Ags

Well, I was expecting the 100P to by mounted on a tripod using the thread in its base. So not really a dob. Owning both a Mak 102 and a C6 I do find the narrower field of view to be an issue - not for looking at things but for finding them. Particularly from a city, a wider field that allows hunting for the target is invaluable. Having said that, Maks provide exceptional views when you can find the target. A Mak 102 was my only scope for an enjoyable 10 years.

Apologies - I missed that. Of my suggestions that only leaves the 100P.

For visual use, forget about F ratio. You can use an F5 Newtonian to look at planets and an F13 Mak to look at deep sky. The only things that matter are light gathering and resolution which both increase with aperture and aren’t influenced in any way by F ratio. I would go for carbon fiber tripod, light mount like Skywatcher AZ5 or AZ GTi, and a small 70 mm ED scope. Instead of the ED scope you could save money and gain aperture with a 100 mm Heritage 100P. Both of these scope options would be lighter than the MAK 102 which is my main reason for suggesting them. I have had a Mak 102 for over 10 years and they are phenomenal scopes - great on double stars and planets and small DSOs like globular clusters. I have had bigger scopes but The Mak seems to have had the magic. The one downside of the Maks is the have long focal length, meaning they have a narrow field of view, so it can be hard to find things or star hop. To put it into context, the widest field the Mak 102 can show is just 10% of of the area the 100P can show.

Some bowls and a wall clock definitely don't count. But I also have this on the way...

Thanks - I have a vintage EP after all!

Yes just got the center column option as it might sometimes come in handy. Looking forward to trying out the tripod for visual and AP.

When were Speer WALER eyepieces introduced? My only ocular that could possibly qualify for this thread is an SW 10.

And purchased - i will post my findings when it arrives.

I think i have found what I need, going on the basis that ARTCISE tripods seem rather good. They are hard to come by but I found a smaller one with 18 kg load on Aliexpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001609653198.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000060.1.62207a36oFjH91&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.169870.0&scm_id=1007.13339.169870.0&scm-url=1007.13339.169870.0&pvid=3ba10565-5dc5-4cdf-936d-3e695f034e92&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.169870.0,pvid:3ba10565-5dc5-4cdf-936d-3e695f034e92,tpp_buckets:668%230%23131923%2369_668%23888%233325%237_668%232846%238110%23376_668%232717%237558%23170_668%231000022185%231000066059%230_668%233468%2315618%23976 Not sure about import duties and so on given aliexpress but 112 euros is a good starting point. Another nice thing is this has a center column but it is screw-on not telescoping so should be a lot more stable should I ever choose to use it.

Looks amazing!

All my stuff is 3/8 fortunately. As far as I can see the ballhead is separate.... worth verifying.

Welcome back!

The Braun Nox 180 I am looking at now is rated for 12 kgs...

Looking at this one now: https://braun-germany.de/en/professional/153-braun-nox-180-professional.html

The Earth is absolutely flat, but spacetime is highly curved.

or look at a suitable double star - basically a clock in the sky.

If solar system bodies are present in the sky you can use that to get a pretty good fix on date and time from their positions as they are relatively bright and change position rapidly. Then, assuming you know geographic location, the exact time is simply the right ascension of any star. I am sure the mechanism they use does not rely on Polaris, as they might be deployed in the southern hemisphere too.

Maybe @Dantooine likes the EP so much he adopted it 😀

APOD!

Roughly one in six US satellites are military, although that proportion is declining rapidly. I’m concerned about any military use of space, but not too worried by one more dot up there. Nevertheless, it is inspiring to see the flawless operation of SpaceX rockets, personally it makes me hopeful for the future.

A string of clear nights!

This is a graph of age of eyepiece thread vs cost of eyepieces under discussion 😀

Stunning picture and amazing depth from 3 hours exposure - shows what a RASA can do in the right hands.

It's eyepieces that explode my list when I am in visual mode - and I don't even look at the expensive stuff. For visual my list looks something like: A lot of Vixen SLVs. ES 11mm 82 degree ES 16mm 68 degree A couple of Baader Q Turrets. A 70mm ED scope. This would complete my visual dream machine: C6 and small frac mounted side by side on a giro-style mount. The turrets allow quick changes of eyepieces without disturbing the delicate Giro balance, and allows going to very high mags without also risking losing the target.

I have a wishlist that mutates between visual and AP every few months. Currently it includes: Second Tripod so I can set up for visual and AP simultaneously. Ha filter. Zhongyi Mitakon 135/f2.8 lens.