MalcolmM

Yes, it's very nice to use, an excellent recommendation thanks . I can see texture with the 60mm, maybe granulation? It's very obviously there in the 100mm. Malcolm

I've some catching up to do Lovely selection! Malcolm

My trusty and well used FS60CB. Love this scope (and mount and tripod) for it's ease of use. An impromptu solar session. Bought a solar wedge on the recommendation of @Stu. Apart from having to get a bunch of Baader stuff to shorten the light path it's great Malcolm

Sounds wonderful! I thought I was seeing a hint of green in M57 the other night but thought it was probably imagined. But from your description, even though you've more aperture, maybe I was seeing a hint of colour. Can't wait to try again, though forecast is looking poor for another week at least Malcolm

Beautiful scope! Looking forward to reading about first light. Malcolm

I'm a looker but that is a very impressive rig (pun intended Captain) you have I visited your web site and your pictures are just as impressive as your rig! Western highlands and Islands ... one of my very favorite places on earth. Very jealous! Malcolm

Ack, you tease

That'll be a new one for me to try my star hopping skills on Malcolm

I'm sure you'll love it for DSOs. I've seen it billed often as a lunar/planetry scope but for me, it's a cracking DSO scope too, as long as the target isn't huge! Malcolm

Thanks @Sunshine. I really was not sure what to expect when I bought it but so far it has not disappointed. I originally thought I'd only be using it occasionally due to size and weight but this has proven to be a wrong assumption! It's a joy to use and arguably easier to handle than the DC. Malcolm

After a couple of fruitless months I finally got a couple of sessions with my Mewlon 180 under reasonable skies (well, as dark as I'm going to get this time of the year without getting in a car). I had hoped to do a side by side with my 100DC but I have not managed that yet. First up was Saturn and for the first time ever I was definitely seeing the Cassini division. Not all the way round but constantly there. A bit of a wow moment for me. I have sensed it in the 100DC but never properly confirmed it. Now I know the 100DC is easily capable of seeing it but whether it was my inexperience, poor seeing or very low altitude I don't know but no issues with the Mewlon. Banding on the surface was also very obvious. I think I counted 4 dim points of light in the vicinity. Stars or moons, I'm afraid I've no idea! I was alternating between a Tak abbe 12.5 and 18. The 12.5 being marginal in the conditions. Next up Jupiter and another first. The GRS was very obvious. Again I've 'sorta' seen it with the DC but with the Mewlon it jumped out at me! Again I really want to do a side by side comparison between the two scopes. I spent quite some time looking at Jupiter (12.5 and 18 Abbes again), letting my eyes relax into it on the advice of someone on this forum, and you really do start to see some incredible detail in the belts. The belts become lumpy, almost textured and I'm sure I could see what I would describe as whisps. I may have been deceiving myself but I was sure I could see detail in the GRS. It looked darker round the outside than in the central region. Now for some DSOs. I was hoping the extra aperture would really show here. Wow after wow moment followed! M57, couldn't believe how bright it was. A very obvious donut. I could even use the 12.5mm on it and it was bright AND big! M13 is always stunning but with the Mewlon it was stunning on steroids! Lots of resolved stars, too many to count! Bright and surprisingly extensive. A hint of radial lines coming out of it. Only a hint, possibly an optical illusion? M31. I put in a Stella Lyra 2" 45mm eyepiece. AFOV ~60°. A bright core but more interestingly M110 and M32 jumped out at me. OK jumped is maybe an exaggeration but I couldn't miss 'em! So far with the DC I've had to look really hard to see them but without a side by side comparison it would be unfair to write the DC off as being much poorer Perseus Double Cluster. Gorgeous as always and I was really pleased (and surprised) it fitted into the FOV of the 45mm Stella Lyra. The Pleiades, disappointingly, don't quite fit into the FOV despite some FOV tools suggesting they should ... just. However I think the Pleiades really need a decent bit of black sky around them for the nicest view so really, not a good target for the Mewlon. The Whirlpool Galaxy was a little disappointing. Two grey smudges as you'd expect but I have seen another thin smudge connecting them with the 100DC on a very dark night. The headphone nebula as @RobertI suggested Finally the Starfish cluster M38. Pretty sure it was M38, looked like a starfish; by this time I was getting tired and I was randomly looking for any of the Auriga clusters; I'd got fed up sitting on the damp grass - see later. Lots of stars, in your face, and what a difference from the first time I saw it through a telescope (not the DC!) where it just appeared as a feint smudge! A lovely sight. Visually this scope has given me lots of wow moments in the past week. It's also really easy to use. All the above observations were on a Giro Ercole on an Innorel carbon fibre tripod which is quite shaky with the 100DC, especially with Binoviewers attached. Because all the weight of the Mewlon is at one end (at the pivot point or attachment point) it's really stable and virtually vibration free. It's easy to follow planets at x170 and easy to navigate while looking for feinter stuff. It's also light enough (now my back's better) to lift the whole setup in one go and move about the garden. I know I'm highly biased if something has Takahashi written on it but I really have enjoyed using the Mewlon. Problems? Well I really wish Takahashi would supply right angled finders, but even then ... they wouldn't look as nice and streamlined Last night I would be sitting on my ass on the grass looking through the finder, then hopping on to a chair to look through the scope, then nudging the scope by accident, back to the grass ... The joys, but as I've said before, I love the challenge of a good star hop The narrow field of view makes star hopping more difficult but that's a generic problem. Alternating between targets at 20° and at the zenith is difficult with respect to the observing position; really you want to extend the tripod legs for the low stuff, but that's a dodgy manoeuvre with an expensive scope on top. Again that's a generic problem. I'm not experienced enough to recommend the Mewlon over any of the other Cassegrain offerings, but it's certainly given me much pleasure in my short time owning it! Malcolm

Great read! Sounds like a lot of fun! Malcolm

@bosun21 where did you order the Maxbrights from? I thought they were on very long lead times everywhere! Thanks, Malcolm

And if you don't get a clear night you can just admire it! Lovely setup! Malcolm

I remember saying that ... about 15 eyepieces ago My partner is also convinced Takahashi scopes breed Malcolm

I nearly replied earlier to say you might want to consider a high power eyepiece but I thought you had a lot going on already The scope will take x180 easily. I regularly use (when seeing conditions permit) a Tak TOE 4mm on planets/lunar. I think it's a great eyepiece and if you do a bit of searching I think you'll find a lot of positive comments about it. I'm not keen on barlows, no good reason why! I have no experience with the extender. I like the high powered eyepiece route as it's simple. Take the old one out and put the new one in Malcolm

That's a fabulous scope you have and is capable of great views. Possible causes might be the fact they are bright objects and it can take a bit of time for your eyes to relax into the view. I've seen something similar when observing with a washing line or telephone line in the field of view. Possibly the eyepiece? I don't know. Are you able to beg, borrow or steal another one to try out? Malcolm

I often just wake at 4ish and sometimes take a peek to see if it's clear. I've had two short sessions in the last couple of nights, same targets as you. I have never seen Jupiter so clear. First really definite view of the GRS and first time I've really noticed detail in the bands. I wonder is the sky generally steadier at that time 8n the very early morning? Malcolm

Now you mention it, it does look like a pair of headphones. I guess Messier was just not into hi-fi! Malcolm

Numbers make her cry! Now if I told her that the feint smudge had feelings, then she'd be all ears Malcolm

I was looking back through my notes, ticking off the Messier objects I'd seen and was reminded of the first time I saw the Whirlpool Galaxy. Sloppy note taking meant I hadn't recorded the date or time but I think it must have been in May. I came in buzzing, keen to share my excitement with my partner who was tucked up snug in bed. I was telling her I'd seen the Whirlpool Galaxy and had seen hints of shape and she sounded interested, being taken with the name. So I showed her a photo of the galaxy and she was suitably impressed, and then I showed her my observation. And five minutes later after she'd stopped laughing she told me she thought she'd wet herself The observation was in suburban skies (Borlte five I think) with a Tak 100DC and Tak 10LE. See pic below. Malcolm

Sorry I can't help with your mount question but that's a lovely scope you have bought and some great accessories to look forward to. Malcolm

I give up! I can't top that! You win! Malcolm

Some more unscientific tests; counting bricks on a distant chimney! I compared the FOV of a number of eyepieces: mono, WO + 1.6x GPC, WO Native and SL. The results are very rough but are similar to the first experiment so your quoted text would seem to be in the right ballpark. - Native WO is very similar to mono (even with 28mm 60 deg Erfle which surprised me; I though I might have run into field stop issues) - Native WO gives approximately a 10% wider FOV than SL. Not sure the reason for this. - WO + 1.6x GPC is approximately 0.6ish the FOV of the SL. Maybe makes sense in that 1/1.6 ~ 0.6? Again I stress - very unscientific and approximate! In the absence of clear skies I'm studying chimneys! How sad is that Malcolm

Thanks @Ricochet for the great tip. I actually had the clicklock from earlier experiments with Binoviewers but did not realise I could attach it to the Lunt! Malcolm