IB20

With the 15x70s I’ve just seen some nebulosity in stars in a Y shape under Caph, which SkySafari tells me is van den Bergh 1. To the left of Shedar and under a mini Cass W asterism, there was clearly more nebulosity which was in the correct position for the Pac-Man nebula. To the far left of Segin, I could detect nebulosity surrounding two clusters of stars, possibly the collinders and open clusters within the Soul nebula? I’m fairly astounded at this and think these are maybe some of the most transparent conditions I’ve ever had at home.

I am using the 200p as it happens!

Thanks Barry, that’s everything I wanted to read (or not 💸!). Now just the case of trying to locate one.

I’m thinking of getting the 17.5mm Morpheus for my 8” dob. Does anyone have any experience with this eyepiece in similar equipment? What’s the contrast like, as the 25mm BST which it would compete against seems to present fairly bright background skies. Does anyone know how the Morpheus range barlow, particularly the 17.5mm? 👍

A quick check on Clear Outside convinced me to set my 8” dob up. After a quick collimation check and 40 mins of cooling I was ready to go. I decided tonight was a night to try for some new targets, so using the telrad and 25mm BST I centred Alkaid and tried to locating M101. After 10 mins of re-treading star hops to where it should be, I had to admit defeat that M101 wouldn’t be achievable tonight. I did see some lovely doubles in Asellus Tertius and Asellus Secundus though whilst frantically roving about! My next target was M51, so back to Alkaid and hopping to 24 Cvn and the triangle of HD mag 7 stars I caught a glimpse of grey fuzzies. Swapping over to the 13mm DeLite confirmed that I’d located M51. A faint spiral structure showed but more surprisingly to me, its companion NGC 5195 was also visible, truly fantastic. After M51 seemed to be showing so well I popped over to M66 & M65 just to see how they differed from a clear night last week. I actually felt that these weren’t as easy to see as the previous night, which made M51s visibility even more surprising. Moving on, I quickly got the 8x42 bins out for some majestic views of Melotte 111 and then decided to go globular cluster hunting for M3. Well I’ll say it’s one of the easier targets to find and just wow, the 13mm DeLite was beautiful on this, single stars beginning to resolve, an image improved no end by me pulling my hood over the EP to shut out some neighbouring LP. Note to self, I must get an observing hood! M3 is stunning, I could’ve looked at it all night, and in fact went back to it 2 more times. Next up was M94, after locating Cor Caroli it didn’t take long to find the very bright centre of M94, again surprisingly visible! Checking SkySafari I see that M63 is only a short hop away, but after locating HD115270 I just couldn’t tease it out, so it’ll have to wait another session. Coming to the close now and I can see Spica and Corvus, so for a laugh try and snag the Sombrero not overly hopeful as the sky was fairly light towards to horizon. As bold as brass, there it is, so bright with a central bulge looking phenomenal, I can’t quite believe it, I was almost certain I’d struggle to see this from my location. Absolutely buzzing at that session, I can’t quite believe how good it was. The 13mm DeLite is an extraordinary bit of kit in my 8” dob. I have been thinking about getting a frac but tonight was so good I can’t wait to go again with the dob, maybe I just need to invest in more DeLites! 😂

I couldn’t resist after seeing other members receive their copies!

Really appreciative of all the comments, lots of experienced members suggesting 4” frac which I think I’ll start looking into. My idea was to buy a Tak 100XX for my retirement in 20 years, I guess I could start saving for that now, but feel I’d like to learn how to use and care for a frac before jumping in at the very highest end. The Altair 102ED F7 looks like a really good bit of kit for the money and not much heavier than than the SD81s or Stellamira 80mm. I’m not really much of a goto fan, I don’t really struggle to navigate and take enjoyment from locating some hard to find targets. Airplane travel is not really required at this stage, but portability to a UK dark site now restrictions are lifting would be welcome. 8” dobs and baby car seats are not compatible!

Thanks for this, your report is extremely helpful!

Oh double stars will be the one of the primary targets, not sure how ive missed them off 😂

👍🏻 I have 8x42s and 15x70s, I’ve been offered some 25x100s. If the consensus comes back binos then I’m happy with that.

I have an 8” dob, which I love, but having recently had a baby I’m finding I struggle to have the hobby time to plonk it outside for cooling and then have adequate viewing time! Also the weather over the last few months has been somewhat changeable but there have been noticeable periods of cloud break, which got me wondering if a ‘grab n go’ frac would be a good tool in my armoury? Ideally something I could get outside and be viewing within the drop of a hat. I’m fully aware that my dob will provide better views on every target than any 3” in existence but have a few questions with the below statements in mind: Targets - mainly solar system objects planets, lunar, asteroids, white light solar, bright sky objects - M31, recent nova in Cas etc Bortle 7-6 skies, the later it gets Budget - £1000ish 1. Would a 3” frac make a suitable complementary grab n go scope to my dob? 2. Would a 3” frac be better than 20-25x bins? 3. Would a 3” frac be affected less in poor seeing than my dob, I’ve had a few session when the jet stream has been over the UK which has just been bleurgh. 4. Doublet, triplet? APO or Achro? 5. Recommendations, I know nothing about mounts, tripods, diagonals I.e frac things! (I am eyeing up the Vixen SD81s). By all means, feel free to go off piste if you’d recommend a different direction of travel. Thanks kindly!

I took the 8” dob out tonight and bagged my first views of M65, M66, M84, M86 and M60. No luck with NGC 3628, just couldn’t tease it out but very happy that I can find the Leo triplet without too much effort in the future. Also looking forward to probing more into the realm of galaxies next session when my neighbours aren’t trying to outdo each other with who can leave the most house lights on. Tried a few times to split Izar too but only got the occasional glimpse of separation as the atmosphere seemed very turbulent. A quick and cold but fruitful session.

Was it Collinder 65?

Grabbed in a very clear break in the clouds last night. 🦁

Thanks John. Yep seriously impressed and ready for a good summer at the eyepiece. I’d be very interested to see some comparisons of the DeLites vs some premium EPs (Pentax etc) and others in the TV family!

Last year I purchased the whole set of BSTs in a relatively short time frame. Using them throughout the summer and autumn left the impression with me that the optimum use focal length eyepiece sweet spot for my 200p dob was usually the 15mm, sometimes the 12mm, for a number of targets with the exception of Mars. I’ve always wanted to try a TV eyepiece since starting the hobby and was particularly drawn to the DeLite range as I had read a lot about how they excelled in sharpness, definition and contrast as I find that more important than FoV. Luckily I came across a second hand 13mm DeLite in the SGL forum and decided to try it out, after all it was my favoured focal length. Last night I finally got the opportunity to try it in my scope after a few weeks of ownership and many clouds. After several quick visits to M42 (exceptionally defined trapezium), collinder 89 and M35 both showing pin sharp star fields, it wasn’t until I started comparing eyepieces at NGC 2392 that I got a sense of my new eyepiece. The nebula showed a bright white point of central light radiating a faint green shell. I had never seen it before last night and it’s left a lasting impression. Barlowing it with a 2x TV barlow also resulted in an extremely crisp and clear image. In comparison to the 12 & 15mm BSTs the image appeared as a somewhat blurrier shell, reduced contrast and not as sharp a central point of light. I also compared my 10mm BCO and although a lot closer to the DeLite, didn’t match or best it, yet still a great result for what I already knew is a fantastic eyepiece. I went back to the DeLite to soak in some more views of the planetary nebula - it’s worth noting that the moon was rising at this point and it was quite bright! I moved on to try for the Leo Triplet but just couldn’t cut through the brightness of the sky so tried for the double of Algieba. Again the TV lead the way, two perfect golden orbs clearly separated, a feat not always achieved in the BSTs and the BCO seemed to suffer from increased star glare compared to the TV. I tried waiting for the moon to rise as have read that the DeLites are exceptional lunar viewers but it was another 90 minutes before it cleared the houses. Although it’s early days and few targets so far I’ve been genuinely impressed with the 13mm DeLite. I’m very much looking forward to my next opportunity at the moon and some more DSOs, and even more excited by the prospect of Jupiter being in a more favourable altitude later in the year. Don’t get me wrong, the BSTs are wonderful upgrades for the money and we are talking margins here but I was surprised that it was a fairly noticeable margin! Yes I know there are 2 x 18mm DeLites for sale in the for sale section, I think I want a 9mm though 😅.

I have 8x42s and 15x70s and find they complement each other really well. I love my 8x Helios Mistral ED WP6s. Fantastically light and great colour contrast.

Hope there’s not too much Astro kit tied up in the Suez Canal currently. 😁

Think I managed to clock this in the 15x bins tonight thanks to all the maps posted in here. Located 4 Cas which is handily placed and hopped to HD228019. Closely to the right there’s a definite point of light. I’d say it was somewhere between mag 7.2 HD220167 and mag 7.8 HD220770, closer to the mag 7.8 end of the range. Really pushing the limits of my eyesight with the moon’s brightness! Incredibly cool though.

I’ve not had much time recently for practical Astronomy but have found tracking Vesta with a pair of bins has been manageable and pretty thrilling. Really satisfying seeing it move across Leo and knowing I’ve located the correct point of light!

Thought I'd pump this data through R for lols (yes I'm that sad). Not sure what happens when the clocks change 😅.

Due to the recent arrival of a little one I’ve been holding off from the Astro bits, but this arrived just now. Supremely well packaged by @HollyHound who was a Delite to purchase from. Weather forecast for the next few days is blustery gales and rain, of course it is!

You can even tell what day it was knocked off the window sill. 😅

Stood in the garden for half an hour and clocked about six. A lovely show!

I love this style, such skilled work. Well done. 😊