11875 replies to this topic

[clamchip]

That would be an interesting comparo.

 

My 90/1400mm AO scope has so little color it's not important. Even on the Moon, it's jet black and white and no color at all. This scope did a fantastic job on the recent Mars occultation. To see color you need to go above 50x per inch and hunt for it. Lateral color in the eyepiece would have to be understood and accounted for. Next time out I will try to disappoint myself

 

-drl

As good as my Antares Research Grade Vixen Spec lens is your Astro Optical lens is better.

I have bench tested it with DPAC and it looks great but it's not a perfect lens, close but not perfect.

 

Robert 

[Bomber Bob]

Short & Sweet with the old Meade 826:  Jupiter at 480x (LV-2.5) & Mars at 600x (R-5 + Tak Barlow) in 9 / 10 seeing.  Mars was the size of a silver dollar, but blander at this extreme power.  I'll be glad when Syrtis is back in Prime Time...

 

Jupiter was The View:  826 cruises at 480x.  Big, bright, quarter-sized disk.  8 Belts, 3 Festoons (2 with long streamers), and at least a dozen colors.  White ovals are easier to see at about 300x (R-4); and, fewer colors, but bolder.

 

Cursed the River Smog that chased me indoors -- the start of a Week of cold, dreary, & cloudy weather.

[highfnum]

Tasco 8V Jones Bird type

 

a simple sun spot

[scout]

Took out the ol' 60mm Asahi-Pentax after the Super Bowl and looked at Jupiter, Mars, the Moon and some other bright objects like the Pleiades and some double stars.  

 

Such sharp views from a 65-year-old refractor. I'm not even sure if the Asahi doublet is coated, but star colors pop and it's become my double star viewer of choice because the blues and reds of stars are so vivid with supurb contrast. 

[clamchip]

Below freezing outside today and I've got a little cabin fever.

Outside I went and it was one of those days I could tell I was going to be able to really squeeze some power out of

my 4 inch f/15 refractor so I put the cross hairs on my neighbor out on his deck 2 miles distant. 

His was seated drinking something from a clear wide mouth glass. I started pouring on the power up to my Edmund RKE

8mm, 188X was about the end of useful magnification. Did I stop there, most certainly not! I need to take my mind off

the frostbite with something really spectacular! Orion Ultrascopic 3.8mm for 395 power! Fortunately he was in full sun, still

good and sharp, amazing.

My fever is gone! I needed that.

 

Robert

Edited by clamchip, 10 February 2025 - 08:27 PM.

[CHASLX200]

66f here and a 1000x Venus for kicks.  

[highfnum]

cometron Jr ( jones Bird 5 inch)

with 1.5 barlow

[deSitter]

cometron Jr ( jones Bird 5 inch)

with 1.5 barlow

Capture 2025-02-10T19_30_39cometroncbE-dl.jpg

Capture 2025-02-10T19_22_14cometronbwbEdl.jpg

Wow that's outstanding! What camera?

 

-drl

[highfnum]

Zwo asi678mm and mc

[highfnum]

I got cometron in near perfect condition 

Edited by highfnum, 11 February 2025 - 12:35 PM.

[jragsdale]

It was a nice clear day and I was invited to come share some telescopes for solar viewing at a local elementary school. Brought a pair of Astroscans with solar filters + finders with a couple different magnification options. It was a group of about 15 5th and 6th graders. They loved getting to move the Astroscans around and finding the sun on their own, it's always rewarding to see the youth be excited about science. 

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[highfnum]

I used call them the bowling ball telescope 

[AllanDystrup]

.

Zeiss 100/640 APQ
on a tour of the Solar System.

     

     

     I was out in my suburban backyard on a cool and (semi)clear evening (Feb. 06 2025), with - as always - my 4" f/6.4 refractor, here with the Baader FFC @ ~3.5x barlow (F/22.4).

 

     My targets was the Moon, where the libration offered a good view of the Southern Sea, plus the planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter.

 

     Here's first my setup for the evening:

 

 

     -- Allan

[AllanDystrup]

[Zeiss 100/640 APQ on the Solar System]
          Mare Australe, overview.

 

***click***

     -- Allan

[AllanDystrup]

[Zeiss 100/640 APQ on the Solar System]
          Mare Australe, close up

 

***click***

 

     -- Allan

[AllanDystrup]

[Zeiss 100/640 APQ on the Solar System]
                    Planets

 

***click***

 

***click***

 

 

      Next up was Mars, but the temperature had now fallen to below Zero causing an increase in icy frost in the atmosphere, and when the battery of my Z-Bolt laser ran out of power and died in my arms, I decided to call it a day and put the Z-bolt to rest beside the fireplace.

 

     -- Allan

 

(PS: the Z-Bolt got a battery transplant and is now good to go again! :-)

[Cavs56]

I’ve been out the last two nights 20 miles east of Tampa. Celestron CO-80. I can’t believe how steady the seeing is. Perfectly stable views. Mars, Venus, the moon, Jupiter, Orion and the Pleiades. I’ll wait for a new moon to look at Orion again. I left my 40mm in Ohio but the Pleiades was still beautiful. Spent most of the time last night on Jupiter beautiful at 180x . Tonight Mars 110x, 180x and 360x. 180x was the best view. Polar cap some darker detail on surface. I really hope I have some nice nights in Ohio when I get home in March I want to see Mars in the 826. I’m really glad I brought a telescope this year and it’s hard to believe what all an 80mm can show.

[deSitter]

[Zeiss 100/640 APQ on the Solar System]
          Mare Australe, close up

 

Moon-02-S.jpg

***click***

 

     -- Allan

That must be near the most extreme libration possible. Nice!

 

-drl

[deSitter]

I’ve been out the last two nights 20 miles east of Tampa. Celestron CO-80. I can’t believe how steady the seeing is. Perfectly stable views. Mars, Venus, the moon, Jupiter, Orion and the Pleiades. I’ll wait for a new moon to look at Orion again. I left my 40mm in Ohio but the Pleiades was still beautiful. Spent most of the time last night on Jupiter beautiful at 180x . Tonight Mars 110x, 180x and 360x. 180x was the best view. Polar cap some darker detail on surface. I really hope I have some nice nights in Ohio when I get home in March I want to see Mars in the 826. I’m really glad I brought a telescope this year and it’s hard to believe what all an 80mm can show.

Yes the jump from 60mm to 80/90mm is one of the largest in a psychological sense. The jump from there to 127mm is not as dramatic - it's obvious but not as obvious. Maybe it is the absolute ease of handling of a 80/90mm f/10/11 scope.

 

-drl

[CHASLX200]

I’ve been out the last two nights 20 miles east of Tampa. Celestron CO-80. I can’t believe how steady the seeing is. Perfectly stable views. Mars, Venus, the moon, Jupiter, Orion and the Pleiades. I’ll wait for a new moon to look at Orion again. I left my 40mm in Ohio but the Pleiades was still beautiful. Spent most of the time last night on Jupiter beautiful at 180x . Tonight Mars 110x, 180x and 360x. 180x was the best view. Polar cap some darker detail on surface. I really hope I have some nice nights in Ohio when I get home in March I want to see Mars in the 826. I’m really glad I brought a telescope this year and it’s hard to believe what all an 80mm can show.

Been that way all month since we are never cold in FEB.  Been using 600 to 1000x all month. Seeing goes bad next week after a front and that will be it until before sunup in Sept for Jup.

[highfnum]

start of waning moon  

Tasco 8v (jones bird type)

[deSitter]

start of waning moon  

Tasco 8v (jones bird type)

Capture 2025-02-14T03_49_14_____100r_24T_173regtaso8vmwS.jpg

This has become my favorite phase - use high power along the terminator and the shallow angle view provides and incredible vista of the mountains and crater rims. We were told to avoid the full Moon, so I did for many years, and just comparatively recently discovered the rewards of this type of viewing. You have to catch it a day or so before and after full Moon.

 

-drl

[steve t]

What great lunar photos that have been posted.

Thanks for sharing.

Steve T

 

[Zeiss 100/640 APQ on the Solar System]
          Mare Australe, close up

 

Moon-02-S.jpg

***click***

 

     -- Allan

 

start of waning moon  

Tasco 8v (jones bird type)

Capture 2025-02-14T03_49_14_____100r_24T_173regtaso8vmwS.jpg

[oldmanastro]

Our weather has been uncooperative for a while now with high winds and showers that come out of nowhere but today my very classic eyes saw this image. This is a double sun with clouds around it, projected into the wall of our upstairs bedroom at 7:15am this morning. There are two small holes in the window operator. They were acting as pinholes that converted the room into a big camera obscura. The house is 50 years old so this is a vintage camera obscura! The wall is about ten feet from the "pinholes". 

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[highfnum]

That's cool