Explore scientific refractors
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Explore scientific refractors
- AbbN
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
Hope this helps
Abb
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
If you want sharper views you should consider slow F10-13, or
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Delos, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.
Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2461, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 261
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
Maybe more cool down time. Check this out. http://www.astronomyforum.net/catadiopt ... n-sct.html
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
High power on the planets is highly dependent on your atmospheric conditions as you well know. When the atmosphere is less than great my 100MM f9 Skywatcher is the tool I go with.
I have an older Meade LXD75 8"
If I were going to add to my kit and I had only an 8"
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
So I suggest to collimate your scope or get it collimated, it will be cheaper than buying a new scope.
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
I agree. There is almost no way an achromatic refractor less than 130mm is going to do as well on planetary contrast as an 8"
The things that need to be equal are: collimation needs to be right, atmospheric seeing conditions need to support the higher resolution from the 8", the 8" needs to be thermally stabilized.
There is one other factor that would need to be considered once all the above has been taken into account: the eye behind the eyepiece.
I find that on lunar and planetary that SCTs seem soft to me. However an aplanatic
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I just read that for SCTs collimation has to be better then 99 percent. I would use the Lymax for cool down problems. Right click the image.notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:37 pmI agree. There is almost no way an achromatic refractor less that 150mm is going to do as well on planetary contrast as an 8"SCT all other things being equal.
The things that need to be equal are: collimation needs to be right, atmospheric seeing conditions need to support the higher resolution from the 8", the 8" needs to be thermally stabilized.
There is one other factor that would need to be considered once all the above has been taken into account: the eye behind the eyepiece.
I find that on lunar and planetary that SCTs seem soft to me. However an aplanaticSCT like the Celestron Edge series does superbly well. Some individuals are much more sensitive to curvature of the field of view. I'm one of them. You might be too. Before making a purchase eliminate collimation and cool down as problems, etc.
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
99% of what? Collimation needs to be sensibly perfect. That isn't hard to achieve.Refractordude wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:39 pmI just read that for SCTs collimation has to be better then 99 percent.notFritzArgelander wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:37 pmI agree. There is almost no way an achromatic refractor less that 150mm is going to do as well on planetary contrast as an 8"SCT all other things being equal.
The things that need to be equal are: collimation needs to be right, atmospheric seeing conditions need to support the higher resolution from the 8", the 8" needs to be thermally stabilized.
There is one other factor that would need to be considered once all the above has been taken into account: the eye behind the eyepiece.
I find that on lunar and planetary that SCTs seem soft to me. However an aplanaticSCT like the Celestron Edge series does superbly well. Some individuals are much more sensitive to curvature of the field of view. I'm one of them. You might be too. Before making a purchase eliminate collimation and cool down as problems, etc.
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
The only thing I can't see well in the AR152 is Venus. Always shows some color fringes and appears, most of the time, to "boil" even when I can discern the phases. Pretty darn unimpressive object, or maybe it just magnifies the weaknesses of the scope being such a bright object.Don Quixote wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:05 pm For visual the AR152 does very well on the lunar views for me. On DSO it is an absolutely wonderful tool. On the bright, concentrated Jupiter, and Saturn views it does show color. Mars is good. Venus is loaded with color. But keep in mind the EP you use can mitigate the color fringe issue. For imaging the planets I prefer my ES127 FCD100 APO. You will need to pick what you want most to view.
High power on the planets is highly dependent on your atmospheric conditions as you well know. When the atmosphere is less than great my 100MM f9 Skywatcher is the tool I go with.
I have an older Meade LXD75 8" SCT that performs very well on the planets.
If I were going to add to my kit and I had only an 8" SCT in my stable I would go with the 102ED.
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
From this perspective I would suggest 102mm ED. The reason is that none of
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Delos, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.
Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2461, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 261
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Have you tried Venus lately Michael? It rides high at sunset now. You do want to use a filter to control the glare. Good quality blue filter seems to work the best, but I also had good results with Baader Sky & Moon Glow. With steadier atmosphere you can resolve some dark clouds near terminator.helicon wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:53 pmThe only thing I can't see well in the AR152 is Venus. Always shows some color fringes and appears, most of the time, to "boil" even when I can discern the phases. Pretty darn unimpressive object, or maybe it just magnifies the weaknesses of the scope being such a bright object.Don Quixote wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:05 pm For visual the AR152 does very well on the lunar views for me. On DSO it is an absolutely wonderful tool. On the bright, concentrated Jupiter, and Saturn views it does show color. Mars is good. Venus is loaded with color. But keep in mind the EP you use can mitigate the color fringe issue. For imaging the planets I prefer my ES127 FCD100 APO. You will need to pick what you want most to view.
High power on the planets is highly dependent on your atmospheric conditions as you well know. When the atmosphere is less than great my 100MM f9 Skywatcher is the tool I go with.
I have an older Meade LXD75 8" SCT that performs very well on the planets.
If I were going to add to my kit and I had only an 8" SCT in my stable I would go with the 102ED.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Delos, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.
Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2461, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 261
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
The only thing I can't see well in the AR152 is Venus. Always shows some color fringes and appears, most of the time, to "boil" even when I can discern the phases. Pretty darn unimpressive object, or maybe it just magnifies the weaknesses of the scope being such a bright object.
I haven't tried a filter - a very good suggestion. Also I should check it out while it remains high after sunset. I suppose I also could dampen down theHave you tried Venus lately Michael? It rides high at sunset now. You do want to use a filter to control the glare. Good quality blue filter seems to work the best, but I also had good results with Baader Sky & Moon Glow. With steadier atmosphere you can resolve some dark clouds near terminator.
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
The other option for Venus is daytime viewing. You don't have to wait until sunset! There is a big blue filter up there then... Even in my f5 150 achromat it usually looks quite sharp during the day. It is always difficult to observe any cloud features on Venus, even with filters, but the phases are easy during the day, and quite amazing when it swings back towards us and starts to get bigger with a thinner crescent.helicon wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 11:05 pm [
The only thing I can't see well in the AR152 is Venus. Always shows some color fringes and appears, most of the time, to "boil" even when I can discern the phases. Pretty darn unimpressive object, or maybe it just magnifies the weaknesses of the scope being such a bright object.
I haven't tried a filter - a very good suggestion. Also I should check it out while it remains high after sunset. I suppose I also could dampen down theHave you tried Venus lately Michael? It rides high at sunset now. You do want to use a filter to control the glare. Good quality blue filter seems to work the best, but I also had good results with Baader Sky & Moon Glow. With steadier atmosphere you can resolve some dark clouds near terminator.aperture a bit as well.
Have fun,
Dean
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
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Re: Explore scientific refractors
4" ED doublet would be a great choice for quick visual sessions. Have you considered Astro-Tech scopes?
https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... r-ota.html
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Delos, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.
Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2461, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 261
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