globular

I'm new to all of this so can't give you much wisdom from personal experience - but I have read a fair bit on this over recent weeks and can share what I've concluded from the experience of others. Most planetary visual filters only work effectively with exit pupils 2mm or larger. Typical / good conditions support planetary magnification of around 250-300x. So if you have a scope and an eyepiece than can give 300x and 2.5mm exit pupil then filters might add something noticeable. But, if you're more typical, you'll likely have an exit pupil much smaller than this when viewing the planets and the range of filters that make a worthwhile difference is reduced; and the effect of those filters is less obvious. It then becomes a personal things as to whether these more marginal impacts are worth it for you. Or, in less words, you'll have to try it yourself to know if you it works for you. 😃 I've ordered a few filters myself to give them a try. I'm not expecting "wow" but I'm hoping to tease out some detail that is eluding me. I suspect I just need to train myself to be more observant / patient - but I can't resist trying them anyway.

Hi all. I'm after some opinions and advice regarding building up my eyepiece set (pretty much from scratch). I have an 8" Edge HD SCT F/10.5 which I use for visual only. I like to do a bit of everything; planets, nebulae, galaxies, clusters. I don't wear glasses but share my scope with my wife who does. [edit: apparently she shares her scope with me 🤐] I've put together the following list of EPs that I'm thinking about: I tried to select fl gaps that will fill nicely with a 2x powermate (no overlapping) but where the EPs used on their own will be at the most useful spots. I've selected ones with eye relief between 19 and 22; and with wide fov but not super wide; so that both with and without glasses should work well. I know ES 92 in a Powermate is a weighty combination but I think my mount will manage it ok. I have a Hyperflex 7.2-21.5 Zoom for when narrow FOV isn't an issue, but feel some individual EPs with wider FOV are needed too. Have I overlooked any EPs that would work well / better? Any on the list that have an alternative that might be better? Similar at lower cost? Or better and worth the extra? Is this too many? Or not enough? The Morpheus and Delos ranges are tempting too - but their fl didn't seem to slot into the list as well. Maybe I'm being over mathematical? Look forward to your advice.

Great report - thanks for posting! I've been getting some good glimpses of Mars recently and have been keen to get some filters to see if that helps tease out some detail - looks like quite a few of the ones I've ordered won't be that useful after all . Shame you didn't post it 2 days ago 😄. I'll give it a new home if you still aren't impressed John 😇

Is there a "correct" or "ideal" position for the focus knob to be before tightening and locking the mirror for transporting? All the way in? All the way out? Not important?

They both agree it's good until 1am. CO then goes up from 3 to 13 but stays green, whereas NightShift goes amber. They must have a lower threshold. Having 2 is better than 1 I reckon.

Thanks @pixies. DarkSky and CO use the same data so will give the same forecast. (And CO is good for another year or so - and even beyond I'm sure they'll find a data provider - so I'll stick with them). I was hoping to augment the CO / DarkSky info with one from another source / forecasting model - ideally one used and recommended by a SGL user. More sources = better picture. In theory at least. Oh well.

Is that android only @Pixies? I've searched on ios but can't seem to find it

One site quotes 860g another 23.9oz (=680g). I guess the 1st site typoed 680 as 860 and I picked the wrong one to visit. So I am just like google..... provide the wrong information blindly without checking the source.

I've had some success with a DGM Optics NPB filter and 1.3 degrees (40mm in by 8" F/10) at my 20.4 mag back garden. I only get part of it and it's faint but without the filter I get nothing. I'm still new to this game but I can't get enough of the amazing views on offer.

860g apparently. I seems to be turning into your weight google assistant 😁

Nice comparison The Hyperflex has stated FOV of 40 @ 21.5mm and 60 @ 7.2. I estimate it's about 55 @ 10mm, so it should have looked similar to, if not a little larger than, the BCO. (I have the Hyperflex but not the BCO so can't compare them as you have).

Baader 45° erecting prisms no good? Or all Baader prisms? I don't want to hijack the thread, but I was thinking about the Baader 2" Prism (#2456117) for my 8" Edge HD. Should I think again?

I'm actually thinking of a filter slider... so I'd slide in 2" or 1.25" filters (or no filter) as required. This is independent of the EP barrel size (other than making sure the field stop of a 2" EP is < 20mm if I'm using a 1.25" filter in the slider) so I wouldn't use an adaptor like the above as such. It amounts to basically the same thing though - except it happens a bit earlier in the light path - so I'll post back with results once I've tried it.

You're right, of course. I was thinking about the ES100 range - which are all 2" even the 5.5mm. I've not yet built up my full range of EPs but want to try and make sure any purchase I do make (e.g. these colour filters) last me wherever my EPs purchases take me.

Thanks @vlaiv. So I can't push it too close 28mm but should be fine below 20mm or so, say? I want to get some coloured filters for planetary use - which also tend to be at higher magnification and hence narrower fields stops (15mm and less in my scope). So I figured the extra real estate on 2" ones will never be used and I can save a few £ by getting 1.25" ones. (Baader ones are £52 each for 2" and £36 for 1.25" - so it's like 3 for 2 if I go 1.25"). (Note I have a very nice DGM NPB filter which is 2" - and it needs to be because it's used on DSOs at medium to low power on EPs with field stops right up to 46.5 (Pentax XW40)!)

Hi all, If a 2" eyepiece has a field stop of less than 30mm then can it be used with 1.25" filters (suitably mounted in the light path) without any issues across the entire fov? Thanks.

Official figures are 1036g for the ES12/92 and 1175g for the ES17/92. I trust John's scales more, but they are not far off.

I'm thinking about the ES17/92. Is it really 1300g and not the 'official' 1175g?

me too 😢 On the bright side ClearOutside was fairly accurate 🙂

Gotcha, thanks @Pixies if you find a supplier of matching bolt cases please post to let us know - I've had a look and can't find anything I fancy.

I like that idea. What's the insert made of / what is it @John?

So that's the reason for this...? 😁 Thanks for the tip

The announcement isn’t on the show, the show has moved to after the announcement so they can talk about it. Agree it probably isn’t that BIG though or else it would have been released by now.

Looking good. I suspect the blips in pulsecount you were seeing before were caused by memory overflows when writing to bin[] when you had the -1 offset in wind direction. So the fix (to +15) fixed both issues.

My scope's optimal back focus is apparently 133mm and with the Baader Prism that I have my eye on having a light path of 100mm (plus a bit for light absorption within the prism glass) I reckon there is a bit of spare space for a filter slider. I'm not imaging so I don't need to be bang on it. I did search for 'filter drawer' threads before starting mine, but it didn't pick up your 'filter slide' one. Small world. Glad I bumped into an expert!