josefk

That description of the Kowa makes me a bit jealous - i bought the Swarovski when i didn't need it for double duty under the stars (i had access to my sons 120mm "semi-portable" frac at the time but he has fully reclaimed that now). That meant i could focus on pure "birding qualities" and the Swarovski won out at the time (i didn't really future proof the choice). I really enjoy the flat field and it is sharp edge to edge but i'm only stressing the glass at 30x to 70x and with extender to 120x so not stressing it at all really. SLC 15x56 bins - these would be the last bit of optical equipment i would ever give up. "Out of my cold dead hands" as the rather unsavoury quote goes. I know from reputation and reviews your Zeiss are probably the same. I've said it before but i can never get over i can be filling the EP with a little shore wader during the day and a few hours later filling the same EP with Andromeda! I guess from your sig your also a birder?

Thank you. It's Burghley Park Stamford - it's a great spot and i'm lucky it's on my doorstep. It is a spotting scope and i use it for grab and go - i can't justify an astro scope in this size while i have the spotter. The IP rating was handy tonight! i sometimes wish i'd looked harder at Kowa a few years ago as it would have given me EP freedom. Do you bump up the power on yours or stick to wide field? Cheers

...erm. Doubles i think tonight 😉

100% absolutely 100%

Well the postie brought it yesterday actually. I jumped on an "open box" offer at @FLO to "fix" a small niggle with my current focuser where it can slip a little at zenith with heavy EPs or BV's hanging down on it or need a tiny bit of external encouragement to travel in (up) in the same orientation. Spent last night scratching my head wondering if i'd done the right thing as the longer draw tube on the Baader SteelTrack focuser fouls the inside of my Cassegrain. I can prevent the internal collision with a longer spacer or a DIY bump stop on the outside of the focus draw tube BUT these both effect in-travel/back-focus for BVs. It may be nip and tuck. The Baader focuser itself is excellent - especially the lightness and smoothness of the micro-focuser. An unexpected upside is how well baffled/matted the inside surfaces of the Baader are.

Fascinating images and commentary here @Xilman and @Paul M and @tomato. I'm not an imager but to get insight into captures like these of such distant and/or small objects is brilliant. Thanks.

That is lovely!

...its a hard life 🤣

...it could be a mount thread - it may be counter intuitive but i wonder @Sunshine if you could make the TSA-102 you already have GnG by looking at a second lighter mount only? Maybe sacrifice high mag steadiness of a heavy mount for GnG possibility (one handed carry)? I've never handled a TS-102 - is it one of the lighter Tak scopes?

...and i'm with you @RobertI it is quite good fun to find a dim DSO in small kit (or have a damn good look for it even if its a failed observation) as long as you have the comfort that it isn't the only view you will ever have of it...

Rather than scopes competing with each other @Sunshine maybe another perspective is having complimentary kit and then deploying the kit for different purposes in different sessions. For me this means a big set-up for studying stuff (within the limits of my capability) and/or going after fainter stuff while my Grab 'n' Go set-up is for for wider field and/or "just" finding stuff where the pleasure in the GnG session is the star-hopping to find stuff while i may not dwell very long on the object itself. This has drawbacks - i wish i had more resolution for frequent looks at Jupiter in my GnG - but it does mean other than on planets i don't often negatively compare one set of kit with another because i am doing different things with them. Cheers

That sounds like great fun. I also took in NGC 1664 this weekend but last night (its also a Herschel H VIII-59). Unfortunately the sky was so horribly hazy and therefore light that my note says "Seen (i.e “detected”) rather than observed (i.e. "studied"). Hazy orange grey sky. No sparkle, no glow." I absolutely didn't see a stingray shape so your observation will make me go back and look again on a better night and with more aperture. Thank you.

haha. Indeed. i've not had my BV long so have only observed one Globular Cluster with them (i just checked my notes). I think i will have a night of BV/globs this autumn at some point now you've planted the idea. :-). Thanks for the feedback.

Oh no. I don’t want to go down this Rorschach rabbit hole. I see the bunny. (I think) you’ll need to look at M42 back to front for Donnie Darko. “The ears” above the trapezium but the main nebulosity slanting right below those stars. That image would definitely help me draw it. I’m sorry I started this 😂

nice sketches and great picture 🤜🏼 ...i hear your "stingray" and "swift" and raise you a rabbit - i think the nebulosity at M42 (in a star diagonal) looks like the Donnie Darko rabbit - the trap stars are the near eye - once you've seen it you can't unsee it. argh.

Hi Paul, im not sure I’m giving you the right answer to the right question but nexus (shipped with the Rowan mount optionally) has The SAO catalogue on board. cheers

you'll love it even more outside! Enjoy.

Grab 'n' Go fun!

Another bonus Grab 'n' Go last night completely contrary to expectations vs "Clear Outside" but I'm not complaining! It was all about the pleasure of finding last night - walking a 2-degree finder tightrope so when i fell off the trail it was like snakes and ladders - i had to go back "X" places. Vega >> M57 >> M56 >> Albireo >> M27 >> M71 was a nice meander to start with - i can't see anything meaningful in M57 and M27 with my small G'n'G scope but its always a pleasure to "pop in". Saturn (looking lovely and quite brown last night and with Titan to the East) >> M72 >> M73 >> NGC 7009 >> M2 >> M15 was a slightly harder meander in the opposite direction. I tried to get M72 and M73 in the same FOV but both disappeared against the greyish sky at the low 30x magnification required. TBH neither object had much contrast against the sky even at 70x and M72 was pretty marginal - took two attempts and a little waiting. There was a little bit of haze in this direction and at this altitude - when it cleared contrast obviously went up a little bit. NGC 7009 really bright and elongated at 70x while M2 and M15 were not resolved but still lovely fluffy bright balls. M15 evolving to a ball at 70x from "just a nebulous star" at 30x. Saturn >> M30 was an easy hop down but i couldn't see much when i got there - very low down and very low contrast. When i turned to face the other way (North/North-East) i realised i had been missing a really clear and sharp light show in that direction. Doh! In any event two new Herschels there in Perseus - the open clusters H VIII-85 and H VII-61 to round off the night. Fingers crossed for another bonus session before the week is out. Joe

i love those sketches - really really nice.

is that the 8" Astro_Dad? I really enjoy my "not quite 8"" SL Cassegrain and while appreciate the focal length differences between the two scopes i assume the quality of the GSO mirrors are a good part of the quality of the packages.

You'll especially enjoy this read now even if you've seen it before. i know i would! http://www.scopeviews.co.uk/TakFS128.htm

Since September i've started on a considered survey of the so called Herschel 400 list and i'm using Steve O'Meara's observing guide to structure target lists for the month. However I'm not big on following lists slavishly AND the H400 list itself is a modern construct AND the H400 is only a small subset of Sir William Herschel's observations and sister Caroline's cataloguing efforts. If you're observing an NGC there's a 1/3 chance they found it or catalogued it for the first time. in short its easier (and more fun) to collect observations for any (i hesitate to say "all") Herschel in a given area even if you are ostensibly chasing and recording the H400 subset in that locale. This should keep me occupied...

Fantastic and an extra memorable first light too!. 👍🏼

Thats a good hint @Nyctimene re. the clear eastern side of that star chain. Thanks. I repeatedly look for nebulosity in M45 in various instruments on many nights and have never been certain i've seen it versus "just glare" or "damp" in the atmosphere. This is a good tip for confidence checking.