11668 replies to this topic

[Bungee]

What did I see with my "classic" tonight? How 'bout all four stars of the double double with my "not excellent" ETX 70.

 

I got scolded here for calling an ETX excellent, but I was parroting the advice that prompted me to buy it. I agree, it didn't wow me at first. Turns out it had been opened before, so I set out to make it better. After deforking, a few improvements, and what seemed like endless tweaking, splitting e-lyrae at 58x feels pretty good. Features on Jupiter and Saturn were clear, but at 116x with a barlow they start to wash out. The Moon showed nice detail at that power.

 

My goal was to make this my camping scope and I'm finally happy with the results.

(It has a glow-in-the-dark wrap)

 

[Bomber Bob]

Bonus Night with lots of cloud-dodging but some fantastic views.   Locked my 1973 Tak TS-65P / 500 on The Moon about an hour before sunset, when it climbed 10* above the oaks.  In the calmer 8+ moments, saw 2 of Plato's Craterlets at 200x (Vixen LV 2.5).  So, the clouds were all below 3000' & the air above was dry & clear...

 

Saturn at the meridian, and in the very best seeing, looked great in the "short" TS, so I brought out the planet-killing 1972 TS-65S / 1000.  Mamma Mia!  Super sharp at 200x (LV 5), with 3 belts against a pearly disk.  Rings are razor blades.  Near-zero glare -- saw Rhea & Titan direct vision, and possibly Enceladus intermittently with averted vision (staring at Titan).  In an hour, 3 of Elon's StarLink satellites zipped through the field...

 

The Moon at 400x (LV 2.5).  Sketchable details on the floor of the Alpine Valley.  Cracks / faults / rilles winding away from Plato's walls that I don't recall seeing before.  Two BRIGHT peaks sticking out of The Terminator like LED headlights.

 

All in all, a very fine fall night with the 65 Pair.

 

BIF:  Yes!  400x (160x per inch) is sharp on The Moon.  Not useful for Saturn - beach ball w/o added detail.  Honestly, except for testing, I won't use this extreme magnification for double stars, either.  200x - 250x gives the overall very best views across object types - so far.  Jupiter, and to a lesser degree, Mars, will decide it for me.  I may find that 175x is better for Jove than any higher power.

 

Star Colors are so close to true / natural in the 65S that seeing any difference is beyond my eyes.  Gonna do another SxS with both TS's & my FC-76, which seems even closer to true.  Now is when I miss my Vixen FL-80S.  It gave a truer view of Vega than the FC.  Between these 4 old scopes, I could nail it down.  It would be nutz to nab a really cheap FL-80S on ZEN...

Edited by Bomber Bob, 12 November 2024 - 12:23 PM.

[Compressorguy]

Got out my minty Celestron GP-C102 for some porch viewing of the moon, Saturn and Albireo.  Just loosened the RA and Dec locks and pushed as needed letting the objects drift across the generous field of view. It’s balanced perfectly and soooo smooth. A Televue 5mm Radian at 200x provided exquisite views!

 

 

 

[Compressorguy]

Lens is pristine. This is the later version with the fixed cell, no collimation but produces fantastic images and star test.
 

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Edited by Compressorguy, 12 November 2024 - 01:26 PM.

[Compressorguy]

Love those Radians!

 

 

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[Bomber Bob]

Beautiful Classic!!

[John Huntley]

Last night (first cloudless night for over 10 days here !) I used my VIxen ED102SS to observe Saturn, the Moon and Jupiter. As it had been a while since I observed anything at all, even familiar targets seem very sweet 

 

I put the Vixen on an AZ-4 mount for speed of setup and portability. 

 

 

 

[Lentini]

Pulled the Tele Vue Oracle 3 out briefly… Grabbed and went! 
 

The 19mm Panoptic was not much magnification… 30X. But Titan was sharp by a tiny Saturn. Jupiter looked quite a bit bigger and the moons were all spread wide, two a side. Two cloud belts easily visible. The moon had sharp detail, but the mag was too low to spend much time with that eyepiece. No false color was apparent unless my focus was off. Pleiades was very well framed and beautiful.

 

I have been very pleasantly impressed by my newest scope, but I’ll up the magnification next time I get it out. (Tonight?!) 

[Lentini]

Picture would have been nice.

Here it is in the front. The front cap fits the objective but not the dew shield, and the dew shield is nicer to keep on. The sandwich bag fits very nicely, so I haven’t 3D-printed a dew shield cover.

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[Lentini]

Tonight, another grab-n-go quick peek. This time with an old Type 1 7mm Nagler, so 80X.

Saturn was still small, and Titan had moved over to the other side. Still pretty.

The moon had appreciable detail now. Still fit the whole moon in at once.

Jupiter had Europa hiding behind. It teased at more detail than two cloud bands. Showed some detail beyond that. But still need more magnification.

Btw, the classic Nagler Type 1 is a beauty in its own right. Simple and clean and sturdy.

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[Bomber Bob]

Taunting Me...  Took Jake out for his last "business" of the day about an hour ago, and there was a long narrow W-E gap in the clouds, from Saturn to The Moon to Jupiter (just above the oaks).  Yes!  Then, once back indoors, I checked GOES, and saw that it would be closing shortly...  and, it did.  I ain't livin' right...

[ccwemyss]

Collimating and testing an Edmund 6" reflector before loaning it to a student. The dirty mirror lowered the contrast, but still able to see four belts on Jupiter, Saturn's rings, split the trapezium, good views of the moon -- all the things the student will probably use it for. 

 

Chip W. 

[Cavs56]

On the 11th I set out my Meade 826 and Meade 8 inch SCT as soon as the sun went below the houses to the west to cool. I began observing about an hour after sunset. Views were below poor. A haze was around Saturn images were not sharp. It was not dew. I switched to the moon and saw four craters in Plato with the 826 at 130x. Copernicus was sharp the best view the ledge wall I have seen to date. With a 2 inch 26mm wide view the entire moon fit in field of view and was beautiful. I didn’t try the Pleiades I don’t know why so next time. After a half hour to 45 minutes I switched back to Saturn. Perfectly clear and sharp. Excellent viewing even with the moon so close. Jupiter was up to the top of the trees to the east view was average because it was still too low. I went inside for around an hour. When I came out it was beautiful. A orange brown with excellent detail at 130x and 260x. I really need to invest in some eyepieces. The atmosphere was as steady as I’ve ever experienced in SW Ohio. I assume the initial poor view was caused by the optics coming to temperature, both telescopes had the same issue. The SCT doesn’t compare to the 826. It is nice it tracks perfectly the views are comparable to my C-8 just not in the same league with the 826.

[Terra Nova]

I enjoyed observing the Moon and Saturn Monday evening and Jupiter last night from my balcony with my 1969 Questar.

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Edited by Terra Nova, 13 November 2024 - 08:40 AM.

[oldmanastro]

I had a good night yesterday. It started with scattered clouds so I decided to use one of my light weight contenders. It was my 59 years old Sears (Towa) 60mm f/11 from Christmas of 1965. The first time I ever saw Saturn this was the telescope that I used. That was in 1966 and Saturn rings were just as they are now, on the way to being edge on toward earth. My first observation was made in the early morning of May or June when the rings looked more or less as they look now. Yesterday I even used the original .965" 15mm Huygens eyepiece and 4mm Ramsden plus the 2x Barlow. The 15mm Huygens provides 47x and the planet looks tiny. That was my first view but at that time I didn't care. It was exiting. With the Barlow, about 94x, things are much better. I could even see hints of a dark belt on Saturn. The views were quite sharp. The Ramsden couldn't deliver, it never did. I have a 6mm Huygens that is part of my 76mm Sears telescope kit. That eyepiece gave the best views of Saturn with this 60mm telescope. Later on I went to Jupiter. At least four bands were clearly visible at 94x and 116x (6mm H). I remember observing Jupiter moon movements and transits with this telescope, another thing that amazed me. M42 was high enough near midnight. It was just as I remembered it with this telescope. The 15mm H delivered the Trapezium four stars. The original 2x "achromatic" Barlow always added some chromatic aberration into the views but overall it worked ok. On the moon I observed that Aristarchus Herodotus region plus Gassendi in Mare Humorum near the terminator. The views were crisp and clear. I even used the old green filter. It was good only for low power views where it provided a more comfortable light level. It is always good to go back and do a nostalgic trip with a telescope that I used as a 13 year old youngster. Oh, and this one has an achromatic finder objective.

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[Bomber Bob]

Not a great night for observing, but I saw one of the strangest Moonglows ever:  A very pale & faint reddish-purple haze that extended from the 98% Full Moon, eastward past Jupiter, and to the horizon.  Irregular band.  Saturn was in the clear, but the cold front was pushing through, so air wasn't stable.  Got some decent views with my TS-65S / 1000, but not as sharp as last time.  My first views of Jupiter this season were okay, but the haze & motion limited the scope to just 100x.  Glad I tested the seeing before setting up my Meade 826! 

[andylsun]

Playing a bit more with the Kenko 60/300

 

nice wide field with a APC sensor but not great quality. Corners all show obvious issues and the astigmatism is still visible.

 

ah well, was fun to play with and it might get some use on the road.

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[Bomber Bob]

Had a procedure WEDS, so still weight-restricted last night.  No problem.  Got some very fine views of Saturn with my Mizar 130SL F5 at 180x (Radian 4).  While the Full Moon & moonglow were both low, I set up my Carton 101 F5 in the shade of the shed -- no annoying glare from that quarter.  Enjoyed the rich fields from Cepheus to setting Cygnus at 50x (AT UWA 10); zoomed in on doubles (RKE 5); and counted stars in clusters.  Yes, M39 was much diminished, but still a pretty sight.

 

Seeing tonight promises to be 8+ with no surface wind, and calmer air aloft.  Got my 1958 Questar at the Ready Line; but, if it's really that good, I may cheat (what's 4 days vs. 5, anyways?), and savor Saturn's colors in my Meade 826.  No pain no gain, right??

[Terra Nova]

I observed the full moon tonight from my balcony. It happens to be the last supermoon of 2024, (I believe we had three this year). I also observed Jupiter. The instrument of choice, my 59 y.o. 60mm Mayflower. 40mm and 25mm 0.965" Meade M.A. And 20mm and 12.5mm RAO 0.965" Huygens. After several cloudy days and nights in succession, it was a lovely evening.

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Edited by Terra Nova, 16 November 2024 - 11:09 PM.

[davidmcgo]

Set up the 1973 C14 last night.  Air was a lot steadier early to mid evening and got horrid by 11:30 pm and I had fabulous views of M57, M13, M15, M2, NGC7009, NGC7662, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, then not so steady views of the Moon, Jupiter, M42, NGC1535, and a horrid view of Mars.

 

Saturn was looking awesome in a 12 Brandon and showed Cassini’s Division at the ansae and a hint of the C ring as well.  Plus a lot of banding on the globe.  Really nice view!  

 

This is maybe my 5th time assembling the scope and got the tube in the forks pretty easily for a change.  Got a taller folding work platform to use and am getting better at having things lined up.  Also got my new AstroZap dew shield for it and it kept the corrector nice and clear.

 

Dave

[Terra Nova]

Not quite a classic just yet but certainly a classic homage. It was a lovely morning to check out the Sun with Goldie, my little brass  H-alpha telescope from the days of Old Coronado. I'm glad that I did as there were several very active areas and several proms and lots of chromospheric detail. Two, quite dynamic prominences up near the two big sunspots approaching the limb were changing right before my eyes.

 

They aren't making these scopes anymore and this one is an oldie but a goodie! A real gem! The mount/tripod is custom made and a classic homage as well.

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Edited by Terra Nova, 17 November 2024 - 10:56 AM.

[Bomber Bob]

Wound up using 3 old scopes last night:  1958 Questar, 1983 130SL, & 1970s Carton 101.  Of the 3, the Q is the most enjoyable.  Everything is right there.  Crazy light, yet stable enough for high-power.  At about 150x, both the old Mak & newer Newt gave comparable views of Saturn in near-perfect seeing.  Q has better contrast.  130SL is brighter.  I tried my newest eyepieces in the Q, but settled on the Vixen LV 10.  Took breaks with the Carton.  A largish light RFT is a great old scope to have at hand.  Next week the Moon won't be a factor at prime time, and I'm thankful for that.

[highfnum]

edmund 4 inch refractor F 15

qrk sun

[jgraham]

Ugh. After an amazing summer Ohio has apparently returned to its regularly scheduled weather, meaning that we may not see the sky again until spring unless Lake Michigan freezes over (or was that Hyades?). Anywho, after a gloomy day, it unexpectedly cleared off for a bit giving us a wonderful view of the brilliant Beaver Moon. I opted for my favorite grab'n go scope, my 4" f/15 Unitron 155 on a 150 mount. It's not a small scope, but I find it _very_ quick'n easy to set up. I carry out the tripod and mount, then the spreader, counterweight, and slow-motion cables, then the telescope. While the telescope is acclimating, I grab my Starbound chair and eyepieces, and I'm ready to go! The moon looked fabulous! I spent quite a bit of time studying lone mountains near the terminator along the eastern rim of Mare Crisium. I then move down to Jupiter which was tack sharp showing excellent contrast and fine detail. Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto were in a tight group and as I was watching Io appeared as a spark emerging from behind Jupiter. I could easily see that the moons showed different sizes and colors. Just gorgeous. Ten minutes later the scope was put away and I was heading to bed.

 

 

Fun stuff.

 

[highfnum]

Jupiter criterion RV6 

blue light red light