dweller25

Yes, me too 👍

Fantastic lunar image Neil, especially when zoomed up 👍

Great image, makes me wonder why you want a TSA120 ?

Great observation John. Like you I can also detect the different sizes of the Moons in my 4” scope - to be honest I just accepted it without thinking about resolution levels ! They are always a nice sight 🙂

For maximum performance on the planets my 5” Apo takes 60 mins to cool down maximum from a 20’C house to 3’C outside.

Great images - we had HEAVY rain here and thunderstorms so thanks for sharing 👍

Great report John, refractors are my favourite design 🙂

I would suggest you initially use the scope as supplied to get a feeling for it and then at some point ask on here about the next step 👍

Very good choice, a scope that allows you to dip your toe in the water whilst having good performance and great value for money 👍 BUT - it will not show you the images you seen in magazines - you must limit your expectations 🙂 PS - welcome to SGL 😀

For the planets and deep space you need aperture, so ideally you are looking for at least a 150mm scope. In my opinion, the largest scope you can get that is very portable, quick to setup and cool down is the Heritage 150P and well within your budget so you could afford a couple of good extra eyepieces too. I very much doubt the much more expensive 150mm SCT will show anything more at the eyepiece. It’s also currently in stock at First Light Optics.

OK, so as the OP is refusing to give teasers out 🙂 why don’t we just for fun and whilst our scopes are cooling down have a guess at what colour it will be ? I will suggest a classic creamy white 😁

Hic 🤪🤪

I don’t think you will find anything at those camera lens F ratios in your budget. The Skywatcher ED80 seems to be a very popular choice for astro imagers….. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-ds-pro-ota.html You can get down to F/6.37 with the reducer.

“Flour-ite” sprinkled liberally on a mask will give much superior performance 😂

Cannot imagine what the dilemma is as you have already decided on the colour 😂

Great find 👍 Will be interesting to know what colour it will end up 🙂 Looking forward to the updates ……

Hello @PIRISH33 and welcome to SGL. The 6” Dobsonian you mention is an excellent choice and this one will give great views of the planets…… https://www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-telescopes/stellalyra-6-f8-dobsonian.html You will need to put it outside 30mins before usr to cool the mirrors down for best results.

Truly excellent 👍

What time did you take the image data ?

That’s very good, particularly as the seeing last night was quite poor 👍

That’s excellent, I was out at the same time and seeing was poor - thanks for sharing your image 👍

I can store it for you - FOC too 😁

Hello @Astro_Nic and welcome to SGL. You have a good budget but I would suggest you start with a modest 12” Dobsonian to gauge how things work in the real world before shelling out a lot of money. My suggestion would be this scope…… https://www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-telescopes/stellalyra-12-f5-dobsonian.html Plus a couple of good eyepieces, the 22 and 9 from this range would be very good…… but there are lots of others. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tele-vue-eyepieces/tele-vue-nagler-82-degree-eyepieces.html Also large mirrors like this take a long time to cool down when you take them out so you will have to factor in thermal management time. And the optics will occasionally need to be aligned to each other (collimation) for best optical results - it’s easy when you have done it a few times and there are lots of guides on the net.

Hello @PigzMightFly and welcome to SGL. I also have a back problem and have found a few things that help reduce discomfort whilst observing…. 1. Buy a good stool and sit down to observe. 2. Buy a scope that has the eyepiece at the rear. 3. Keep the tube length short. 4. Keep the weight down. Sadly for me that rules out Newtonians, a shame as they do give the best price to performance ratio. The Nexstar 4SE you mention may be a good choice for you. Good luck 👍