Kluson

Our Local Tesco's , which is one of the huge superstores, used to have masses of Magazines, but over the last year they have reduced it quite drastically.  Sainsbury's have also done the same.

Is Sky at Night going the way of so many BBC programmes in its dumbing down?  I saw  the question time show recently and it was starting to look like " entertainment for the under 10's". The BBC has done this so many times and failed. I used to really look forward to the programme, but not so much these days. Oh well can't please all the people all the time.

The Postman arrived this morning with a shiny new ASIAIR Plus  - The long wait is over 🙂

Sorry looks like cloudy skies for a while then!

1 hour ago, doublevodka said:

Worth a looks through the recommendations here https://binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php#5

 

Thanks , Yes I've been through  that, thanks again for the advice and help

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

If you can stretch the budget just a little (189), these are super and smaller than many 10x50.
I have a pair, my daughter has a pair ready for Christmas.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/classic-binoculars/opticron-imagic-tga-wp-50mm-binoculars.html
 

They look great , and the review seems favourable, might be worth the stretch - Thanks

Thanks everyone for all the great replies. Very much appreciated

Thanks 

Dave

Thanks Franklin, They look great, sadly out of stock, I asked to let me know when they are back in stock

Thanks Bosun, Yes , I also saw the Opticron 10 x 50. I watched the Steve Tonkin talk two eyes are better than one on you tube, Whilst it gave me the type , it didn't give a brand. I am very keen to avoid those, which Steve describes as BSO's 🙂

Thanks all

D

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me.

She does and doesn't wear specs. Her main use would be Lunar, large Nebulae, general stargazing w=etc. She would I guess also use them for watching the birds in our garden 🙂

Cheers

Dave

Welcome Chris

Not sure where you are in Wiltshire, I'm on the Hants, Wilts Border. Some dark skies not too far , sadly cloudy here too 🙂

all the best

Dave

Hi Guys

I would like to get my wife a pair of Binoculars for Xmas, my budget is around £150. Can anyone offer any advice as to which entry level Binoculars owuld fit the bill. I am thinking 10 X  50 size. We have a spare tripod we could mount them on.

Thanks

Dave

Wow, so glad all is well and you are on the mend.

On 05/10/2022 at 11:55, Elp said:

It's possible as Trevor Jones reviewed this on the ioptron equivalent:

https://astrobackyard.com/william-optics-zenithstar-61-review/

His review is actually what made me buy the scope.

I just felt the SA was built more for DSLR and didn't feel comfortable mounting the z61 to it, finding targets will take a while too if you're not familiar with the night sky and pointing on a manual EQ mount, it's much quicker to frame with a DSLR mounted on top of a ball end with the SA.

H

Thanks very much for the confirmation that's great. It will be nice to have the option, Nexstar 6se on its own mount, 300mm lens or the WO61 on the SA. I plan to upgrade the mount for the WO at a later date. If I can find a used HEQ5Pro, that would be great

Thanks again for the tips

Thanks also to Chris, with a very valid point. I set up the FOV in Stellarium

Thanks a lot guys

D

Hi Ed and Elp

Thanks very much, my current set up is Celestron Nexstar 6SE. I have used the Canon with it, Got some nice Lunar pictures

I also have a Star Adventurer Pro pack 2i. I use that with the Canon.

My plan going forward is to keep the star adventurer to use with the Canon and my 135 Samyang F2. I saw some guys on you tube with the WO61 on the SA and thought it may be worth a try. The plan then is to get a better mount like an HEQ5 Pro etc.

Elp: The C6 is not mounted on the SA, it has its own go to mount. We love it. but more for visible, it does work beautifully for lunar photography though 🙂

Thanks both for your ideas

cheers

D

Hi Everyone

I am just starting to get into astrophotography.. I have been using our Celestron 6SE for a while now and it's great for Planets but not so good for DSO.  I have a star adventurer 2i and a Canon DSLR ( astro Modified). I am now taking the first plunge into a telescope for these two. I am thinking maybe the Williams Optics ZS61ii or perhaps the Rother valley Horizon 60ED.  I'm looking to start on the usual suspects - Andromeda, Orion Nebula etc. Am I looking at the right solution for this?. My thoughts were that the WO ZS 61 would allow me to grow, until the bug bites deep enough for a new mount etc. But I believe that the WOZS61 and the Star tracker with the DSLR would be a good place to start my education.?  What do you think?

Any advice would be really welcomed and appreciated

Thanks
Dave

Hi Guys

Time to go for a scope rather than just my DSLR lens. I plan to mount the scope onto my Star Adventurer II. I'm sure it would be good for that.  Has anyone had any experience with this kind of set up? should I wait a little longer and go for the WO zenith Star 71, or even the RVO Horizon 72, the red cat is also a possibility I guess

Any suggestions or advice welcome

Many thanks in advance

D

Wow , Last night  we saw Jupiter and the major moons and Saturn for the first time though our little Celestron SE6. Even with this little telescope we could see the rings well . It really was breathtaking. We went through a number of eyepieces. we finally had a 25mm Celestron  and a 2x Barlow, This gave a good compromise. The dew shield worked well.  (A great investment), We were just looking mouths agape, we had never seen this before.  It was truly breathtaking experience.

The telescope needs proper alignment though, I had to find both Saturn and Jupiter manually, which whilst a bit of a faff , actually made the experience all the better, It was amazing when the blurred out white blob came into view. A few twists  of the focus knob and bang - There was Saturn with the rings and Moons.

What a Night - Still Buzzing 🙂

4 hours ago, Kluson said:

Hooray, the Star Adventurer pro pack arrived, looking forward to the dew shield this afternoon! 🙂

Now the skies will be cloudy for ages 😞. - Sorry everyone

 

.................Deep Joy, The Joy shields arrived today!!!!  Two days quarantine for that . As soon as we buy something it's cloudy skies guaranteed anyway, - sorry everyone.

Wish you clear skies

D

Hooray, the Star Adventurer pro pack arrived, looking forward to the dew shield this afternoon! 🙂

Now the skies will be cloudy for ages 😞. - Sorry everyone

First one we have joined. This was really great, Some amazing pictures and really nicely explained. Great job Thanks very much indeed to all who organised and of course to Gary.

Clear Skies

D+L

Hi Steve

, we too are just starting , welcome, they seem a really friendly group here. Good luck and clear skies 🙂

Hi Both, We are in a similar boat, really enjoying it here, so much great advice

Canon 600D is a great camera, there's one on Camera Jungle

cheers and good luck

D

still waiting on the Dew shield. I can assure you all that the moment it arrives,  we will be in for cloudy weather. This I have learnt already 🙂

On 18/06/2020 at 10:21, Chefgage said:

I use this one. Fits nice and good. You can adjust it so it can be removed and fitted in seconds.

https://www.365astronomy.com/Blitz-Hotshoe-dSLR-Camera-Adapter-and-Red-Dot-Finder-COMBO.html

thanks, that's exactly what I need just the hot shoe adaptor which can be bought separately

clear skies

D 

11 minutes ago, Second Time Around said:

The large oblong button is the on/off switch.  Additionally, holding it down varies the brightness. The small round button varies the colour.

So yes, you've got the new, better model.

Phew, That's great  - Thanks so much for the advice

wish you clear skies

D