I know there is considerable skill involved in acquiring and processing data to produce impressive results like this but I have to note that this Skywatcher 300PDS 12" F5 Newtonian must have above average optics ... possibly the right pick of the litter.
Maybe I got lucky on a good batch Hans. The scope is not quite a year old and I always worry when buying a mass produced scope how good the optics will be. But in this case it seems to be a good one.
Maybe you got lucky with a good sample or, maybe the overall quality of the mirrors is more than good enough, better than the diffraction limit. Would be an interesting exercise to put a sample of mirrors on a test stand and do a knife edge test .
Suppose there is enough proof provided by the quality of your images though.
Maybe you got lucky with a good sample or, maybe the overall quality of the mirrors is more than good enough, better than the diffraction limit. Would be an interesting exercise to put a sample of mirrors on a test stand and do a knife edge test .
Suppose there is enough proof provided by the quality of your images though.
I do have a mirror tester... somewhere. It's been nearly 30 years since I used it. I'll have to see if I can find it and test the mirror next time it's out for a clean.
A great set of optics is a given for this sort of result, but I just don't have the patience to wait for those moments of excellent seeing for them to reach their
potential and produce superb images like these.