something wrong to ruin my tube. Maybe I am just being too cautious. Thanks

Thank you, John. I will read some reviews about ES 2x Focal extender. It is currently £76 from FLO, saving £100 off TV PM. With that saving I probably can buy a nice Wide Field 30mm (like Aero 2'')? Certainly a great option!

Is yours 1.25'' or 2'' Powermate? I know Powermate is not small but I did not expect that size That Ethos is a monster!

Thank you for your reply, Sir. Could you please elaborate a bit on 'instead of Barlow' - I assume you meant Barlow may not be that important if I can have 5/10(stock)/15/25(stock)/32 EPs?

Thank you. I think I will wait for 2-3 weeks to see if I can get a 2nd hand Baader Zoom. If not, I will grab the 10% off deal from FLO on Tele Vue and go for their Barlow or PM with 1 or 2 BST.

Thank you. I have checked many threads here about TV Barlow vs TV Powermate. I understand the major differences, i.e. the eye relief. How much gain in visual I can expect between TV Barlow and PM? Am I right to say Powermate is a better long-term buy as I will never need to replace it? If so, I'd rather buy the Powermate.

Baader Morpheus seems to have very positive reviews! It is £189 a piece from FLO at the moment - a bit too expensive for me. But I will definitely keep an eye on them - they might be my ultimate goal (I dont think I will ever move up to those super expensive TV EPs). Cheers

@vlaiv @Louis D @Rob Thank you. I've done my collimation with Cheshire EP. Although I am sure my collimation is nowhere near perfect, it should be fine. At next session, I will check and make sure the weather condition is fine and consistent so I can do more comparison. As far as I remember, at last two sessions, there was no cloud and I did make sure I avoided looking at the moon near my neighbour's roof. But I will report back. Thank you for the advice. Really appreciate them.