dweller25

Can you re-photograph with a piece of white paper opposite the focuser, it will help.

That’s a great image 👍

Brilliant, well done 👍

Glad you caught it @Stu, cloudy for me but I like your images 👍

Hello Jack, An 8” or 10” Dob will allow you to see many deep sky objects but some will appear as grey smudges. These scopes will give very good lunar and planetary views. A Dobsonian telescope gives the best bang for Buck of all the telescope types. Weight - the 8” is manageable for most people, the 10” starts to get a bit heavy - try to check this out before you buy. Also check out the Skywatcher Dobsonians, these are made by Synta who own Celestron, so the mirrors are the same but the Skywatchers may be cheaper. The Starsense is well worth the buy as it will greatly help you find your way around the night sky.

Hello @JackW07 and welcome to SGL. Buying a scope for visual deep sky - the bigger the better BUT you may need to adjust your expectations as even in a 12” Dobsonian deep sky objects are a bit dim and nothing like the photos you see. For photography you need a good tracking mount and a small refractor - it can get expensive ! I would suggest you join a local astro club to get a better idea of what people use.

Astronomy - Abandon hope all ye who enter here ! Yup 100% cloud and rain here this evening 🫤 Looking possible for anyone below Birmingham though 👍

Good as the fan can cause micro oscillations that could give you a double image

@wookie1965 Another couple of thoughts… Do you fully cool the mirror down before observing ? Do you observe with the cooling mirror running ?

As said above, you should loosen the mirror clips to allow you to slide a piece of flat paper under each one. You will need to check collimation again visually in the day after you put it all back together and again on a star and then you should be good to go 🤞🤞

Point your scope just BEHIND the Sun on a clear day as soon as you can, the UV will kill the mould. The mould may have eaten into the coatings, which whilst not looking great will have no effect at all at the eyepiece or sensor.

Try adjusting the secondary until the reflection of the primary moves in the direction of the arrow

This 👍

This should be a nice view IF you have clear skies….

Yes, a 4” is a good choice for all the objects you list. Sharp and quick to cool, lightweight too and very easy to use. It will sit happily on the Skywatcher AZ4 mount. The Starfield 4” F/7 sold by Firstlight Optics is a good choice. Here is my 4” on an equatorial mount.

That’s brilliant 👍

The Takahashi FS102 that Ed Ting bought very cheaply because it was blue….. 🫤

Or the quickest way to devalue it ?

I observed this at the same time, your drawing is very good. It’s clear for me tonight and the GRS will be on show…….

Lucky for you see didn’t say “you’ll get your answer on the next clear night” 😱

Good to see you back again Neil, another great image 👍

I can 😈

Top tip - After many years of using numerous telescopes I have found that you will see more stars/planets/galaxies if you point them away from a wall. Nice turret 👍

No point, there is only one choice 🤣

If I could only have one scope it would be an APO refractor between 100 and 120mm.