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IB20

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Everything posted by IB20

  1. Agree, if I had my time again and I had all the money I’d spent on scopes, I’d go for the TSA120. I wouldn’t even think about a reflector.
  2. I do think the 5” frac is the one. If you go smaller you may always think what if, where you’re less likely to do that if you got a 5”. IME the mounting requirements between the 102ED & 120/125mms were no different.
  3. I use an 11 & 20mm Televue plossl for Ha, work really well for solar. Can pick them up relatively cheaply on the used market. Have an older Celestron 12.5mm Ultima that works really nicely too. Been meaning to try the new Tak TPL line but they’re quite expensive in comparison.
  4. Wasn’t convinced I’d get to see this with my Western skies and a full moon but it’s surprisingly bright in the 15x70 bins. An easy locate south of Metallah. The core is bright and I think I can see some northerly elongation. Comparing it to the closest field star HR 484 which is mag 6.2, I’d say it’s maybe around that mag or even slightly brighter. Impressive!
  5. Forecast had it clear for 90 mins so quickly deployed the 76mm. Spent the majority of the gloaming light seeing if Sirius would share its companion. No joy but in bluer skies it showed as a brilliant tight white orb without its signature flaring and glare. I’m almost certain I’m looking for the wrong thing when I’m trying to spot the pup. A quick compare with Rigel showed off its dim twin, easy as pie. As the clouds started to build I finished off on the moon, the southern terminator showing some interesting features which I’m unfamiliar with so I’m off to cross reference them with my moon atlas. Although I never knew there was the shadow of a Scottish terrier on the moon!
  6. Ain’t it glorious having a grab n go scope. Poking through those cloud gaps…
  7. Decided I wanted extreme grab n go for the PST. 😁
  8. The 125mm are lovely scopes. It’s very light for a 5”, its focuser and finish are superb. It’s quite longer and larger than a 4” however, so your mounting and tripod requirements increase. The beauty of the 4” Taks is their lightness (and optically they’re magnificent) meaning your mounting requirements are lower. If you already have a mount and tripod capable of securely holding 4 and 5” scopes, then I’d say go with the 5”. To my eye I’ve noticed the jump from 4” to 5” more than the jump from 3” to 4”, despite the theory and mathematics of the increases.
  9. You can’t keep both the vixen and Tak though… 😅
  10. It’d have to be my 3” Tak 76Q. It’s the highest quality scope I own, the lightest weight and the most portable. It’s also a cracking solar system scope which is my primary interest. Yes my larger aperture scopes will show more but there’s something special observing with this ocular marvel!
  11. Currently have: 125mm f7.8 StellaMira 102ed-r f7 Starwave 76mm f12.6 Takahashi with Q module 80mm f10 “Takahashi” Starbase achro 40mm PST Coronado Ha scope 202mm f5.9 Skywatcher 200P Don’t laugh but that’s me finished buy scopes… although I do like the look of the Mewlons, and the FC-100DCs and etc etc
  12. M51 and M104 are the two galaxies I’ve most been impressed with in the 8” dob. I’ve always preferred Andromeda in binoculars for some reason, maybe it’s the scale or framing of it that just resonates more with me.
  13. Oh don’t get me wrong. My 8” dob doesn’t perform in winter purely cos of my local seeing conditions and housing configuration. Come summer or when the temperature differential isn’t too big between house and outdoor it’s a fantastic scope, mind. Doesn’t stop me reaching for the 76Q a lot of the time, having a small premium grab n go is such a pleasure to own and observe with. I’ve recently acquired 4 and 5” APOs just to experiment, for targets like clusters, improved planetary grasp and tighter doubles. I just enjoy owning telescopes however, I’m one of those types…
  14. I haven’t always been so, but I’m starting to creep into the “aperture wins” field especially when it comes to refractors. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/offer_stellamira-125mm-ed-doublet-f78-refractor-telescope_420375.html recently saw this on offer, nice and light for a 5”…
  15. At 120x in my 8” dob I recall how a bright cream it came across. This was at near opposition though. I could detect darker albedo features at this mag. If seeing allows, Mars can take fairly high mags, 200-240x and it was at these dimmer magnifications that its colouration came through better. Again, it will depend on Mars’ location in relation to Earth, the further away it gets, the smaller and harder it will appear making detailed observations more difficult. Certainly with planetary viewing it can become a case of take every opportunity to capture improved conditions. Viewing planets when it’s not too dark, I.e. early evening or morning can definitely improve planetary colouration.
  16. Excellent drawing. There were plenty of C and m class flares recorded for that AR region on that date and time so perhaps the filaments and brightness were associated with flaring?
  17. As Paz has listed, so far my best planetary views have been with a variety of scopes. Venus - Tak 76Q Mars - SW 200P 8” Dob Jupiter - I have had good views with the dob but the brightness and diffraction spikes do my head in a bit. I much prefer the image through my 102ed-r and 125mm APOs. Saturn - Find this planet looks absolutely majestic through all my scopes Uranus - SW 200P 8” Dob Neptune - Probably the 4” APO due to the larger field of view made locating it easier. Pluto - Never seen it, you’d need something big or a camera though. A full season with the 5” APO may change some of these statements though. Exception may be Venus just for the sheer lack of glare and false colour the Tak presents. Choosing the optimal eyepiece length for the conditions, scope’s f/ratio, exit pupil, eyepiece drift and scope’s focal length also plays an important part in “best planetary views” too.
  18. I haven’t seen Sirius A for about a month 😭
  19. At 5.6kg (I think) and 30-60 minute cooldown in Winter then I guess it depends what you’d want it for? Optically it’ll be near perfection though but won’t show more than the 125. I guess if you want a LZOS, go for it. The price seems about 50% rrp from when they were available so seems a good deal. You’ll almost certainly end up acquiring a 5 or 6” apo in the future with the az100 anyway. 😅 You could get a Starfield 102mm and the SM125 for £2k…
  20. I really like the 6mm LV I have. Never tried the SLVs but they seem to get rave reviews.
  21. I sometimes wish I couldn’t access it, would save me a lot more money!
  22. Been thinking about getting a 24mm as an upgrade for the 25mm BST. But with having a 17.5mm Morpheus, I’m not sure it’s going to provide me with massive improvements in terms of fov increase. The 24mm SL UFF and ES68 24mm aren’t the most expensive eyepieces, however so maybe low risk to find out.
  23. Go for the AZ75! They are superb, mine happily carries a 98cm, 5.5kg 5” apo without need for counterweight. The Tak cradle connection is solid as a rock too and dual mounting a 4” & 3” scope is a doddle. It’s currently sat on an adaptor puck and SW steel tripod with no issues with zenith viewing so no additional pier requirement. I plan to upgrade to a BB UNI18/28 eventually.
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