TAL100R First Light

[AndyH]

Twotter - I let my gob run before congratulating you on your first light !!

Here's to many more clear nights for you

Cheers,

Andy.

[perrin6]

Indeed.

On those 3 nights a year (OK perhaps 4) when A the seeing is perfect, and I mean perfect. B when not only when the seeing perfect but the transparency is also perfect and C when those things also occur at the weekend or when I am on A/L then the dob reigns supreme. The other 361 nights the refractor has it.

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I am now Jealous of the frac. brigade. !

[Qualia]

Ahhh, but will you be parting with your TAL?

Not unless I completely lose the plot, Tony. Or as Foundaplanet puts it.....

Only the lonely part with their Tals Tony, only the lonely....

[twotter]

Thanks for the advice on the mount, I'll have a good look through that before too much longer

Just been back out again and have had a whale of a time! Jupiter was a bit higher and the view was that bit clearer than earlier, or I'm imagining things (which wouldn't be the first time). Orion had also cleared some nearby trees so was the next target. This showed 4 clear stars in the Trapezium, with just the hint of a 5th - viewing conditions must be pretty good. I did notice my OIII filter in my EP case so had a bash with that on my 13mm Hyperion. With the backlight from the Moon the view wasn't as dark as I remember and gave a very nice view. Just to compare I brought out my 8" dob which clearly showed 5 stars in the Trapezium with a 6th just popping into view. Jupiter was rather too bright in the dob and for the first time I found diffraction spikes a little distracting...am I turning into a 'frac head'???

But the main event, and the target I was really looking forward to, was the Moon. This wasn't the best angle as the Moon was just clearing the roof of a neighbour's house but I couldn't wait any longer so swung the TAL round. Now I was definitely expecting CA but there was hardly any, and less than I had seen earlier on Jupiter. I then spent time wandering my way down the terminator, enjoying the craters and the shadows throwing shapes just for me. I can see many happy hours ahead just the Moon and I

So the TAL has passed it's acid test with flying colours (just not including purple), and saved me almost £50 for a Baader fringe killer filter that I don't need...bargain!

[foundaplanet]

Great aren't they!

You sound as thrilled as I feel about having a frac...

That CA is something that really has been blown out of all proportion do you think?

[Qualia]

That CA is something that really has been blown out of all proportion do you think?

Ay, I agree with you and do sometimes wonder whether the truth is being stretched just a little too much. For the first time buyer - as we all must have been at sometime - it can be a tad worrying witnessing such 'headlines' as achros = CA, newts = soft images, difraction spikes and coma etc. Indeed, who would want to buy a shoddy set-up, a weak and vulnerable and sick telescope? And these headlines, although not intentionally, often end up defining the subject which I feel is a shame.

Sure, there must be rubbish out there but many achros appear to be of excellent quality and are showing their users high contrast and razor sharp images. And the same can be said of the reflectors which likewise are of excellent quality, with great optics and wonderful images.

The great thing about a site like SGL and the honest opinions of those writing in is that we are seeing that these old kind of knee-jerk statements are not always that candid. The CA thing; the coma and diffraction thing, are really not as big a deal as we are often lead to believe and I personally feel that these 'aberrations', like many blemishes in life, can add an aesthetic-feel to what we are already seeing. It might be just my own weirdness, my own eccentricity, but that faint, hardly noticeable, gentle blue hue around the limb of Jupiter is in itself a very gorgeous thing, those diffraction spikes on that bright star is very pretty and can be a wonderful showstopper.

Sure, we must all help each other in pointing out the shoddy, the rubbish and down right rip-offs, but belittlement in all walks of life is not a good thing and so too in amateur astronomy. It tells the beginner, those of us on average sallaries that you must spend huge bucks to get good a decent image and it's just not true.

[TonyD]

I am now Jealous of the frac. brigade. !

Heh heh. Excellent

Tony

[andrew63]

We are all guilty of over hypothesis - this lens, mirror, eyepiece etc. The main thing is to get under the stars and enjoy the heavens...

andrew

[Marki]

The seeing was good last night, wasn't it? After Twotter's first post, and having been out with my f13, I got my 100rs out for a while (wanted to feel part of the tal community ). In those good conditions it really didn't give much away to the f13, I have to say (the difference is more noticeable in indifferent seeing: the f13 clearly shows its quality then).

Anyway, just got a hint of the f component in the Trapezium, but really couldn't clearly call the E. Nice splits on most of the main doubles/multiples in Orion and the nebula was gorgeous (well, until the moon came up). But the "star" (ahem!) of the show was Jupiter - managed a good look at the festoon John pointed out - very interesting indeed. And the moons were clear tiny discs. Shame I had to come in early so I could get up for work today!

My mother in law recently asked me why I had so many telescopes, and particularly why I had two at 4". I gave some waffly response about focal lengths and cool down times and doing different jobs, but the simple answer is that I can't bear to part with my 100rs. I just love the "warmth" of the views I get with that scope, and its lovely balance between weight, length, optical quality, ease of use.

Glad you had a great night for your first light, Twotter. Lets hope we get some more soon!

By the way, has anyone looked through both the 100rs and the 100r? If so, have you noticed any difference in the views? I'm curious as to whether the different colour coatings have any noticeable effect.

[Mr Fiery Jack]

That CA is something that really has been blown out of all proportion do you think?

Absolutely its blown out all proportion, there has been in the past a certain amount of CA hysteria on this forum. Coma, distraction spikes all greeted with a shrug of the shoulders, a little bit of CA and its the end of the world....

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[TonyD]

By the way, has anyone looked through both the 100rs and the 100r? If so, have you noticed any difference in the views? I'm curious as to whether the different colour coatings have any noticeable effect.

Just found out ... my 100RS can be supplied on time :grin:

I'll tell you after three weeks' time!

Tony

[Mike73]

My Lyra had its first light last night, it was a short but sweet session as I was given the job of chief cocktail maker on NYE. Being very particular about cocktail QC I was suffering yesterday so only managed 2 hours on Jupiter but what a great 2 hours it was!

My 7mm XW at x142 gave some of the best views of Jupiter I have ever seen, I really was shocked at how well it showed the GRS and later the two large festoons on the EZ.

After using a 16" f/4.5 the drop in resolution was apparent and the views through the little 4" frac appeared alot more grainy but the contrast and sharpness more than made up for it.

I was using a borrowed motorised CG4 as my EQ5 hasnt arrived yet, what a lovely luxury EQ mounts are! With Jupiter being so high at the Ecliptic using my 16" would of meant being stood up observing which I really dont enjoy, last night sat on my little observing seat was very relaxing.

My thoughts on the CA -

If I looked for CA it was there but as soon as I concentrated on the actual planets surface the CA almost vanished.

After reading so much about CA and this being my first frac I have to say it really didnt bother me with Jupiter but I guess the real test will be how it appears on the moon.

So I'm chuffed to bits with my little Lyra, a very different experience to using a big dob but still very very rewarding.

[twotter]

Last night I neglected to mention that Mrs Twotter joined me observing from the garden and when I pointed out the small amount of Jovian CA she was very taken with the view and thought it rather lovely! What CA I could see on the Moon I really had to look for, and wasn't a distraction at all. There was so much more interesting things to look at

For now I'm very pleased with what I consider to be the best Christmas present I've ever had.

For the future I'm curious about a 100RS with it's better focuser (it will be interesting to see how Tony gets on in a few weeks time), perhaps on an AZ4 mount, whilst a HEQ5 Pro Synscan holds a certain attraction too. I wouldn't rule out a 6" refractor either.

Am I a convert to refractors? Well I've started to think of myself as a more well rounded (teehee) amateur astronomer. So feel free to call me a 'TALunian', a 'frac head', or maybe even an 'achronaut' (hmm, I rather like that last one)

[Marki]

"Achronaut" - I like that .

I see the aperture fever has set in already for our new found frac convert . Must admit, the thought of a good 6" frac does appeal. I did consider a D&G 127mm f12 a while ago, and briefly entertained the idea of a Skylight 6" f15 (til financial reality prevailed). What really put me off though was the problem of adequately mounting such long tubes. I have a skylight 100mm f13 and with a 2" diagonal in, it is very nearly 1 and a half metres long! I have it mounted on an EQ5 with a mini pillar, but it really pushes that - partly for weight, but mostly because it is so long.

I do have a TAL125r, and that extra 25mm does make a difference for some object types - globular clusters and nebulae in particular. I'd love to get something bigger one day though. Maybe when I win the lottery.... .