Questar first light

[pragmatist]

Telescope curses are real. Let's get that out of the way first. It's not coincidence or bad luck etc etc that you can have a week of clear sky, then cloud, wind and rain, it's a flipping curse.

That said i was heading to work on a night shift with my new Questar sitting in it's posh little case on the back seat and tonight the weather was behaving itself.

Luckily i didn't need the beautiful Tristand as there is a rather convenient picnic bench on the lawn in front of the office. (God bless BT) so that was rather handy.

After work had died down a bit and it got to around 10pm i grabbed the little Q and set it up which only took round 30 seconds. 

First views of the stars through the 24mm Brandon was superb. Really refractor like jewels against a dark background. Vega exhibited a pleasing airy disc which testifies to the incredible optics. The place where i work is quite light polluted though luckily it's white light and there was an annoying full moon but i was very very pleased with the way the Q performed.

Unfortunately saturn was disappearing behind a tree which unfortunately has lots of annoying little leaves however the glimpses i got were superb and the Brandon 24 once the Barlow was engaged really performed. The flick of a lever engages the finder which is then used to find and centre the object. Flick that off and engage the Barlow and you are then rocking. Everything is to hand without even taking your eye from the eyepiece, just superb.

Pollution and seeing made the 12mm Brandon a little less sharp though still pleasing. The 24mm is really lovely but there are still some comparison work to do with those and the Televues.

I managed to nip out again at 5.30am and got a beautiful beautiful view of M42. The trapezium and dust lanes were magnificent and i can really see what all the fuss is about with Questars and the pack away time after the fix is a pure joy. Unlock the Dec lock and rotate tube to 90 degrees, screw in the finder focuser and pick up and put away in it's plush padded case. Just sublime and exactly what i require for my astronomy. 

I cannot wait for Jupiter again and to get some doubles under my belt.

Happy stargazing,

Matty

 

 

 

 

[L8-Nite]

Nice report Matty.

Clear skies predicted in my neck of the woods tonight, but sadly the curse of the Flu is upon me; and my Wife will be watching me like a hawk in case I try to sneak out tonight for a peak with our Questar.

At least Summer is over and we now have dark nights to look forward to.

 

 

[pragmatist]

13 minutes ago, L8-Nite said:

Nice report Matty.

Clear skies predicted in my neck of the woods tonight, but sadly the curse of the Flu is upon me; and my Wife will be watching me like a hawk in case I try to sneak out tonight for a peak with our Questar.

At least Summer is over and we now have dark nights to look forward to.

 

 

Absolutely, dark nights and crispy cold ones at that make great viewing. Look after that flu and get better soon.

I’ve just realised who you are. Cloudy nights ?

[L8-Nite]

So you recognised my mug, lol.

[RobertI]

That sure is a thing of beauty, just oozes quality. 

[Eastman]

Nice looking scope Matty, that mount looks super solide.

Enjoy

[pragmatist]

3 hours ago, Eastman said:

Nice looking scope Matty, that mount looks super solide.

Enjoy

Thanks. It’s incredibly solid and oozes quality. Questar make incredible mounts too.