Emperor!Takahashi!

Brand new, with clamshell for less than £600. https://www.kyoei-osaka.jp/SHOP/list.cgi (just search for "FS-60CB" and various options come up). You'll pay shipping and VAT, though. And the people clamoured, "Thank you, Emperor Takahashi, for gracing us with your infinite wisdom!"

😎

Disagreed. I've seen them come up for that price. And I just scored my (3rd) FC-60 for £500. If one looks, one can find.

Lots of good options... I think TS scopes are an excellent value for what ones pays. And a Takahashi is a Takahashi 😊 You could probably find a used FS-60CB for ~£500. You could add the extender later, if you want, to make it into the FS-60Q, which is a sweet little scope. In general, telescopes of this size often come up used since they're popular among imagers. Any of those would be an enjoyable double star instrument!

Very nice! Are all of those 25mm? Most of the information I've found is on 25mm pairs, and I've curious which longer and shorter FL microscope eyepieces are worth trying.

The Zet Her picture that you posted looks like how I've seen it through a 5" scope. When I used a 4" scope, the bump wasn't as pronounced. And in the 180mm scope, the double was resolved/split... Quite a beautiful sight! When I've observed Del Cyg, the B component doesn't appear as prominently as in the picture that you shared. I've most often observed it in a 4" scope, and it's a tiny little gem on the diffraction ring of the A star. Again: a beautiful sight. But even after multiple attempts with a Takahashi FOA-60Q, I haven't been able to resolve it. At times, I've thought, "There it is!" but those moments have been examples "averted imagination," as @lunator calls it 🙂 My experience tells me it isn't doable, but others say they've done it. So, I'll keep trying!

I think Zet Her in 60mm is impossible 😁 I'm after Del Cyg in 60mm. My experience is that, even with 100mm, Zet Her is only subtly elongated... B just peeks over A. But in a larger scope, it's a beautiful uneven pair with B poised on the A's diffraction ring.

Love it. Mu Cyg is another favorite. Do please return to Zet Her with a larger scope, though. It really transforms with more aperture!

One more reason to get that Mewlon you've been considering 😁 One of my memorable moments with the 180C was pointing it at Zeta Herculis and seeing a perfectly sharp, perfectly split, beautiful double! A very different view than the one that my smaller (even 5") refractors offered me... For me, I'd like to split Delta Cygni with a 60mm scope. Others have said that they've done this, but I haven't been able to despite many attempts! It baffles me because I've split lots of difficult (for 60mm) doubles, but Delta Cygni continues to evade me 🤔 I won't give up, though! I'd also like to see some of the brighter, more clearly defined galaxies (e.g., Sombrero, Whirlpool) through a really big dob from really dark skies.

I didn't know of Greg Quicke, but the poem in the article you shared is so striking: 'My body spent, my heart full, I crash into a deep eclipse fuelled communion with the other worlds'. He must have been a remarkable human.

A year ago, I moved to London. In many ways, living here has been lovely. But it has come with a deep sense of loss because I left behind relatively dark skies, and I have only been able to observe a few times in the past year. Partially, this is due to the exceedingly cloudy weather that many here have commented on over the past several months. However, for me, relentless work-related stress has tired me to an extent that I've never before experienced, leaving me without an ounce of energy to enjoy the clear nights. Also, I live in a flat complex that makes observing an exhausting ordeal. There's a rooftop that I can access, but only after passing through five heavy doors that require two keys, plus taking a lift, plus carrying everything up two flights of stairs. Even with a light setup, two trips are necessary to move the equipment safely. All of that, and then the rooftop "closes" at midnight. I've missed the night sky more than I've ever missed a place on Earth. I have a job interview coming up that could result in me moving to a place where stargazing again becomes a central part of my life. Just the possibility has me wildly elated... so much so that I took possession of a new Takahashi OTA, and two more are coming soon 🤣 So, please send me good vibes... if not for my sake, at least for the poor Takahashis that deserve a steady diet of starlight. I don't think I'm alone in feeling that this isn't just a "hobby" for me. For all of us who feel this way, may we enjoy the profound gift of clear, dark skies.

Definitely. Some of my favorite nights are when I set up right before dark and observe until dawn. I switch between using a telescope, scanning the Milky Way with binoculars, and just lying on a towel and looking up. It's even better if I don't have to go to work in the morning ☺️ But regardless, I'll do that whenever possible. Those are moments lived fully.

Mewlon 210! I think I already know how it will go... Mewlon 210 = brighter view and all of the other advantages that aperture affords... easier to use on an eq mount... better for binoviewing... not useable to its potential nearly as often, but still a lovely scope to have and use HD-145 = performs as well as any 6" scope in the world can perform (the views are almost disorientingly perfect)... better for grab & go, especially when I complete my plan of putting it on a dob mount and wrap it in reflectix... gets used more frequently... not comfortable on an eq mount and questionable whether binoviewing will work out I feel truly lucky to own both! And a certain 4" Tak may also join the party soon 😇

These sketches are lovely. Thanks for sharing them and the method that you use 👆 What a cool idea to use paints!

These are great! Can I ask how you go about adding color to your sketches? This has always baffled me with double stars. I can see the color at the eyepiece. But how to add it to the sketch, especially when using a dim, red light? Or when sketching on white paper that I later invert? The best solution I've thought of is to note the color and then add it later using some software. But I've never done that because I'm lazy. Anyhow, I really like these sketches.

And I love your sweater 😊

Nice Netflix killer 😎 I enjoyed reading about your approach!

Truly gorgeous. Thanks for sharing 🙏

Well, the deed is done. RIP, the60mmKid. May you reign justly, Emperor!Takahashi!

Thanks, John! I owned and loved a 180C. I think Mewlons are fabulous scopes (as long as one doesn't mind the thermal prep that they require). Razor sharp, excellent contrast, vivid colors... I owned the 180C at the same time as an FC-100 and a 10" dob with premium optics. On steady nights when the Mewlon reached thermal equilibrium, it thoroughly surpassed the refractor and didn't give up much at all to the larger reflector. I'm so pleased to be back in Club Mewlon 😎

Club motto: Keep it cool... No, really. Manage those thermals or else.

Yeah... a name change feels increasingly inevitable!

Doesn't count; you need an APO. Just kidding. That's beautiful, and I feel the same.

I've been a model of self-control over the past few months (constant clouds and work-related exhaustion have helped), but then this happened:

These are really beautiful. If these were in one of the daily APOD emails, I'd file them in my "favorites" folder 🙂