FS-128 - brief first light, plus second and third!

[mikeDnight]

46 minutes ago, Stu said:

With sincere apologies to all Tak finder fans out there, I’ve replaced the Tak with a Skywatcher RACI for the moment which should help with my finding issues. I’ll probably also add a Rigel Quickfinder to get me in roughly the right place to start with.

When they come back into stock, I’ll likely try one of these to see how well it works so I at least retain the original finder.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-right-angled-eyepiece-for-polar-scopes.html

You've started my irhythmia off again Stu!  Anyhow, if you eventually decide to replace it completely, I know of a good home for it.

[JeremyS]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

With sincere apologies to all Tak finder fans out there, I’ve replaced the Tak with a Skywatcher RACI for the moment which should help with my finding issues. I’ll probably also add a Rigel Quickfinder to get me in roughly the right place to start with.

When they come back into stock, I’ll likely try one of these to see how well it works so I at least retain the original finder.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-right-angled-eyepiece-for-polar-scopes.html

I’m going to pretend I didn’t see this

[John]

31 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I’m going to pretend I didn’t see this

It's either that or we have to have a whip round to cover the costs of @Stu's sessions with an osteopath 😄

[Stu]

5 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

You've started my irhythmia off again Stu!  Anyhow, if you eventually decide to replace it completely, I know of a good home for it.

Tee hee! Thought it might. My neck and back just couldn’t deal with it without the RA bit!

I found another shoe so have just upgraded to my 10x60, and have added the Rigel too.

I’ve also popped the Nexus on and have aligned it so hopefully I’ll have a run through a few more targets tonight.

[F15Rules]

I felt the same about the Tak finder, Stu. It felt "wrong" to sell it soon after I bought Trinity, my FS128, but its just so hard to use a straight through finder without contorting my body in ways it just doesn't want these days!

Like you, I kept the original Tak bracket, which is so much better than the SW one..it holds its settings really well..the only watch out is that the grub screws on the bracket can easily scratch the finder body, so I wrapped some black electrical tape around the finder body. This tape protects the finder body and can be removed if required.

About 2 years ago I found a mint unused SW RACI finder in white..it works brilliantly in the Tak bracket holder 👍👍.

I'm so pleased for you that you like the 128.. you've had, and still have, some superb scopes, so it's great to hear how highly you rate this new one. It's a real shame that Takahashi don't currently offer a full 5" apo doublet in their range.

Dave

[Stu]

Wow, what a difference that all made, as well as putting the tripod up higher. Lots of targets up high so it avoided sitting down too low.

The Rigel is a great addition as always. I put a bit of clear tape under the sticky pads so it is easy to remove if needed. Combined with the 10x60 RACI that made it much easier to find targets. I also setup the Nexus on the AZ75 and had a lot of fun finding plenty of galaxies. The Nexus is trivially easy to setup; point North and level, turn on the Nexus and connect to the WiFi, then connect to the scope in SkySafari and it synchronises the position. Then I just move to the first target and align, and I then just keep aligning on every target I view so the accuracy keeps consistent.

Last night I viewed a range of targets. The most rewarding being the quasar 3C 273 which was very tough under my skies, thanks @John for bringing that one to my attention. Might have to get the 8” on it next time or head somewhere darker as it was very challenging.

I had a good time with globs, as ever they seem to cut through the sky brightness better than galaxies for instance

M13 - as good as it always is, hints of the propeller abut resolving deep into the core, even more sparkling with AV

M92 - nice, although somewhat over shadowed by M13

M3

M5

M56 - this one didn’t resolve really almost looked nebulous

Several of the fainter ones eluded me though, not sure why.

Planetary nebulae

M27 quite expansive with clear apple core shape plus a bit mor. Should have got my filters but that would have woken Mrs Stu up!

M57 - beautiful smoke ring

Blinking Planetary NGC6826 - the benefit of a smaller aperture (vs an 8” dob say) is that this one does actually blink in and out of visibility when using AV or direct vision, only the central star is visible with direct vision.

M97 - pretty faint without a filter, no hope of eyes

Galaxies

M65/66, no NGC3628 - quite clear definition of the two galaxies with their parallel, angled orientation

M106 - fuzzy blob

M94 - another fuzzy blob 🤣

M63 - Sunflower Galaxy - this one was very diffuse, quite faint

NGC 4656 - Whale Galaxy - faint, but you could really see how it gets it’s name, like a whale seen from above

NGC 4565 - Needle Galaxy - I recall seeing this in a 16” dob at SGL10 and it was remarkable - spiking extensions either  side showing the edge on nature of the galaxy. Nothing like this in the 5” obviously, but still clearly an edge on galaxy

NGC4244 - Silver Needle Galaxy- similar but a bit dimmer

M81/82 - good views, some structure coming through in the centre of M82

NGC4530 - Cocoon Galaxy

Markarian’s Chain

M84, M86, Eyes Galaxies NGC4438 and 4435, didn’t get 4461 or 4458 but did get 4473 and 4477. Good to see some of these again, seems like quite a few years since I observed them last. Need to get the 16” on them!

Doubles

Izar

Zeta Herc

Double Double - beautiful white bullseyes on velvet look with clear separation

The Double Double’s Double SAO67875 and SAO67867, a wider spaced pairing which are parallel rather than the orthogonal Double Double. Easy splits but a nice target

Albireo

Al Fawari

Algieba

OCs

Stephenson 1 

Mel 111

 

So, quite a haul, and plenty more I could have got. I put the dew heaters on this time as the objective fogged up slightly last time out. It was great to have everything working properly and to just get on and observe. For a largish scope, it’s quite easy to setup and the AZ75/Uni-28 combo works well, and is a lot easier on the back than the AZ100/Planet although for a longer session the extra stability would be nice. Packed and in bed by 1.30am 😴😴

[HollyHound]

Sounds like this is a real "keeper" scope, one that "just works" perfectly, and that should serve you very well for years 😁

[John]

Cracking session there Stu 👍

The transparency here was not good last night so I had more limited options. Still nice to be out with a frac though 🙂

[MalcolmM]

On 16/05/2023 at 13:52, Stu said:

M84, M86, Eyes Galaxies NGC4438 and 4435, didn’t get 4461 or 4458 but did get 4473 and 4477.

I was comparing your hits with my observations using the Mewlon 180. I reckon you have a darker sky site than me but I was observing roughly a month ago with respective darker skies.

I managed to get 4461 but failed to get 4458 and 4477

I also tried the Chain with the 100DC. Unfortunately I didn't record which ones I saw, I just noted "Can't see them all!" Nothing like some precise accurate observing notes 😀

An impressive list of targets! Great read thanks! The 128 sounds wonderful. 

Malcolm 

[Sunshine]

@Stu Any planet views through the 128?

Edited October 30, 2023 by Sunshine

[Stu]

7 hours ago, Sunshine said:

@Stu Any planet views through the 128?

Alas no. All highly frustrating. The weather has been awful, and inevitably whenever we have the occasional clear sky I’m either busy or too exhausted to get out. Last night there was a clear spell but too windy and high risk of showers so I only used binoculars. Hopefully I will get the big Tak out soon enough to catch Jupiter though 🤞🤞