IB20

What magnification were you using?

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?

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.

I haven’t seen Sirius A for about a month 😭

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…

I really like the 6mm LV I have. Never tried the SLVs but they seem to get rave reviews.

I sometimes wish I couldn’t access it, would save me a lot more money!

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.

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.

I’ve spent hours and hours trying this particular target but I’m not convinced I’ve seen a definitive secondary. Possible sightings in the correct location were likely scatter or reflection artefact. Who knows, I might’ve glimpsed it unwittingly just through sheer time spent on the target without realising. Addition of a new 5” APO and March’s lighter evening skies may give me the best chances for this season.

I haven’t taken the Q module off mine, admittedly it’s not been anywhere exotic yet. As @Mumia states, it has removed the smidgen of colour that may have been there and now, I can’t believe a better 3” exists. I found having the increased mag range really helps for lunar, double stars and other targets that take higher magnification too. One target I noticed the most improvement on was Mars. It seemed to sharpen the disc up which helped picking out clearer albedo markings and polar cap distinction. I think Roger Vine’s review mentions this too.

Oh go on then… a cracking early evening admiring Venus on the Starbase AZ. Absolutely perfect views and completely colour free. 😍

I love my 76Q. Still amazes me how much a 3” scope can show, like you say, it’s an astonishingly good lunar and planetary scope. 🤗

Out with the Tak 76Q for some full moon gazing. Amazing illumination of Neper on the Eastern limb, a jet black pool inside the crater’s walls with the exception of a central turret appearing through the darkness. A huge crater area to the north and south of Neper also catching the eye, which I think are Goddard and Haldane? Don’t think I’ve seen any of these three before. Plenty of stabs at Sirius for the pup but no dice. Alnitak looking fabulous though. Mintaka and Sigma Orionis both showing their dim companions off. Nice little session. 🤗

6” f8 all day long. Now a 4” APO v a 6” newt and I’d probably plump for the 4”.

If it’s the end of the week then usually Stella, not too many mind have to navigate precious OTAs through a few doorways. If I’m using the dob I’ll usually have a few more. Great for double star viewing. 🤩😅

If you do decide to pull the trigger on the 102mm f7 (any iteration), you’re in for a real treat. They are marvellous scopes. 👍🏻

I have an AZ4 and an AZ75. The AZ75 is absolutely next level and I have my perfect mount. It holds the f7 102ed like a dream (and the 125mm SM…). It doesn’t need slo-mos, the control and movement are second to none. The AZ4 is good but suffers with a bit of stiction and in comparison is chalk and cheese, higher power viewing isn’t quite as stable either. Obviously the price of the two mounts reflect these differences!

Get the 4mm TOE. My favourite eyepiece.

Here are my thoughts on it… Needless to say I’m delighted with it. I’m a visual observer but it is the equivalent quality of my fpl-53 4” Starwave ED-R albeit with increased brightness and resolution. I haven’t seen any CA and I’ve pointed it at Sirius and Jupiter. I use a AZ75 without counterweight and it’s rock solid.

Had another session tonight, again fairly strong breeze but transparency and seeing were ok. Stuck a UHC filter on a 17.5mm Morpheus and had the best views I’ve ever seen of M42. Amazing stuff. Everything I point this thing at it just excels. Very, very happy with it. It’s definitely taken the place of the 4”.

Maybe a pier mounted 7” APO refractor. AP/Tak/TEC. A real bank account/credit card ruiner.

It’s fine, honestly! I went from an 8” dob to a 3” refractor, then a 4” and now a 5” (now own 6 scopes 😅). Expensive but very enjoyable, I’m in heaven with my new 125mm and they all have their strengths. Also massively agree with the health benefits of observing; similar to my experiences. Glad to hear you have something that helps. 👍🏻

It’s quite breezy out but my forecast is completely wrong and I’ve had a good few hours of clear skies so have set up the 125mm SL. Checked out the usual suspects but had a thought to try out the Astronomik UHC filter as it has barely been used. Twinned with the 17.6mm Morpheus, I pointed the scope towards M42 and was flabbergasted at the improvement in what I usually see. Long elongated wings stretching against jet black skies and some dark tendrils reaching through the bright nebulosity, features I’ve never seen in my skies before. Wow, stunning, the best I’ve ever seen it and the conditions aren’t particularly great. This scope is proving to be lots of fun and quite brilliant. Had always read about the improvements filters made but has experienced it until now.

5 or 6 sessions in Jan I think, compared to 0 in December. Had nights with the 3”, 4”, 5” fracs and 8” dob. Despite all evenings being blighted by full moons, strong breezes, poor local seeing or freezing temps it was still nice to be out! Much prefer that to the month of cloud and rain we suffered in December.