chiltonstar

I go for simplicity...... (sorry about the image quality, my head torch as light source two evenings ago..) Chris

I do find mine very useful for visual observing with my 180 Mak although I bought it originally for imaging. As I do most observing at 23:00 to 01:00, the altitude of both J and S are quite low, and my sight line is over a house - presumably radiating heat. With Saturn, the most obvious effect is that it looks less "muddy" - more its natural peachy-cream colour, and Cassini pops out more clearly. With Jupiter, the belts look more contrasty and detailed - I assume less orange or blue is bleeding into the darker areas. Chris

Very nice! Chris

...but when it is clear here, it is often superb! Chris

...and yet another Neowise! Taken at 23:30 last night (through light cloud) with a 300mm Nikon prime - stack of 5 images. Interesting that you can see on this image and several others a stream of material emitted near the nucleus, seen as a shadow (absorption of light) first of all, then as a bright line further out. Chris

Interesting view of Jupiter last night with the GRS nicely visible despite the low altitude, and a field star looking just like another moon! Skysafari screenshot. Chris

It was nicely visible here at 23:30 last night with the 15x70s. After ten minutes or so dark adaptation, it was visible without the bins, although nothing like Hale-Bopp of course! A stack of 6 frames with a 90mm macro lens:- Chris

Absolutely! Sounds like a good session. Chris

A very nice, and honest report. I am often surprised by how well my 80ED will perform on Mars as well. Small fracs are great! Chris

Wow, prospect of a naked eye comet! I hope the view isn't obscured by the clouds of flying pigs...... Chris

How did the 130mm perform John? I had another look last night (180 Mak) while I was waiting for Jupiter and Saturn* to rise enough and it is indeed a nice pair, although it needs the right mag with a Mak - x300 seems to give the best view I would say to sort the secondary out from the diff pattern. Pi Aquilae is indeed a superb double - I used the pair a couple of years ago to test the collimation of my 102mm frac after I disassembled the air spaced doublet and cleaned off deposits various before reassembly. When correct, the view was stunning, although it is obviously more impressive with the 180 Mak because there is more dark space between the two nearly matching stars, and the Airy disks are smaller. The pair really do look like car headlamps from a distance. Chris * First decent evening (24:00) view I've had this year, with some good belt detail on Jupiter with the ADC in place, and Cassini just beginning to show on Saturn, despite the very low altitude.

Quite a nice one. With the 180 Mak last night, the pair were clearly separated with dark space between them, with the secondary appearing as a bright point in about the right place. The colours looked to me whitish yellow. I struggled to separate them with my 102mm f13 achro though - definitely a double, but with the two disks touching. Always fun to look at these close, uneven doubles - Sissy H is gathering data on 6 Ser at the moment, which is worth a look. Chris

One to try this evening with my 180 Mak and 102mm Vixen achro. Chris

Personally, I love Summer and its long, hot days. Plenty to see in the heavens (even if it's not quite as dark as Winter), and moths and bats for company! Chris

Maybe also your comfortable field of view. When my eyes were tested for high power laser working a few years back, the optometrist commented that I shouldn't drive a fork lift truck (I never had that ambition anyway) and that I had slight tunnel vision - that maybe explains why I've always found 50 to 60 degree eyepieces a lot more comfortable to use than anything wider. That was a major consideration when I upgraded from a 25mm plossl a month ago, as this FL is one I use a lot with my 180 Mak. Chris

I measured mine a few times on an optical bench with a point source placed at the focal point, and the mean value of the projected disc of light was 179 mm in diameter - close to 180mm by my standards. Whatever the effective aperture, it's a lovely scope though when it's insulated and the Seeing Gods are smiling down on us.... One negative point about the Bresser 127 I've seen raised (eg CN) relates to the effective obstruction, which comes out at about 40% because of the baffle. If so, it must surely lower the contrast?? Chris

The frac and Mak combination is a good one. I use the main side position for a 180 Mak (about 10kg or so) on a better saddle, and quite often the top position for an 80ED frac. The frac gives me a lower mag view of larger objects and acts as a second finder. Rock solid mount, but a little agricultural as someone has already said! Chris

My main scope was a 102mm f13 Vixen objective refractor for 20+ years, and I always dreamed of a bigger one until I visited a professional observatory in the Alps and saw some pretty huge refractors, which were not actually that big in aperture terms....... At that point, I decided that Maks were probably the way to go (for me) and bought a 127 and then 180. A compromise, but nearly refractor like viewing, but without the back problems! Chris

Yes, Plato is always fascinating the way the floor craterlets pop in and out of view as the Sun rises. Nice images. Chris

I once made the mistake of not adding the retaining screw to the counterweight bar, and in due course the weight slid off and landed on my foot (anglo-saxonisms^10) and to add insult to injury, the frac swung round on the mount and hit me somewhere very delicate! Chris

Interesting scope Stu! Funnily enough, I had my 102mm f13 out last night looking at a "Sissy Haas double" - 84 Vir. Zeta Herculis might look something like this with the 80mm/f15 according to Aberrator:- Chris

Thanks very much guys. It is a nice performer, maybe another one or two for the EP case! Chris

Anyone able to identify this eyepiece please? Bought about 1982, it is marked "Or 9mm" and is therefore presumably an ortho. It is a very able performer, great with my 180 Mak, although it is not an EP for spectacle wearers! The nearly unreadable yellow label on it shows it is of Japanese origin. I took the barrel off to clean the outside optical surfaces up, and it appears to be very well put together. Chris

Not my best image of the area Mike - I was looking through a heat plume above my neighbours' house and the image was shimmering a bit. Chris

Floaters ........ I think mine came with the bus pass! Chris