cajen2

I use one of these: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/hyperflex-72mm-215mm-eyepiece.html It does a good job at a relatively low price. They do a 9-27mm too. Sorry I can't compare it with the Svbony or Celestron as I haven't tried them.

I don't quite understand. You said the aberration disappeared when the scope was fully cooled. Are you suggesting the aberration is somehow related to the EP temperature? I also own Pentax XWs as well as a range of Morpheus and I've never seen an aberration with any of them which disappeared when the scope was cooled. In the scope, yes, of course. Maybe try an experiment. Take the scope out and observe before it's cooled. Swap the Pentax and Morpheus around and see if you can reproduce the aberration.

Yes, Mike, I'd agree entirely....but that's 5x her budget! 😄

Very sorry to hear that. I hope your mother makes a speedy recovery....I'm sure everyone on here would join with me in sending her our best wishes. Might cheer her up a bit.

I bought my daughter (who's considerably older than yours but had started to evince an interest in astronomy) a Skywatcher Heritage 100p. I was astounded by just how good the views were - it looks like a toy but has a proper parabolic mirror. A tiny bit over your budget but very practical, easy to use and good quality. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian.html It's very much worth upgrading the eyepieces to something like BST Starguiders if she continues to show an interest.

Then I'd venture to suggest that the problem was with the scope, not the EP. An EP will only reproduce the image which is supplied to it, so if the scope's optics weren't at their best because it hadn't cooled properly, a good eyepiece would show that. There's an analogy in hi-fi: there's no point in buying expensive, wonderful speakers if the source (turntable, CD, etc) is poor. The speakers will just faithfully reproduce the rubbish signal!

Surely the resolution of the vast proportion of the scopes used would be the limiting factor. It wouldn't matter how many scopes were used if they didn't have the capacity of seeing a particular far-distant object.

The 17.5mil Morph is said to be the crème de la crème. That would fit your EP range...

This thread has been very quiet of late....this is still on, I hope! 😄

If you like the Hyperion, you'd love a Morpheus! Wider FOV and better-corrected edge of field.

I'd say a better eyepiece at higher mags is your first priority. Any idea of budget? A standard recommendation for beginners is a BST Starguider - that was the first EP I bought for your scope's bigger brother, the 150p. The 8mm one is a good place to start and replace the somewhat awful SW 10mm.

Many rear bicycle lamps are rechargeable and with brightness adjustment. I've used one for ages and it's ideal.

Would a Starfield 102 not be a good compromise? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/starfield-telescopes/starfield-102mm-f7-ed-doublet-refractor.html Only a doublet, but with Ohara FPL 53 and Lanthanum glass, plus an F/7 focal length which should suit visual and a R/F to take it to F/5.6 for AP.

How many people have said this? Then you spot a scope that looks like just what you need.....😄

I'm sure that if the glass in the Evolux was any better than FPL 51, SW would loudly trumpet it in the specs. I wouldn't mind betting that the CA in the Long Perng is better corrected. It looks a good scope.

A dob doesn't have to be 8" to be good. If you're worried about portability, have a look at a few 6" dobs: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-6-tabletop-dobsonian.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ursa-major-telescopes/ursa-major-6-f8-planetary-dobsonian.html The Ursa Major will be slightly lighter than an 8" (but not that much) and the Bresser and Heritage much lighter, but need a solid stool or table to stand on. I speak from the experience of someone who owns both - a Heritage 150p and a StellaLyra 8" dob. Both are relatively easy to carry around but the 150p is a doddle: you can pick the whole thing up with one hand.

I use an RDF and a 8x50 RACI finder. These days, I don't even bother to switch the RDF on - I just use it as a sighting tube. If I can see it through the tube, I can see it in the RACI.

"What did I see.....?" Simple answer: not much! My partner came home about 8.30 and said, "Did you know the sky's clear?" I didn't - it had been cloudy an hour before but it was....got the 8" SL dob out to cool. Half an hour later, I went out - still clear. I'd decided I wanted to view a couple of DSOs around Ursa Major (M51 and 101) but when I was just on M51, it disappeared. Cloud. Sigh. The East was still clear so I went for Jupiter while waiting but the seeing was terrible and I couldn't work out why. Elementary mistake: from my point of view, it was fine if a bit close to the roof, but from the scope's view it was on the edge. Sigh. Looked at UM and it showed clear again, but the area round the galaxies was fuzzy with high cloud. Resorted to viewing Mizar and its companions and they were great - got three stars in the FOV of the Morph 6.5. Then they disappeared too. Sigh. A quick check and the whole sky was hazy. So I've come in with the vain hope it'll clear later. Ever had a session when everything is a problem? 😥 Edit: just went back out and the sky was clear again. Huzzah! But the scope, finder and EPs were all covered in dew. Sigh.....

Thanks for the link, Z - interesting thread. Can anyone confirm that the APM and Celestron Ultima Edge are the same EP?

Thanks all. Sorry, I should have given my scopes' details: StellaLyra 8" dob F/6. Heritage Flextube 150p F/5. The Lacerta sounds interesting but I'd prefer the wider field and higher mag of the Celestron et al, in other words a 30mil wide field trumps a 40mil narrower one for me.

Hi all. I'm after the above kind of EP so the I can have a wider field than my current Vixen NPL 30 mm and StellaLyra 80° 20mm (which give an almost identical FOV). A well-corrected FOV sharp across would be important. I don't want to spend silly money, so around the £200 - £250 mark is max, if that's possible. I was thinking of the APM UFF 30mm (or the Celestron Ultra Edge, which I'm told is the same). Any other recommendations?

I'd be seriously annoyed if I paid £450 or £530 for an EP which went all kidney bean on me! That would be going straight back to the shop....

Good news. You might save yourself a few hundred quid!

Sure is. Have you got £1400 that you don't need? 😉

EQ platforms are designed just to follow a target visually and although they're said to be ok for planetary at short exposures, I don't think they're accurate enough for DSOs. I haven't tried mine with photography yet.