Beardy30

1 minute ago, LaurenceT said:

I think I'd be more inclined to buy 6 Seestars for that money and establish The Large Back Garden Seestar Array.

Edit: Actually I wouldn't 😄

No me neither but having a Seestar myself I’d still be tempted at some point by the celesteon 

Don’t think I’ll risk it 

Sorry I meant price aside capabilities wise and quality wise obviously- be interested to see if it’s worth the upgrade 

I wonder how one of these would compare to the Seestar https://www.firstlightoptics.com/rowe-ackermann/celestron-origin-intelligent-home-observatory.html

I have a steel tripod not sure if that will make a difference 

Has anyone ever fitted this to the AZI GTI mount - the know its over payload but for visual only could it work ? Possibly with a RDF instead of the finder scope to reduce weight ? 

I had a 127 and my 4” Achro beat it hands down for me so I’m not surprised there 

Thanks guys interesting indeed that they are preferable to a 127 Mak - thanks 

Has anyone ever compared these two scopes for dSO and planetary - I’m assuming the Mak will win outright for planetary and lunar but it would be good know if anyone has ever compared both side by side and which comes out as the best all rounder 

Has anyone ever used one of these with the kids and if so what’s the verdict on them ? 

Howdy 🇺🇸 

Yea I thought that might be the case - think I’ll avoid a Mak in future for this reason 

Fries anyone know if it’s possible to fit a Crawford style Focuser into the 127 Mak rather than having to use that awful Focuser knob ?? 

I went for the 102 startravel on the azi GTI - personally I found it frustrating and have since ditched my 224mc camera and I’ve bought a Seestar s50 - it’s so simple to use I’d recommend it, however I also Like my 102 - not a high end scope but it does a good job visually 

On 22/02/2024 at 16:17, Hellfire said:

Hello everybody, Chas here, 65, from Wirral.

I got myself a Skywatcher Explorer 150P a number of years ago. 

Work however didn't allow time to use it, so up into the loft it went.

Now I'm retired, I've got it down, set up and recollimated and am raring to go.

If only it would stop raining 😂

hello and welcome from Preston 

fantastic choice, im over in Preston , could do with this weather shifting!

10 hours ago, Elp said:

I think they want simplicity and portability over aperture, refractor will likely get used more as a result. I'd also second a 4 inch refractor but with mount and tripod your budget will quickly disappear. Do not skimp on the mount and especially the tripod, these are the most important pieces over the optics as the slightest vibration either from your movements or a slight breeze will ruin the experience.

I've mentioned 4 inch, personally I find I tend to use my 60mm more due to the wider field, even on planets they're sharp though small. The 4 inch however does reveal more dso (which will greatly depend on the local LP levels) and this is where increased aperture will provide a benefit. 

Good advice here and I agree 

On 01/03/2024 at 00:50, Mr Brownstone said:

I'm looking for an easy to use refractor scope with viewfinder and tripod. I live in a bortle 4 area. I'm not interested in astrophotography. I just want it to view planets, brighter deep sky objects, and any comets that might pass through. I don't want to be bothered collimating anything and hope to transport to a darker site on occasion. Budget about $300-$800. Any suggestions? Thanks

Hi - I would highly recommend the Sky-Watcher Star Travel 102, yes you will get some chromatic aberration at that price point but it’s not as bad as you may think, it is however a superb scope that is hassle free and gives great wide field views of stars etc I have one and recently sold my 127 as it could t get a look in on the 102 by comparison- just my personal perception of course.

I had some impressive views of Jupiter which blew me away to be honest which gave a lasting impression.
 

Mount wise you’ll struggle so I’d recommend looking at this separately personally- I went for the AZI GTI - and I’ve not regretted it 

My seestars50 picked it up Nicky yday morning 

I’ve never used Samsung personally so cannot comment sorry 

I use an iPhone 13 currently but I’m eventually going for a dougee T20 from Amazon they are very compatible and affordable at £140 

Finished this evening with a shot of Capella - 3min-10 secs of  data  - 10second exposures. Wasn’t able to get anything else, moon too bright and light pollution saw to that but not bad tbh quite pleased with the image for my first go 

First moon shots with the SeeStar and it had to be done with the full moon tonight ight 

.

50 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

Maybe so, but I already re-calibrated it for the Moon the previous night.  When I first made the S50 find the Moon some months ago, it homed in on the nearest streetlamp, which was not particularly helpful but gave a good clue as to how the Moon-seeking actually worked with that edition of software.

Interesting 🤔