Hyperstar; how good are they?

[Lester]

Hi all, Been thinking along the hyperstar lines for a while now. I have done some searching and the only real downfall I have come across is reflections when close to bright stars. Would like to see some large images from them also as all I have found are small images and is hard to check out the quality of the star images at such small scale.

The idea of a 14" F2 sounds good. If anyone has large images taken with Hyperstar (doesn't have to be 14") would be good to see, thanks.

If the results from such are good enough IMO I would contemplate selling my Takahashi scopes.

Thanks for your feedback.:thumbsup:

[blink138]

i think marc (multiweb) does hyperstar with a c11
pat

[Lester]

Hi Pat, yes there are a number of them around. I remember seeing threads of people ordering them, but for some unknown reason I have not seen many images and no large scale images so that the star detail can be checked out. The consept sounds good, my question is, do they produce good star images across the FOV?

All the best.

[RickS]

Lester,

If you haven't found it already, there's a Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fastar

Cheers,
Rick.

[Lester]

Thanks Rick, I have just joined.

[Paul Haese]

Is a Hyperstar going to fit your Meade Lester? I thought the secondary had to be factory fitted with the appropriate parts to use one of those?

[asimov]

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=14251

[Poita]

They made one for the M14, but not unfortunately for my 10" ACF :(

[Poita]

http://www.newforestobservatory.com/category/ccdimages/hyperstar-and-sxv-h9c/
http://www.newforestobservatory.com/category/ccdimages/hyperstar-and-sxvf-m25c/

[Lester]

Hi Paul, yes my LX200 GPS 14" is compatible with the Hyperstar.

Hi Peter, nice images in those links, unfortunately they don't inform you of what scope was used with each image.

[Mighty_oz]

According to his observatory page he uses a Nexstar 11 GPS scope. But the pics are way to small to see any detail :(

[Lester]

Thanks Marcus. Usually when people show small images it is to hide something IMO, and usually star imperfections. I don't expect it to be as good as a Takahashi, so long as the stars around the perimeter are not like seagulls I would be happy.

[Lester]

I have found 2 comparison images, the first with a C11 and hyperstar, the second with a 102ED refractor. They are large scale images with similar FOV.

http://www.pbase.com/ross128/image/139230492

http://www.pbase.com/ross128/image/139230491/original

I still ask myself the question; why aren't Hyperstars more popular?

[Poita]

A couple of reasons I think.

1) People are nervous about mounting something on their corrector plate

2) Not many people really know about it.

3) A lack of big reviews and images to compare side by side.

4) Cost.

5) Not all SCTs can utilise it.

6) Only one manufacturer, and they are in the US.

7) You require a different $90 + freight adapter for each camera you want to use.

To answer point one, it it really easy to fit and remove. Crazily easy, takes me less than a minute.

As for cost, it costs more than an ED80, and whilst it isn't expensive for what it is, it isn't cheap enough for 'a punt' for most people

The last one is the real killer though, I spent ages trying to find a scope to suit, you can use a non-hyperstar celestron, but the price goes up by nearly $400 or so, and that adds to the cost.

I think it is a bit like video astronomy, once you get into it, you can't understand why it isn't more popular, but there aren't a lot of vendors, it is hard to see one 'in action' and the alternatives are better documented.

I love the thing, getting 15 minutes of data in under a minute is a great thing. Getting 4 hours of data in under 20 minutes means multiple targets are possible in a single night.

Attached are some C11 hyperstar images from a self confessed beginner John T.

[Shano592]

Hi Peter,

I have a 10-inch LX-200 ACF too. I asked Starizona in early 2012, if they will be doing the M10 for ACF, and was told that they are expecting to do a production run later this year.

I certainly hope so.

[Poita]

I asked about a year ago, and got the same answer as you.
I asked recently, the answer was a firm No, but they were 'considering' the M12.
Maybe they have changed their mind since then?

But I gave up at that point and bought the 9.25.

I honestly think the M10 is a slightly better scope, but it is going on the Market as I don't need a 10 and a 9.25, and really wanted to go down the Hyperstar path.