Ags

The setup works very well (aside from an unrelated fault in the AZ-GTi). The mount carries the load well and goto is accurate. Optics are one step below a Maksutov in my opinion but good enough, and in my case much improved on all targets and magnifications with 6.3 reducer. I have had to learn my way round collimation though, but collimating an SCT is really simple compared to a Newt (in my opinion). I have not tried planetary imaging yet but I have been delighted with my results on the Moon with my ZWO ASI 178 MM.

I got the collimation just right last night, but it was half an hour of wasted time. Hopefully it will hold for a few sessions.

I have now attached Bob's Knobs to my C6 and seem to get reasonable results with collimation. But I find the collimation screws turn with no resistance at all? Is that normal? It doesn't give me confidence that the scope will hold collimation in the long run. When collimating, I favor tightening over loosening, but sometimes a bit of loosening is unavoidable. Am I doing anything wrong?

The next 2 to get would be 9 and 4... That gives three focal lengths spaced by a factor of 1.5. The 4 would be useful on Mars and the Moon and doubles. 2.5 is not immediately useful but I suspect I could use it on the Moon. I'd pick up the 2.5 after I get the 70mm Apo I have been thinking about for the past decade.

Had my first night with the SLV 6mm. After a tortuous collimation session, the SLV gave me my best split yet of the Double Double in my SCT. I preferred M57 with the SLV versus the ES 6.7 - it seemed brighter and more contrasty. M27 was equally poor in the ES and SLV tonight - nothing more than a slight smudge. The two eyepieces drew on star clusters as well. In summary the SLV did well on the DSOs I would use it for - doubles and tiny objects like planetary nebulae. I like this eyepiece. It's a nice size and weight and the twist up eye cup makes a big difference in light polluted surroundings. I want to get a few and put them in a turret: the 2.5, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 20 should do me fine 🙂

This Vixen is a "finder" eyepiece, but it is not a "keeper"!

Love at first sight, But wait for the first light.

It takes the crown as the eyepiece with most generous eye relief bar none.

Yes I read it again and it really is a 100mm 11° AFOV eyepiece. My immediate thought is it must be really unpleasant to use.

I have never seen or heard of an eyepiece like this before? https://www.vixenoptics.com/Vixen-Finder-Eyepiece-100-p/35203.htm I don't see the advantage of this over a 56mm plossl. 11 degree AFOV must be a translation error?

Got a look at Mars over the weekend after comet spotting. Definite dark regions to see in my C6, polar cap was well defined and had a shape, I could detect a dark edge to the cap too. Nice to see Mars gibbous! Looknig forward to trying Jupiter and Saturn this weekend, weather permitting.

...and I have a 6mm SLV coming to me soon. Will compare it to the Explore Scientific 6.7 and report my subjective findings. I suspect a big factor for me will be the SLV long eye relief and consequent deep retractable eye shield which should make a big difference in the very light polluted location I observe from.

If you want back to basics, i'll send you my ST80 🤣

After last night's collimation scare I finally got round to installing the Bob's Knobs I bought 6 months ago. Also I have a new Scope Transport Policy of carrying the OTA out separately from the tripod from now on.

Yes, I find it harder to interrupt my sleep routine these days. But NEOWISE is rapidly becoming an evening object so that will be easier for all of us. I'm suffering now because I was so excited about seeing the comet I couldn't get back to sleep.

I tried to get up early on Saturday morning for comet NEOWISE but I just dismissed the alarm and fell asleep instantly. I was very disappointed, but it was a good thing because the Sunday morning was much better (0% cloud on Sunday vs 45% cloud on Saturday). I set the alarm for 3AM on Sunday and this time I snapped awake. After a leisurely cup of tea and double check on the camera settings, I headed out onto the mean streets of Amsterdam looking for a low North Eastern horizon, and found one across a canal. And there was NEOWISE! Despite standing under street lights and facing a row of security lights, the comet stood out quite well. This is the second time I have seen a comet without a telescope - the only other instance being Halley, so it has been a while! I tried to fix it in my memory, but it is already fading... Walking back I spotted Jupiter and Saturn low in the West, and saw that Mars was in conjunction with the Moon. I only have a small slice of southern sky and when I got home I could see Mars was going to be visible. I quickly dragged out the C6 to have a look (yes, I know it is supposed to cool) but in my tiredness and eagerness I bumped the scope on a door frame and wrecked the collimation. It was really bad - nothing would come into focus! All the stars ironically looked like comets, Mars was just a blur and there was no fine detail on the Moon. Racing the lightening sky, I collimated using Polaris and then slewed back to Mars. At least by the time I had sorted out collimation the scope had had some time to cool... at 140x Mars was too bright and featureless, but improved at 200x. The southern polar cap was easily visible and could make out a thin dark edge to the polar cap. Dark regions were visible on the planet but I couldn't identify them. I tried barlowing up to 280x, and the image held together very well. Seeing was exceptionally stable. I also had a look at the Moon - the detail was jaw dropping, but it couldn't compete with Mars. I could see quite a bit of scatter around Mars after collimation - not sure if that is residual collimation issues (don't think so) , the scope needing to cool some more, or due to the Explore Scientific 6.7mm eyepiece I was using in combination with a super cheap Revelation achro barlow. The scatter seemed sensitive to eye position. I think I will try a Vixen SLV 6mm - I think it is a worthwhile purchase for the coming Jupiter/Saturn season. If that works out I will get a Vixen SLV 4mm for the Mars season thereafter.

It is visible just before dawn to the North East. Quite an easy spot with the naked eye.

This was my best effort from this morning. Not up to the standard of many of the pics here, but amazed by my first naked eye comet since Halley. It's a very yellow comet!

Got it.

That's a good set.

You're always the last to know 🤣

Consider a couple of these: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

As Churchill said, the secret of a satisfactory eyepiece case is to proceed from one purchase failure to the next without losing enthusiasm.

The solution is simple - buy lots of eyepieces and keep the ones that work for you!

From Wikipedia: Although not ultimately his decision, the commander of a mission always held great sway.[35] To David Scott the choice was clear, as Hadley "had more variety. There is a certain intangible quality which drives the spirit of exploration and I felt that Hadley had it. Besides it looked beautiful and usually when things look good they are good." Apollo 15 is infamous for an unauthorized merchandising incident where the astronauts smuggled hundreds of postal covers to the Moon for a fee. None of the astronauts ever flew again!