bosun21

Thanks for the heads up on OIII filters Stu👍I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the stats on mine are okay. So I take it I’m looking for the highest percentage transmission. If it’s not I’ll just buy the Astronomiks

I just noticed that one of the posts was talking about a night in the past viewing the Owl Nebula. The poster was referring to his journal. I am now going to keep a detailed journal of my nights under the stars. I am just wondering how many of you keep a proper journal? I Maybe start a thread

If not then I’ll just get the Astronomik OIII as they should be back in stock by then

I only bought it tonight so obviously not arrived yet. I saw that it was the older type that’s why I bought it. Here’s a very similar one

There you go

The Astronomik OIII was out of stock but I found someone selling a Lumicon OIII. Please tell me that they are okay

Is the lumicon OIII any good or should I pull the trigger on the Astronomik. The UHC is already bought

I’ll let you know Peter once they arrive and the clouds clear

Just bought the UHC and the OIII . The others have to wait. Thanks folks 👍

I am just going to place my order for filters. Is the general consensus that the astronomic UHC is the way to go? For a second it’s either a Baader Neodymium or a Baader contrast booster. Thoughts anyone

I would be pointing to the Mak go to as this will remove the additional pre requisite skill of collimation. This can be daunting to some.

The 18mm is on Amazon. Funny thing is that it’s still from the same seller (retevis eu)

I’ve just bought the SVbony 18mm UF from Amazon as well. Arriving today.

I have made two from a dark green foam camping mat. One for my Dobsonian and the other for my Maksutov. I Sprayed them mat black and used Velcro to secure them. They both work a treat

Hi 👋, and welcome to SGL.

Before you touch the collimation in your Mak ensure that you have exhausted every other avenue first. Make sure that your telescope has cooled down to the ambient temperature as even less than a degree can throw your collimation out. Try and select a bright star high enough to lessen the amount of atmosphere your looking through. Try and not select a star above a house or dwelling as the thermals will have an effect. It’s also paramount that the star is centered as accurately as possible. Good luck 👍

The previous post was referring to the alignment procedure

Hi 👋 Your journey is similar to my own in that i rekindled my teenage and early twenties love of astronomy. I also bought a 127 Maksutov Go to ,and a 8” Dobsonian. With regards to the accuracy of your go to mount, I generally manage to get my targets in the FOV. I started with a 32mm EP to increase my chances, but once I was accustomed to the nuances I swapped to a 25mm 60 deg. When you are centering the stars finish with the up/right keys. I now use a 12.5mm reticle EP for accuracy. If you don’t have one then I found that centering the star as best as possible with a short focal length EP, then defocus the star to a disc as this enables you to judge the centering better Hope this rambling helps

When I bought my 127 Mak I already knew it’s strengths and weakness’s regarding the relatively small FOV. It’s for this reason I complemented it with an 8” Dobsonian. Between these two I’ve got more than enough to keep me busy whilst gaining more knowledge about the hobby. I am also in the process of saving for an astrophotography setup which will probably be an EQ6-R pro with either a doublet or triplet. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s horses for coarses with telescopes, target types etc

Are those the redline SVbony you’re using?. I initially did all my observing from my back garden, but being surrounded by neighbors houses on all sides ,I moved to a playing field in a park. This is only about 100 meters from my house so not an issue. I can honestly say that with my telescopes being cooled to ambient and my collimation being checked my planetary viewing has improved. On poor viewing nights I know that it’s the seeing and transparency responsible. I hope you find the problem.

Hi ScotRod I have the 8” version of your telescope and I have managed to achieve several decent viewing sessions of the gas giants. First and foremost I was pretty meticulous with the collimation, especially the secondary mirror which required adjustment. Secondly having had nothing but trouble with high power eyepieces that are supplied with telescopes I didn’t use the supplied 9mm , but instead used a BST Starguider 8mm. Whilst I have had several good nights I have also had nights when the seeing just isn’t conducive for planetary viewing. I also use the fan on the primary mirror as an aid to the cool down.

The plossl is also generally made up with 4 elements (lenses) in two groups . The Celestron Luminos on the other hand has either 6 or 7 lenses. This will account for the much heavier luminos

Welcome back to the lounge 👋

I have just bought myself a pair of 15x70 Opticron binoculars and a tripod. I thought i could use them on the nights that I deem it not worth setting up one of my scopes. I am just waiting for a clear night to use them on the night sky. I have set the diopter and focus for each eye okay. Bring on the night

Hi Ali 👋 welcome to SGL