A summers night with a new eyepiece

[Littleguy80]

Friday was an exciting day as my 10mm Delos arrived. I have a 9mm Lunt XWA which is a great 100 degree eyepiece but lacks in sharpness and contrast compared to my favourite 9mm ortho (BGO). I've been pondering for quite awhile whether to sacrifice some FOV to get better contrast and sharpness. The 10mm Delos is my experiment to see how that works out in practise. It was after midnight before I got out with the 10" dob. I spent some with Jupiter and Saturn to start with. Initially, I struggled with the eye relief on the Delos but then I discovered the twist up mechanism and all was well. On Saturn, the first thing that grabbed me was that I could easily pick out Rhea and Dione with the Delos. A good sign. After that I moved onto some DSO's, M71 and then M27. I added the Lumicon UHC filter to M27. The mag 11 star on the corner of the dumbbell seemed to really pop in the Delos when compared to the Lunt. Comet C/2017 T2 and a collection of galaxies in Ursa Major all showed well. M51 showing the slightest hint of spiral arms in the TV eyepiece. A tantalising hint of what this eyepiece may show under dark skies. 

I finished up my eyepiece testing on M13 and it's companion galaxy NGC 6207. The propellor in M13 put in an appearance which was great to see. Looking overhead the Milky Way was very clear for my suburban skies. I wandered inside to grab the camera and took some photos. Taking the camera with me, I strolled out into the street to see if I could find a place to shoot the Milky Way with Jupiter and Saturn. I then spotted some lovely Noctilucent clouds on the horizon so starting walking a little further to try and get a good shot of them. Ended up walking over a mile, meeting a hedgehog who I assume was just getting back from the pub. As I returned back to my house, I spotted that Mars was well risen. With the time now around 2:30am, I spent 10 minutes or so with the red planet. I was able to see some nice dark features on the surface and a light area on the bottom of the planet which I took to be a polar ice cap. Great way to finish the night. Finally crawled into bed at 3am. 

Pictures below. I'm still a beginner, especially with processing images but I'm improving. 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Littleguy80

[RobertI]

What a great night! You covered a lot of ground, you must have been very satisfied at the end of the session. The noctilucent clouds look wonderful. 

[Froeng]

Amazing report! There is nothing like a warm summer night, especially when the celestial wonders are accompanied by some nocturnal fauna...

CS Frank

[bomberbaz]

great report that, I was living that with you as I read it

[Littleguy80]

59 minutes ago, Froeng said:

Amazing report! There is nothing like a warm summer night, especially when the celestial wonders are accompanied by some nocturnal fauna...

CS Frank

Thanks Frank. I love summer time observing

 

[Littleguy80]

35 minutes ago, bomberbaz said:

great report that, I was living that with you as I read it

Thanks Steve. Glad you enjoyed it!

[Stardaze]

Enjoyed reading that, thanks for sharing. Interesting take on the Lunt 9mm, I've just bought the 13 and will end up no doubt with the 20, but I don't think I'll need 100 deg for a 9, so unsure where to go there, no rush though. 

[Littleguy80]

2 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

Enjoyed reading that, thanks for sharing. Interesting take on the Lunt 9mm, I've just bought the 13 and will end up no doubt with the 20, but I don't think I'll need 100 deg for a 9, so unsure where to go there, no rush though. 

Thank you! I have the APM 20mm and 13mm. The Lunt is essentially the 9mm APM, I just got it before it was rebranded. The 20mm and 9mm get used every session with the 10" dob. The 20mm is the always first eyepiece in the focuser for a DSO session. I find that I often skip the 13mm and go to the 9mm after that. The 9mm is an excellent eyepiece. If I'm looking for very faint objects then I find that a 9mm ortho will pull them out when the Lunt can't. If you're not interested in going for fainter targets then I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Lunt/APM 9mm, especially if you like the 13mm. 

[Stardaze]

18 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Thank you! I have the APM 20mm and 13mm. The Lunt is essentially the 9mm APM, I just got it before it was rebranded. The 20mm and 9mm get used every session with the 10" dob. The 20mm is the always first eyepiece in the focuser for a DSO session. I find that I often skip the 13mm and go to the 9mm after that. The 9mm is an excellent eyepiece. If I'm looking for very faint objects then I find that a 9mm ortho will pull them out when the Lunt can't. If you're not interested in going for fainter targets then I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Lunt/APM 9mm, especially if you like the 13mm. 

Definitely interested in faint targets, so thanks for the info. I'm also using a 10" dob so it's a great comparison for me. What oath is it you have? At least those don't break the monthly budget! Also begs the question: when do you find yourself reaching for the 13mm?

Edited June 24, 2020 by Stardaze

[Littleguy80]

2 hours ago, Stardaze said:

Definitely interested in faint targets, so thanks for the info. I'm also using a 10" dob so it's a great comparison for me. What oath is it you have? At least those don't break the monthly budget! Also begs the question: when do you find yourself reaching for the 13mm?

I picked up second hand Baader Genuine Orthos. Very good and are normally only £50-£60 second hand. The 10mm Baader Classic Ortho has very good reputation and often comes up for £35-£40 second hand. 

The 13mm is good for larger targets like M33 or if I’m looking for something fainter that doesn’t show in the 9mm. Sometimes backing off magnification can allow it to be seen. Also useful if want to increase exit pupil when using filters. 

[scarp15]

Very good first light with a 10mm Delos Neil and engaging mid-summer all rounder. Your local sky is great, for an urban environment, picking up the propeller in M13 and a nice capture of the Milky Way (as well as of course the wildlife). Great that you were able to stroll a mile and gaining more planetary action - Mars so looking forward to that. Its been so darn hot, yeah, crawling into bed at 3am, that's the way to go.

[Stardaze]

On 24/06/2020 at 12:43, Littleguy80 said:

I picked up second hand Baader Genuine Orthos. Very good and are normally only £50-£60 second hand. The 10mm Baader Classic Ortho has very good reputation and often comes up for £35-£40 second hand. 

The 13mm is good for larger targets like M33 or if I’m looking for something fainter that doesn’t show in the 9mm. Sometimes backing off magnification can allow it to be seen. Also useful if want to increase exit pupil when using filters. 

Quick question if you don't mind Neil: do all of the APM EP's parfocal? 

[Littleguy80]

58 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

Quick question if you don't mind Neil: do all of the APM EP's parfocal? 

Unfortunately not but I've never really found this to be an issue personally. It's only when you get to high powers on a manual scope that having parfocal  eyepieces is really useful. At lower powers it's not a big deal to refocus IMHO.

[Stardaze]

Ah, that's a bit of a blow. I'm going to replace my EP holder with a click-lock and so have been trying to work out how much of an extension I'll need. 

[Littleguy80]

15 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

Ah, that's a bit of a blow. I'm going to replace my EP holder with a click-lock and so have been trying to work out how much of an extension I'll need. 

I use this one with my dob. Works for all my eyepieces and I have a good range  

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-2-inch-click-lock-cl-extension-47mm.html

[Stardaze]

14 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

I use this one with my dob. Works for all my eyepieces and I have a good range  

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-2-inch-click-lock-cl-extension-47mm.html

Im going to need the hex bresser version of that but I’ll lose 15mm in the process so the additional 20mm extender is going to add a fair bit of cost to it all unfortunately. With the 2”-1.25” adapter too, it’s around £140.

[Littleguy80]

18 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

Im going to need the hex bresser version of that but I’ll lose 15mm in the process so the additional 20mm extender is going to add a fair bit of cost to it all unfortunately. With the 2”-1.25” adapter too, it’s around £140.

The price does stack up quickly unfortunately. Do you definitely need the help extra 20mm?

[Stardaze]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

The price does stack up quickly unfortunately. Do you definitely need the help extra 20mm?

I think so yes. The current extension, combined with the “2 Adapter measures 55mm.

The baader 2” is 43.5mm. My focuser rack tops out at 42mm and my widest EP focuses at 34mm...

The 10mm looks to be needed which is £40. And is why I haven’t swallowed it yet 

Edited June 26, 2020 by Stardaze

[wookie1965]

Smashing report I've yet to see the propeller in M13  hopefully get a good seeing night and give it a go not sure if I can get it in my 5" though.

Paul

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

Smashing report I've yet to see the propeller in M13  hopefully get a good seeing night and give it a go not sure if I can get it in my 5" though.

Paul

Thanks Paul. I've only ever seen it in my 10" Dob. I'm not sure on your 5". I'm only using 133x mag to see it. How well does your 5" resolve the stars in M13?

[wookie1965]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

Thanks Paul. I've only ever seen it in my 10" Dob. I'm not sure on your 5". I'm only using 133x mag to see it. How well does your 5" resolve the stars in M13?

In good seeing they have resolved just as good as I have seen them in my 8" reflector which I wish I had kept hold of.

Paul

[Stardaze]

@Littleguy80 how's the Delos panning out for you? I'm about to order the APM 20 to go with the 13 but I'm still dithering over the 9. Not sure whether to go for a morpheus instead? It's that quandary of whether I need 100 degrees from 9mm down? 

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, Stardaze said:

@Littleguy80 how's the Delos panning out for you? I'm about to order the APM 20 to go with the 13 but I'm still dithering over the 9. Not sure whether to go for a morpheus instead? It's that quandary of whether I need 100 degrees from 9mm down? 

So far I’m very much enjoying the Delos. I need to do more testing and comparing to the Lunt. Once we get some darker nights, I’ll be able to properly put it through it’s paces. It’s a cut above the Lunt for planetary though. I’m even thinking of replacing the 13mm with something similar to try Delos. The 20mm is a keeper though 

[Stardaze]

33 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

So far I’m very much enjoying the Delos. I need to do more testing and comparing to the Lunt. Once we get some darker nights, I’ll be able to properly put it through it’s paces. It’s a cut above the Lunt for planetary though. I’m even thinking of replacing the 13mm with something similar to try Delos. The 20mm is a keeper though 

Interesting thanks. I'm thinking that from around 9mm, 141x in mine, I don't need 100 degrees and that other options around 75 degrees will be slightly better corrected?  The Morpheus doesn't look the best but they do seem to get rave reviews. I was half tempted just to plug the gap with an ES 82 as I have the 6.7 version which has excelled better than I thought it might with planets. Also need a 5mm too? Or wait and gradually add them and spend that bit more? Going to order the 20 APM in the morning and dither some more over the 9... 

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, Stardaze said:

Interesting thanks. I'm thinking that from around 9mm, 141x in mine, I don't need 100 degrees and that other options around 75 degrees will be slightly better corrected?  The Morpheus doesn't look the best but they do seem to get rave reviews. I was half tempted just to plug the gap with an ES 82 as I have the 6.7 version which has excelled better than I thought it might with planets. Also need a 5mm too? Or wait and gradually add them and spend that bit more? Going to order the 20 APM in the morning and dither some more over the 9... 

The 20mm APM is superb. A very well respected member on here puts it right up there with the Ethos 21mm. The Morpheus have a good reputation. In those focal lengths I’d be going for Delos or Pentax XW personally. Do you have an existing eyepiece in the 9mm range? If so, have a think about the objects you like to observe with it. Use SkySafari or Stellarium to see how the FOV compares using those eyepieces. That’s what helped me to decide to go for the 10mm Delos. I’ve had the 9mm Lunt a couple of years now. Lovely eyepiece but when I want to see the fainter targets, I always use my 9mm BGO. 42 degree AFOV but great transmission and sharpness. I wouldn’t have seen Stephan’s Quintent without it. The Delos should be much closer to the BGO but with over 70 degrees AFOV. It’s really a case of choosing whether it’s sharpness/transmission you want or an extra wide FOV. All down to personal preference and wallet size