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Alpine Astro / Baader Coma Corrector

Posted by Ronald Abraham   11/09/2009 01:22AM

It has been many years since I ordered a Baader Coma Corrector and adapter from Alpine Astro. It made a noticeable difference on my F/4.5 custom 10" RFT. It worked great with the only two eyepieces Back then I owned - a 20mm and 13mm University Optics Wide Scans. The fact is, I just didn't observe very often. I appreciated the difference but did not gush over it.

Last night I rolled the roof off and decided to attach the coma corrector with more recently purchased spacers directly to my Zeiss 30 mm Super Erfle in my Borg 101ED. The "seagulls" on the edge had never bothered me, but I figured the Pleaides was a perfect target for doing a little experimenting. After trying three different spacings, I came up with a perfect match that turned the seagulls into tiny points.

I believe the clear aperture of the coma corrector is around 44 degrees, but I noticed no depreciation on edge illumination - probably because points (unlike seagulls) don't have those irritating light robbing wings.

The Baader Coma Corrector was tested many years ago and held a slight edge in comparisons with the Televue Comma Corrector. In my opinion, both do one heck of a good job, albeit the Baader for less money.

If you have never used Baader accessories, the first thing you notice is the Zeiss heritage of precision and excellence. If you have a fast scope and don't like seagulls, this toy is your best bet for waking from a coma.