Patience. And Sharpness.

[cloudsweeper]

OK, not a brilliant session - spoiled again by clouds.  But two good things came from it.

8SE with new Focal Reducer and 1.25" diagonal, on GoTo.  6.50 - 7.50pm.

1. Sigma 726 Ori - 7th and 8th mags double, quite tight at 1.2",  at the apex of an arrowhead of five stars.  At x256, I thought I had the split, very close indeed, fainter secondary at 8 o'clock.  This is where the patience came in.  I waited and waited, tweaking the focus, and I was eventually sure I got the split in moments of relative stability.  It was difficult, but satisfying.

2.  Further to my recent First Light report on using the SCT with the Focal Reducer, I was pleased to note that stars remained sharp up to x256, confirming my initial thoughts.  I feel confident that the Focal Reducer really does give sharper star images in the SCT.  I tried x320, and they still looked good, although by then seeing effects would have kicked in.

Any time under the stars is time well spent!

Doug.

 

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by cloudsweeper

[RobertI]

13 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

  I feel confident that the Focal Reducer really does give sharper star images in the SCT. 

Interesting Doug, perhaps I should try this next time out with my C8, I could do with sharper stars at higher mags!

[Epick Crom]

4 hours ago, cloudsweeper said:

OK, not a brilliant session - spoiled again by clouds.  But two good things came from it.

8SE with new Focal Reducer and 1.25" diagonal, on GoTo.  6.50 - 7.50pm.

1. Sigma 726 Ori - 7th and 8th mags double, quite tight at 1.2",  at the apex of an arrowhead of five stars.  At x256, I thought I had the split, very close indeed, fainter secondary at 8 o'clock.  This is where the patience came in.  I waited and waited, tweaking the focus, and I was eventually sure I got the split in moments of relative stability.  It was difficult, but satisfying.

2.  Further to my recent First Light report on using the SCT with the Focal Reducer, I was pleased to note that stars remained sharp up to x256, confirming my initial thoughts.  I feel confident that the Focal Reducer really does give sharper star images in the SCT.  I tried x320, and they still looked good, although by then seeing effects would have kicked in.

Any time under the stars is time well spent!

Doug.

 

 

True Doug, anytime spent under the stars, no matter how brief, is time well spent 👍

[cloudsweeper]

10 hours ago, RobertI said:

Interesting Doug, perhaps I should try this next time out with my C8, I could do with sharper stars at higher mags!

Another upshot is that the lower focal ratio and 1.25" diagonal mean I only use 1.25" EPs and no adaptors, and the reduced bulk is somehow pleasing!  I had previously always used 2" diagonals and EPs which were 2" or had adaptors already fitted.  

Doug.