cajen2

Nice! Should have gone for the StellaLyra, though! 😛 Have you been working out lately? 💪

Don't do FB....😝 The only time I use socks is when I'm observing....and I've packed some nice thick ones!

Yes, the 127 is a very good scope if you don't mind a small field of view. If you decide to go down the 8" dob route, consider the StellaLyra 8". It has things the Skywatcher doesn't have: a better focuser, a 90° RACI finder, butter-smooth alt/az movement, a lens cooling fan, balance adjustment. And all that aperture for £60 cheaper than the Mak!

It's all gone quiet about this....and it's this weekend! 🥳 I hope it hasn't been cancelled and nobody's told me!

Or you could go in another, different direction.....my first scope was a Skywatcher Heritage Flextube 150p Dobsonian. With 6" of aperture, you'll see a lot more than with a small scope, it's light and easy to move around and store - no need for a heavy mount / tripod - and it's a great little all rounder, giving you fine views of not only the planets, but brighter deep-sky objects too. With a dob, most of your money goes on the optics, not the ancillaries!

As a satisfied customer for your doubles book, I'm really looking forward to this, Ags!

FLO recommend a 35mil 2" extension if used for visual and there's some suggestion of a coma corrector, maybe for both visual and AP. Make sure your budget can cover that. I feel there's a danger you could fall between two stools.....do you want a good visual scope that can also do AP fairly well or a good AP scope that you can use to do some visual? A compromise may mean it'll do neither very well.

Um..... don't know if I should post this pic after seeing all the neat and tidy cases on here. 😥 ....but I think mine's getting a bit full! Don't want to start another if I can avoid it. The last straw was my new StellaLyra 2" 2x Barlow - it's huge!

A clever 2" 2x Barlow from StellaLyra. It takes both 2" and 1.25" EPs. It's VERY solid and quite weighry!

It's good that your controls are so accurate and predictable. Not quite so easy when you're nudging a dob! 😆 I share your pain with the light pollution - I have exactly the same problem, exacerbated by very close streetlights.

That's a great shot with good detail, Rob.....although I'm not entirely sure that the galaxy is likely to be lime green? 😉

Exactly. I can hardly see Polaris with the naked eye where I live, never mind M31!

Seems great scheme to me, as long as the scope wasn't mounted on them! 😛 But there again, I've never built an obsy.

I agree 100% with what everyone has said about the technology, keeping it simple, etc, but for some reason, I have terrible trouble finding targets that I've never seen before (galaxies, planetary nebulae, etc). I see someone with a fully-functioning GoTo just slew to a target which is invisible to the naked eye and I get very envious! I suppose I forget the hundreds of times it hasn't worked.....

I've found a finderscope, no matter how good, not to be enough when star hopping in an unfamiliar part of the sky. Would it be possible for you to put a Rigel Quickfinder or reasonable quality red dot finder anywhere on your scope? I use the Rigel, a RACI 8x50 finder and a low mag eyepiece to find stuff with my dob (in that order) and even then I often have trouble.

I assume your 130p will only take 1.25" EPs? Does anyone on SGL have the StellaLyra 20mm Superview? It's made by GSO. If it's any good, it has a 68° FOV and will also give you more mag. Plus it's very cheap! 😉😄

BTW, the reason you don't get much love for the NPL on CN is that they're almost unavailable now in the US. @MikeDand I have had this discussion and he'd never even heard of Vixen. Apparently, the importer there is now Explore Scientific and they have no stock. Sorry, that's @Mike Q. Can't edit this!

1). We are programmed to explore!

I too thoroughly enjoyed your report, OKA. I can never understand how good observers like yourself manage to view so many targets in one night......I have enough trouble just trying to find something that is dim or invisible in my finder scope.

That's absolutely wonderful, Martin. Thanks for sharing.

@Stephen Waldee Re your 6" Newt, S&R, couldn't you put the dob base on an equatorial platform for your tracking when planetary observing? Not a cheap option, I know, but no more than a top-end eyepiece. Like this: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/equatorial-astronomy-mounts/asterion-ecliptica-light-tracking-platform-for-dobsonian-telescopes.html

I quite understand and agree with your policy of not commenting on reviews. I was, in fact, joking. I just have the feeling that you have a vicious circle. From what I've read on here, some people view lesser-known labels like StellaLyra and StellaMira as budget brands, not worthy of the same consideration as the likes of Televue, Pentax and Explore Scientific. While word of mouth could eventually overcome this, it can take years for products to acquire a good reputation. Disinterested reviews can accelerate this process, although there's always a risk that the review will be negative. I'd have thought, with your knowledge and experience, you could select some outstanding products that you've tried yourself, Steve, and put them out for review. 😉 Not necessarily by me, I hasten to add! 😄

Only the cost of a couple of tanks of petrol here (sorry, gas!). 😛

I've seen them at £150. 😱