Frost on the scope! :)

[Piero]

This is my first real report using the TV Delos 12mm. I was so excited to try it that I forgot my Tablet at home. Somehow thankfully the Moon was almost full so, no difficult targets could have been tried anyway. This observation is pretty much summarised by this mini-review:

 

I realised that I might have been a bit too harsh against the Delos concerning the difficulties in eye placement. I was likely thinking too much about Solar observation. When observing in the dark, eye placement is not as critical as in daylight. Anyway, eye placement is something that can be learnt with a bit of practice and does not really affect the overall quality of this eyepiece design (which to me is incredible). 

Sometimes I compare Naglers T6 with Delos below. Please, note that the Naglers T6 are very powerful eyepieces, particularly for users who do not wear spectacles. The highlighted differences came up from a very picky observation and depends on my opinion / eye. 

 

Date 23/02/2016
Time 20:15-22:00
Location Cambridge, UK
Altitude 12m
Lunar Phase Waning gibbous 99%
Temperature 0C (NW 5 km/h)
Seeing 1 - Perfect seeing
Transparency 5 - Clear
Telescopes Tele Vue 60 F6
Eyepieces Delos 12, Nagler 7, PM2.5x
Filters Astronomik OIII

M42 Ori Neb 30x +/- OIII
I tried to observe this target before the Moon rose high in the sky. Trapezium was perfectly distinct and the bright Northern part of the nebula were reasonably clear. The OIII filter helped considerably due to the almost full Moon. The filter allowed me to see a fair amount of nebula extension. I will need to revisit this target under a darker sky.

Sigma Ori Mlt Star 30x
Six stars were visible. Two of them were a fainter than the other but the view was generally appreciable.

Beta Ori Dbl Star 30x
Rigel. Although the seeing was stable, I was not able to see the dimmer companion. I did not test this at 75x (12mm + PM2.5x). What surprised me was to see Beta Ori so tight. Despite its brightness, the star light was still well packed in a way that I do not remember I have seen with the Naglers T6. Overall, I could not see false colours except for a tiny bit at the very edge of the field stop.

Lambda Ori Star 30x
Meissa. An interesting chain of stars forming Orion's head.

Alpha CMa Dbl Star 30x
Sirius. Following Rigel, i decided to study Beta CMa for the same reason. Again, the star light seemed more controlled and packed. The star was more similar to a very bright shiny dot rather than a bright shiny diamond. Again, a tiny amount of false colour (blue colour) was detectable at the very edge, but nothing more. The view was just stunning.

M41 CMa Opn CL 30x
A quick look at this open cluster. The almost full moon and its low position in the sky certainly did not help much. Said this, about 20-30 bright-ish stars and at least the same number of dimmer stars were visible.

Gamma CMi Star 30x
From Alpha CMi (Procyon), go to Beta CMi (Gomeisa), and Gamma CMi is about a degree North. It is a lovely orange / red star which contrasts nicely the blue colour of Beta CMi.

M45 Tau Opn CL 30x
Pleiades. Stars were punctiform throughout the field. Despite the sky brightness, the blue colour of the stars was visible.

Mel25 Tau Opn CL 30x
Hyades. A V-shaped open cluster. The red Alpha Tau (Aldebaran) was wonderful. Again its light was very well controlled.

NGC869/884 Cas Opn CL 30x, 51x
Double Cluster. This was not in the best sky position from the location of this report, due to the amount of light pollution. Again, all stars were extremely compact and I had the impression that I was able to see more faint ones. I did not have the Nagler 13mm with me for comparison. Although I did not count them, to me some of those faint stars were not visible with the Nagler 7mm. I believe the reason is the better light control of the Delos which makes the stars appear just a bit more compact. Maybe this is just an impression, but to my eye, the view seemed just a bit prettier and deeper with the Delos. I reckon this is due to reduced light scatter, increased light control and a more comfortable view due to larger lenses.

Mel20 Per Opn CL 30x, 51x
Alpha Persei Moving Cluster. This is one of my favourite target using the TV60. Star colours were more neutral and showed more variability with the Delos.

Moon - Satellite 30x, 51x, 75x
The moon was still quite low for studying the delos colour neutrality. Overall, the view was very pretty at 30x although a variable polarising filter would have helped (I forgot mine at home!). I pushed the magnification a bit further, but I am not a big fan of the full moon at medium/high power, so eventually I did not dedicate much time on this target. I could not spot major differences in colours, but this was due to the Moon position in the sky. As for the Sun, the Delos can show some blackout when observing the Moon when the eye is not properly placed. This placement is less critical for the Moon than the Sun, and is far less critical for all the other targets (planets included).

Jupiter - Planet 30x, 51x, 75x, 129x
Jupiter appeared different from what I expected at 75x. The two equatorial belts were easily visible, but also the two polar belts were detectable without much effort. Jupiter looked like noticeably prettier than when observed with the Nagler 13 T6 and PM2.5x (69x) I remember. Actually, for the first time I had a feeling that the view could have possibly been a tiny bit better than my Vixen SLV 5mm (72x). The four moons appeared like dots, but were differents from the dots as I saw with the Naglers. The former dots were distinctly clear and precisely depicted, whereas the latter dots (with the Naglers) were a bit obfuscated and less defined. Not sure, but I think I saw a small dark region on the North equatorial belt at West (opposite from the side where Io was coming out from the planet's back).
 

 

Thanks for reading, 

Piero

[estwing]

Fantastic in depth report...these ep's have a huge fanbase...I think you can add another one ?Thanks Piero 

[cotterless45]

Super report, I was looking south battling the moonlight,

Nick.

[Piero]

1 hour ago, estwing said:

Fantastic in depth report...these ep's have a huge fanbase...I think you can add another one ?Thanks Piero 

Yup! The 8mm is currently on its way from Denmark!

[Saganite]

Great report Piero.

Just down the road from you, I too found the sky very stable last night, if a little illuminated

[laudropb]

Great report Piero. Lots of very useful information and thoughts.

[FenlandPaul]

I love your reports, Piero.  Sounds like you're a new fan of the Delos!

[Piero]

35 minutes ago, FenlandPaul said:

I love your reports, Piero.  Sounds like you're a new fan of the Delos!

Thank you Paul!  I've gone red! 

I like my naglers, but overall I prefer Delos, Pan 24, and Vixen slv. So comfy! 

[alan potts]

Your reports are getting even better, is that possible, time for me to give up and just write cmedy.

Alan

[Piero]

1 hour ago, alan potts said:

Your reports are getting even better, is that possible, time for me to give up and just write cmedy.

Alan

Thanks Alan!

Instead, I hope to read one of yours soon! Spring should be a very exciting season for you with your 18in! Plenty of galaxies to hunt! 

Sending you some clear skies

[alan potts]

Piero,

I hope to read one of mine soon too. I have been really ill with tonsils which sort of knocked the stuffing out of me and the weather has bee odd, beautifully clear all day and thick haze on a night. I have just poked my nose out and got a first evening look at Jupiter that was not through the window before bed. One of the problems with living here every one is up at the crack of dawn, in fact this time of year about an hour and a half before it breaks.

Alan

[Piero]

48 minutes ago, alan potts said:

Piero,

I hope to read one of mine soon too. I have been really ill with tonsils which sort of knocked the stuffing out of me and the weather has bee odd, beautifully clear all day and thick haze on a night. I have just poked my nose out and got a first evening look at Jupiter that was not through the window before bed. One of the problems with living here every one is up at the crack of dawn, in fact this time of year about an hour and a half before it breaks.

Alan

Sorry to hear that, Alan! Hope you feel better soon. Tonsillitis can be really annoying. I know this by experience as mine were eventually removed, after loads of antibiotics in few months. 

New country you go, new traditions you find!   It's interesting! I think I understand your point of view though. I was also quite shocked the first time I was served a Scottish breakfast! As an Italian person, that is challenging!  

[Special K]

Very informative report, thanks!   Interesting you are picking up more light in the Delos over the Nagler and I bet the eye relief vs the 7mm Nagler is huge!!!  I find the ER borderline with the little Nag and have to clean it after each session due to eyelashes brushing up on the lens.

Jupiter around 70x to 80x is remarkable, isn't it?!  Though small, it is crisp as a cucumber

 

[Piero]

41 minutes ago, Special K said:

Very informative report, thanks!   Interesting you are picking up more light in the Delos over the Nagler and I bet the eye relief vs the 7mm Nagler is huge!!!  I find the ER borderline with the little Nag and have to clean it after each session due to eyelashes brushing up on the lens.

Jupiter around 70x to 80x is remarkable, isn't it?!  Though small, it is crisp as a cucumber

 

Thanks Kevin! Yup, Jupiter was super pretty! Looking forward to seeing it with my new 8mm! 

The naglers T6 I own have 12mm eye relief actually. They are comfortable if you don't need spectacles and don't bother rolling your eye to catch the field stop. To me, the delos eyepieces seem to be way more comfortable though!