Quote:
Originally Posted by bmitchell82
Im just a little confused if your just begining in this hobby or you have done it for a while as a star test im still getting my head around what all the different patterns mean
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Yes I'm closer to a newbie, but I understand optics 'reasonably' well. I'd love to invest in better gear, but I only get the urge to go see some stars for a couple of hours a year.
I have at least ten other hobbies too, the lowest ranked time wise is astronomy.
The star diffraction test I do with a 9mm EP and just de-focus slightly then look at the uniformness of the pattern. Round is good (for me), squashed to one side or comet-like is bad (very). The scope is F8 BTW.
I suspect that although the 127mm is giving much more light than the old 60mm refractor, it's resolution is perhaps rubbish. Oh well, if an alignment with the correction lens removed proves useless I can always rat the hardware off it and rebuild it with a real parabolic mirror. Another guy here has done that, and it sounds like my style too...