Dumbbell Nebula's Stats
- Review Count19
- Helpfulness Votes15
- First ReviewSeptember 19, 2011
- Last ReviewNovember 12, 2011
- Featured Reviews0
- Average Rating4.5
Reviews Comments
- Review Comment Count0
- Helpfulness Votes0
- First Review CommentNone
- Last Review CommentNone
- Featured Review Comments0
Orion Shorty-Plus 2x 3-Element Barlow Lens
The 1.25" 2x Orion Shorty-Plus 3-Element Barlow Lens doubles the magnifying power of any eyepiece, providing better eye relief and edge sharpness. The fully multi-coated lens design provides superior image sharpness and color correction.
Rating
High quality compact Barlow with large clear aperture
PostedNovember 12, 2011
Optical Quality
5
/
5
Mechanical Quality
4
/
5
Ease of Assembly & Use
5
/
5
Value
5
/
5
I used this for 6 years, first to get a nice 100x eyepiece (20mm Ultrascopic) up to 200x with an SCT, which worked well for planets on still nights; and for brighter globular clusters, bringing out structures like the propeller in M13. The Shorty Plus also gave higher powers with 7mm to 15mm eyepieces in a small short tube refractor for study of the moon or quick looks at Jupiter and Saturn. I was happy with both uses and didn’t find any flaw in construction or views. A 1.25-inch extension tube between the Shorty Plus and the eyepiece gave higher power, closer to 3x. That got a 'short tube" scope into interesting lunar views.
After a sale provided a few new high power eyepieces I parted with the Barlow in favor of long eye relief, parfocal Radians that gave a practical high power range of 150x to 350x in the SCT, worked better with eyeglass wearers at outreach, and got the short tube up to 100x. Based on performance alone, I’d have kept the Shorty Plus, but 2x almost duplicated the only focal lengths available in my new eyepieces, so it found a new owner.
If you plan ahead when adding eyepiece focal lengths by the right steps, the high quality 2x Shorty Plus can extend an eyepiece set by giving more medium to high powers at little added cost - about the same or less than one eyepiece.
One unique aspect of the Shorty Plus is the very large clear aperture: the lens fills the front of the chrome barrel, with almost no recess into the barrel, and no aperture stop smaller than the barrel, like most Barlows. I believe that this helps avoid vignetting, which may be important with lower power or wider angle eyepieces and with shorter focal ratio scopes. But it also means you have to be careful to keep fingers away from the nicely multicoated lens.
I think some reviews may describe problems related to seeing, not optical quality of the Shorty Plus. A Barlow won’t give you a steadier night to go with twice the magnification. That’s why a Barlow that provides some added mid to high power choices, besides just the highest practical power, is the best supplement for visual use.
Pros: widest clear aperture; good optics
Cons: semi-exposed lens - be careful
Yes, I recommend this product!
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
An excellent introduction to stargazing, Patterns in the Sky provides descriptions of nearly 50 constellations with clear and easy-to-read star charts. It identifies bright stars and other showpiece deep-sky objects visible to the naked eye.
Rating
Good and accessible, reader friencly constellation guide by experienced observer
PostedNovember 1, 2011
Content Quality
4
/
5
Value
5
/
5
I like almost any constellation guide. What impressed me about Patterns in the Sky was how my middle school and high school kids picked this up and stayed with the book.
Yes, I recommend this product!
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Ideal for all types of telescopes, the 12.5mm Orion Sirius Plossl Eyepiece excels at views of deep-sky and planetary subjects. The wide field of view offers clear, sharp, high contrast images.
Rating
Good value still, would be premium eyepieces 20 years ago
PostedOctober 18, 2011
Optical Quality
4
/
5
Mechanical Quality
4
/
5
Ease of Use
4
/
5
Value
5
/
5
I purchased the 12.5mm Sirius and an Orion fully baffled Barlow - similar to the long Ultrascopic Barlow – to add a range of magnification options with the 25mm Sirius that came with an older 10-inch Orion sonotube Dobsonian. That eyepiece combination gave 55x, 110x and 220x, with 110x from the 12.5mm a nice contrasty deep sky view, and the highest power 220x from Barlowed 12.5mm at the limits of my manual tracking skills. The 25mm and 12.5mm seemed very sharp with the f/5.6 scope – both Sirius Plossls were noticeably sharper at edges than an inexpensive wide-angle 2-inch eyepiece that was used mostly as a ‘finder’ eyepiece compared to which the 25mm gave a more pleasing view. I had no complaints and enjoyed using this light bucket and pair of Sirius eyepieces for several years before a relocation forced their sale.
Ten years before using the Sirius Plossls, another move after college left behind over 5 years observing with smaller scopes and Kellner, orthoscopic and Ramsden eyepieces. Compared to those, the Sirius Plossls were very deluxe, with more effective coatings, slightly wider view showing 25 to 50 percent more sky area than the older designs for same magnification, and good edge sharpness. Family with eyeglasses could see planets or doubles OK but lost some edge of view in the less than 1 cm eye relief of the 12.5mm. The 17mm Sirius is sharp and might be a better limit for eyeglass wearers, since it and longer focal lengths can always be Barlowed for higher power.
What’s good about the Sirius Plossls is a workmanlike level of fit and finish and good Plossl performance. The rubber eyecups are effective for blocking a little stray light or cushioning glasses.
The caveats are short eye relief for my taste below the 17mm focal length, and that the series is not parfocal. The eye relief work around would be to Barlow 17 and longer, if you can’t remove eyeglasses for the 12.5, 10 or shorter eyepieces.
An upgrade to ‘premium’ grade Televue Plossls or Orion Ultrascopics will improve the view a little more thanks to full multicoatings and add parfocal convenience, but give the same field of view for a higher price. That’s why Sirius is still a good value line and Sirius pairs often get used by binoviewer observers.
Pros: solid value, comfortable view sharpness
Cons: not parfocal, eye relief gets tight by 12.5 mm
Yes, I recommend this product!
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For the best images from your reflecting telescope, the optics need to be in precise alignment (also known as collimation). The Orion Collimating Eyepiece is an economical and accurate way to ensure perfect Newtonian mirror alignment every time.
Rating
sturdy and simple tool - best for "slower" (long f/ratio)
PostedOctober 15, 2011
Quality
5
/
5
Value
4
/
5
I bought this tool with a 10-inch f/5.6 Orion sonotube Dobsonian and relied on the collimation tool for a couple of years. I checked collimation before night fell or used a flashlight to illuminate the 45 degree side window of the tool. With this size scope I had to look, then reach down to adjust the mirror, then look again, and that worked fine. The "premium deep space explorer" had a 2-inch helical focuser and the collimation eyepiece fit pretty snugly in the 1.25-2 inch adapter, so alignment of the tool never seemed to be a problem.
I liked the simplicity and rugged build of this tool. Faster Newtonians may need more elaborate colllimation tools (or sets of tools) but certainly at f/6 or slower (e.g. f/8) this will do the job well. This exact tool has been around almost 20 years, for good reason.
Favorite viewing location: backyard, local dark sky
Favorite object to observe: moon and brighter DSO
Pros: all metal very rugged, simple but effective
Cons: may need more tools for fast scopes
Yes, I recommend this product!
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
The 14mm Tele Vue Radian Eyepiece has long eye relief and medium focal length making this great for lower power views of the moon and many deep sky objects. The instadjust eyeguard positions your eye right where you need it with or without glasses.
Rating
Great medium power view, ample adjustable eye relief, sharp optics, quality build
PostedOctober 11, 2011
Optical Quality
5
/
5
Mechanical Quality
5
/
5
Ease of Use
5
/
5
Value
4
/
5
This gets used for a nice 150x view in an SCT that can let the scope cool down, or a planet rise higher, before boosting power.
In a small refractor it gives about 35x and a wide true field for deep sky views with pinpoint stars.
The instadjust works and allows for easy sharing the view with eyeglass and no glases observers.
I'm very pleased with a few Radians as mid- to high-power parfocal, comfortable, quality eyepieces that for me replaced various 'classics' which all had trade-offs of one kinds or another - such as eye relief, field of view, etc., - that just aren't an issue with the Radians. Recommended.
Pros: easy eye distance set w/instadjust, sharp 60 degree view, parfocal series
Yes, I recommend this product!
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6mm Tele Vue Radian Telescope Eyepiece
The 6mm Tele Vue Radian Eyepiece has long eye relief and short focal length making for comfortable viewing at the higher powers needed to study planetary and lunar detail, as well as compact and bright deep-sky objects.
Rating
better high power eyepiece with good, controllable eye relief, quality feel
PostedOctober 11, 2011
Optical Quality
5
/
5
Mechanical Quality
5
/
5
Ease of Use
5
/
5
Value
4
/
5
There are a variety of simple or classic eyepiece designs with good reputations for high power use that trade off tight eye relief and moderate to narrow field of view. The Radians are a good answer to those trade-offs, with ample 20mm eye relied so that eyeglass and no-glasses family or people at outreach can all share the sharp 60 degree view. The instadjust works well. For some the instadjust is a love it or hate it feature; I find it useful; a quick click in or out of the instadjust gets eye spacing just right and can help to block stray light. I picked the 6mm to offer an 80x power view that still fits the entire moon in my small refractor for outreach - which often elicits a 'wow', and to provide a useful about 1mm exit pupil for high power deep sky viewing to start opening up star clusters or bring out smaller planetary nebulae. In my SCT, this gets used more to check collimation than for observing, but I live where dark skies are usually more common than steady skies so the 10mm Radian spends more observing time in the SCT. I also like that Radians are a parfocal eyepiece series.
Favorite viewing location: back yard, local (< 1 hr) dark sky
Pros: very sharp wide usuable view, good eye relief to share views w/ or w/o eyeglasse, excellent optical and mechanical quality, no difference f/6 and f/10
Yes, I recommend this product!
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
The Pocket Sky Atlas is a wonderful celestial atlas with 80 detailed sky charts down to 7th magnitude. Includes more than 30,000 stars and 1,500 deep-sky objects, all in a compact form that is extremely easy to read, even with dim red light.
Rating
Might be all the Atlas you need, compact and pretty "deep"
PostedOctober 9, 2011
Content Quality
5
/
5
Value
5
/
5
The Pocket Sky Atlas - or PSA - takes a big pocket, like a field jacket - but it is much smaller than traditional 11 x 14 inch or larger Mag 8+ Atlases. PSA slices and dice the sky into a few more charts than some larger atlases, but most constellations still fit on 1 or 2 PSA charts; Cassiopeia to Polaris on one chart, or Auriga, for example. The scale of about 5 degrees per inch is twice as detailed as DeepMap 600, and the number of DSO shown is deeper at 1,500 vs. 500. PSA shows all planetaries brighter than Mag 12, galaxies brighter than 11.5, globulars brighter than 10.5 and open clusters with integrated magnitude above 8. Stars are shown to about Mag 7.6 and double stars are indicated by symbol. There is a good index that cross-references Caldwell, etc. lists.
A few fainter and deeper enlarged bonus charts are also provided for 4 iconic deep sky areas, M45, Virgo Cluster, LMC, and Orion's belt and sword.
The seasonal layout by sets of 10 charts for each 3 hours of RA is easily navigated. I like the tradeoff of clipping the PSA open to a smaller area than managing a larger format chart book in the field.
Favorite viewing location: backyard, local dark sky
Favorite object to observe: brighter DSO, moon
Pros: compact and pretty deep, looks good in white or red light
Cons: splits up some constallations between pages
Yes, I recommend this product!
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+3points
3of 3voted this as helpful.
The 1/4"-20 Adapter couples small telescopes to the dovetail saddle of VersaGo, AstroView, SkyView Pro, Sirius, and Atlas Mounts. This telescope mount adapter provides a threaded post for attaching telescopes equipped with a 1/4"-20 threaded socket.
Rating
Works well for smaller scope (Mak or Short Tube) or camera lens
PostedOctober 9, 2011
Quality
4
/
5
Value
5
/
5
This is sturdy and even includes the Allen wrench needed for snug installation. It worked well with older spotting scopes that had cork and rubber layers on their small tripod mounting blocks. Cutting a piece of cork or inner tube to add friction might be needed if your lens or scope has a metal foot for 1/4-20 tripod bolt to enter.
So, this is useful as long as: 1) you consider the 1-point attachment and make sure you scope or lens can't rotate on the bolt as a surprise and 2) your scope or lens has the tripod collar or foot near the balance point - this short adapter will only slide factions of an inch in a dovetail for balance.
If these concerns are met, then leave this on a spotter or small Maksutov for use with many dovetail type astronomy mounts. You can also put a good alt az astro mount to double-duty for daytime telephoto photography use with this adapter.
Pros: secure bolt all metal, adds mount option for older spotters telephotos
Cons: make sure this can't rotate at bolt, short length won't slide far to balance
Yes, I recommend this product!
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
The Orion DeepMap 600 is one of our best selling accessories! The perfect road-map style atlas, it includes color coded symbols for 500 galaxies, nebulars, star clusters, and 109 Messier objects. Printed on completely dew-proof durable plastic.
Rating
Handy road map to the sky
PostedOctober 9, 2011
Content Quality
5
/
5
Ease of Use
5
/
5
Value
4
/
5
The beauty of this chart is its compact size and weight. DeepMap 600 shows the sky for almost any N Hemisphere observer all in one dew- and tear-resistant chart about 22x36 inches in overall size, and folds up like a road map. 500 deep sky objects (DSO's -- 500 galaxies, clusters and nebulae are shown: all the Messier objects, and almost 400 from NGC and other lists) 100 double stars, and over 20 variable and 'carbon' stars are also listed and shown. The color rendition of the stars and DSO's on a dark blue background look nice in white light and are functional with white lettering clearly visible under red light. If a future edition is revised, I'd like the Milky Way to contrast more with the rest of the background, but key Milky Way extent is shown in the current printing. The size and shape coding of DSOs is easy to read as well.
The main compromise to fit this on about 24 x 36 inches rather than a much larger sheet was to compress the RA scale relative to the Declination scale. This was a slight distraction at first that I soon got used to. The RA scale is about 12 degrees per inch while the Dec scale is about 8 degrees per inch.
Bring a couple of rubberized magnets to hold this on your car hood for a minimal observing chart table. The deepmap is also easy to fold so a section of sky can be placed on a clipboard. I have my original DeepMap from about 15 years ago and an 8-year old spare copy, both still in frequent use.
Pros: all-in-one chart of sky, compact and lightweight, good starhopping tool for rdf or binoculars
Cons: some compromise for 1-chart style
Yes, I recommend this product!
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
A wonderful tour of the constellations, Discover the Stars is a good companion for beginning stargazers. Includes 12 all sky charts showing the night sky each month, and 23 more detailed charts showing interesting objects within each constellation.
Rating
Basic constellation guide has some nice aspects
PostedOctober 9, 2011
Content Quality
5
/
5
Value
4
/
5
I like constellation guides and think it's worthwhile to have several, especially if some are more detailed than "discover the stars". But this is a pretty good first guide that can help a beginner learn the sky without being overwhelmed. It has brief sections on sky coordinates and obserivng equipment, and a simple moon map that will be useful to binocular observers. The heart of the book is the charts: first, a set of Mag 5 sky maps, then a set of Mag 6 charts, The sky maps are planisphere like views that help in learning the constellations, and orienting to the sky charts later in the book. The sky charts are more detailed and each is accompanied by a page of text describing constellations, deep sky objects and selected double stars on the corresponding chart. The scale of the sky charts is almost the same as the DeepMap 600, but for example, Discover the Stars shows the 3 nice Messier open clusters in Auriga while the DeepMap shows about 10 deep sky objects within Auriga (and the Pocket Sky Atlas shows about 20 deep sky objects within the 5 brightest stars of Auriga. This book is not limited to Messier objects: I was able to find the southern galaxies NG 55 and NGC 300 and re-locate NGC 253 thanks to packing this book on a trip that inlcuded an 80mm telescope and camera tripod while visitng dark skies.
For a beginner this is a good compromise - not overwhelming detail, but a very servicable introduction to constellations and brighter deep sky objects.
The charts are pleasing in white light, but the black on blue writing can be hard to read under some red lights.
Pros: good beginner guide
Cons: not as detailed as deep map 600
Yes, I recommend this product!
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Dumbbell Nebula's Review Comments
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