NGC 1502

Vixen really should recommence production of the LVWs. Unless I’ve missed something, Vixen have the SLVs, deservedly well thought of. But their premium range SSWs seem to have disappeared, and stopped at 14mm with nothing lower powered. C’mon Vixen…we need more from you👍

Yes that can be done. If you’re into DIY it’s not too hard to figure out. If like myself you have stacks of stuff that “could come in handy for something” then a rummage around can be fun.

Indeed the bobbly surface is relevant, just like the traditional recommendations. My OO UK Dob altitude bearings are aluminium coated with a hard paint that dries bobbly on the edges that contact the Teflon. If trying to glue formica strips, best is a contact cement. The ends can be positioned on the upper side in the area that never comes in contact with the Teflon pads. Secure with small round headed screws after drilling holes.

I’ve experimented myself with all sorts of materials for Dob bearings, some have worked well some not. So if the Ikea chopping board works that’s great, whatever the theory may say. Both my OO UK Dob mounts use aluminium altitude rings running on Teflon, instead of the traditional pebbly laminate on Teflon, that works well too.

Some time ago a local clubmate of mine bought the appropriate laminate from David Lukehurst. David is well known to those into premium Dobs. It’s probably a good idea to contact David and ask if he can still help.

Those images do look like they show Sirius B, but the question posed by chiltonstar could confirm.

Good luck with this, as you’ve correctly said doing nothing wasn’t an option. Tak coatings will surely be the best, in which case they’ll be as good as they could be.

The Vixen 22mm LVW is a truly legendary eyepiece. I do accept that even very well corrected eyepieces don’t correct for Newtonian coma, but the 22 LVW comes darned close to doing that. Whatever you do don’t sell it, unless of course you sell it to me😁 If Vixen resurrected the LVWs made to the same high standards as the originals they would surely be hot sellers.

Hi and a warm welcome 👍 Your 8” Dob is a brilliant choice. It could be a lifetime telescope, such a capable convenient and all round lovable instrument. Enjoy, Ed.

It takes a great deal of dust & crud (or cobwebs) to make a noticeable difference to the results. Having said that what you describe would probably bug me. I’ve only ever had one Maksutov, a Meade ETX. On that, the front corrector lens simply unscrewed. I did that to remove crud from the inside of the secondary mirror baffle, fixed inside the main corrector lens. If it were me, I’d do an online search to see if it’s the same method to remove the front corrector from a Celestron. If you do, you may find it’s screwed on tightly. When you replace it, be very careful not to cross thread. The secondary is likely an aluminised area directly on the inside of the front corrector, so be very wary of causing damage. The corrector itself could be cleaned with care, same as a refractor objective. Please note, on my ETX, the front corrector complete with the cell screwed off as a single unit, the corrector itself stayed integral with the front cell (the front end of the optical tube).

Of course if your scope is brand new it should be pristine. Having said that those spots will not be visible at the eyepiece or affect the view. If it were mine however it would annoy me. Best guess is the spots are some sort of debris. Blowing a hair dryer down the tube doesn’t concentrate on a specific area. If it were me I’d remove the primary and cell and using a contact free method (large rubber bulb blower) see if they come off. The construction is simple, you only need basic DIY tools and skill level. You will need to collimate.

Thanks Nik271 that’s really interesting, sounds like my ED80 is working as it should👍

Has anyone successfully split Zeta Cancri (Tegmine) into 3 components with an ED80 or similar? Easy enough to see 2 components but tonight with Cancer well placed and a reasonably steady sky the tighter pair at times looked elongated but not split. I was using 240x which is very high power indeed with an 80mm but I’ve always found that doubles take much higher powers than most other objects. My favourite triple Beta Mon was a treat at 240x with my ED80 and LV 2.5mm with my 6”:and 10” Dobs Tegmine splits into 3 as long as the conditions are reasonable.

Thanks all for your helpful and positive replies👍

Thanks Ed……2 “Eds” are better than 1……..Ed………😁

I’m seeking advice on whether a Celestron C6 SCT is adequately mounted on a Vixen GP EQ mount on a Skywatcher tripod with 1.75” legs. This is for visual only. Of course there’s advice elsewhere online but if anyone on here can answer this question I’d be pleased. Thanks in advance, Ed.

A suggestion that may help. To reduce cooldown time, are you able to store your scope in a cool place? If you can do that then the scope is already some of the way to achieving full cooldown. Full cool down is achieved when the scope is at ambient temperature. So if it’s sub-zero outside and the scope is at comfortable room temperature then cooldown will take far longer.

Perhaps tube currents, more cooldown required. Your comment “teardrop & pear shaped” is a good description.

Success in your hunt for the Messiers depends on many factors. Most Messiers are relatively easy some much more difficult. M108 is among the less bright of the M objects. Factors for success include- the quality of your sky, the transparency of the sky on the particular night including how close to the zenith the object is, the aperture of your scope, your eyesight and experience in spotting dim objects…. Your opening sentence says it was the first time using your telescope, but the rest of your post plus your signature says you’ve seen 68/110 Messiers. Does that mean you’ve used other scopes previously but you have a new scope? M108 is in the same low power field as M97. M97 is visually the brighter of the two, if you cannot see that then you won’t see 108. A filter nebula helps with 97 but definitely not with 108, two very different types of object, planetary neb and galaxy.

Are those images from the centre of field of view? When viewing visually at high power, 200x plus, on an out of focus star in the centre of field of view, how does it look? If adjustment is needed it’s the secondary you need to work on using the 3 screws.

Lots of good extra help above. Someone mentioned don’t try to align the finder on anything close, that’s important. In use for astronomy you’ll be finding objects at infinity. Lots of parallax different between infinity and something close, less than about 200 meters. For those reading this who own older models of this type of finder, the important rubber O ring can be perished. A simple fix is to bin the O ring and use electrician’s tape. Experiment to find the best amount of tape.

It’s actually a brilliant idea. You can align the finder with the other 2 knobs, the spring loaded one takes all the slack without having to tighten anything. Previous generation finders with 3 standard adjustable screws were a pain in the derrière to line up. What you’ve got is so much better👍

From SE Essex UK I had a brief session in H-alpha late morning on Saturday 5th. Indeed a monster with fabulous structure best I’ve seen for ages👍

I cannot advise on the suitability of the Skytee mount. This reply is about aperture choice and strictly visual use. For deep sky viewing the jump from 5” to 8” should be obvious if you’re familiar with what’s seen through a 5”. At the moment I own 4”, 6”, and 10” reflectors. When I previously owned an 8.5” Newtonian and used it from an excellent dark site on a very transparent night I could see spiral structure in M51, not leaping out at me but definitely there, and confirmed by two other club friends. This was in the spring with Ursa Major overhead so top conditions. I foolishly sold the very excellent 8.5” but bought another 8” subsequently, but that was sold on when a reliable person I know had a 10” Dob for sale in 2011. So current largest scope is that 10” Dob. The jump from 8” to 10” is seen but more subtle. It’s difficult to quantify the difference. My 10” is an excellent example from a UK manufacturer. It’s very transportable, the light tube fits across the back of my car, the compact aluminium mount easily goes in the boot along with everything else. Sets up in a jiffy whilst others are fiddling around with complex kit. Ticks all the boxes for me, but not everyone. My local club has a 12” Meade Lightbridge Dob that I’ve used. The extra aperture is nice but everything else about it definitely is not. It’s surprisingly much heavier takes much longer to put the truss tube together, fit the shroud and collimate. My tubed 10” holds collimation excellently, it’s so much lighter and hassle free that for me trumps the 12” that I can borrow. This is absolutely not to put down larger telescopes, it’s about finding what suits yourself, not anyone else. Just to finish, many have found that an 8” Dob is the perfect lifetime scope for them and I fully get that. The 8.5” scope previously mentioned was made decades ago by AstroSystems of Luton. On its superb aluminium pillar mount it was a scope that I deeply regret selling😢 Hoping that helps, Ed.

Hi steenkh. Commenting on your latest post. I have H-alpha scope, and a regular refractor with Baader Astrosolar filter for white light. I’ve used top end H-alpha scopes owned by others. I’ve always found that sunspots are much better seen in white light rather than H-a. Sunspots are seen with H-a but not as well. Of course for prominences, filaments and much else they’re only seen with H-a. Sky conditions are crucial. Haze, depending on how much will reduce what’s seen. Best will be with an obviously blue sky with the sun as high as possible. Once when observing in H-a with a lovely blue sky I was a bit disappointed, until I realised I was viewing over the top of my wife’s greenhouse. Heat turbulence rising from the greenhouse compromised what I could see. I moved the scope just a few meters therefore not viewing through that very local turbulence, and was delighted by the view. Hoping you’ll get better views soon. Ed.