Shimrod

Isn't the Starpointer the same finder you got with the scope? So if this is a replacement you talked about in one of your other threads, then it should go on the existing dovetail fitting (Page 7 & 8 of 8SE manual) If you want to upgrade, you will need to choose something else.

To add to this - make sure you do this with the telescope turned off, so that you are not accidently tracking the sky while you are looking at something on the earth!

Before you rush into buying extras, you might want to check that you aligned the RDF to the telescope - from your description it sounds like they are out. Focus the telescope on something in the distance (an aerial or lamp post), and then ensure it is also centered in the RDF - there will be adjustment screws/knobs on the RDF to allow you to do this. Once aligned, it should be fine unless you remove and reattach the RDF every session - in which case you might need to do a bit of fine tuning before you start. I would suggest taking a couple of weeks to get to know the telescope and what you like looking at before you start to think about adding things - it will help you avoid buying the wrong thing in your enthusiasm, only to upgrade again shortly after (speaking from experience here!)

I would suggest getting to know what you've got before updating the firmware. The updates aren't that frequent and for a new telescope, I would expect it to be more or less up to date.

I use Starsense as a quicker way of getting set up. once the scope and mount are in place, I can leave Starsense running to align the scope for me while I am still bringing other bits of astro kit out of the house. It can also do the alignment before it is properly dark so enables getting set up a bit earlier in the evening. For your original question, Starry Night, Sky Safari and CPWI can all be used to control your scope -Sky Safari is tablet/phone based only and you would need to add Skyportal or Skyfi (wi-fi adapters) to your telescope to use. CPWI and Starry Night can be used via wi-fi or a cable to your hand controller. I find it much easier to select objects from a screen rather than using the hand controller. They provide a lot more information on what is visible, and offer 'best of the night' tours. I don't use a hand controller at all with my mount (AVX).

I know they've been mentioned before, but as the nights get shorter and we're still confined to our houses, it might be worth looking at the free courses on astronomy at Coursera. They're available at different levels, and for those who want to automate some of their processes, there's also a free Python course available.

I cleaned the mirror on my LX90 without removing it by following the guide: Cleaning a Meade LX Mirror

I suppose it depends how much the focuser has been improved as well as the optics. I recently bought an 80ED but upgraded the focuser at the same time - that was £675 (OTA plus Baader Steeltrack + adapter) to accommodate my camera.

The glib answer is colour depth, but I can't really tell you much more than that - I am still a beginner at astrophotography and the only thing I can say is it doesn't make any difference to my photos! As happy-kat mentioned above, you can download GIMP for free and that works with 32bit TIF files. I'm not seeing any difference between photos at the moment, but if I ever get good enough then perhaps it tells in the finer detail of the fainter objects.

I have just checked my Amazon account for some items I bought in February and they have a return window that closes end of May, so there is a good probability the same holds true for David - possibly Amazon have extended the returns window during the Covid-19 crisis.

you don't need to use Skyportal to control your telescope if you don't want to, and as long as you download the app over wifi you will not need to use any of your data allowance. If you connect your phone to the mount using skyportal, the mount will take the location and time from the phone instead. You can then use Starsense to align your telescope.

Are you able to send the GPS module back for a refund? I would suggest using Skyportal WiFi instead. I use this with my AVX mount and you can send the location (and control your telescope) from your phone, tablet or laptop instead. It's also about £50 cheaper!

In DSS you can choose 'save as' and specify 16 bits per channel instead. Photoshop elements still won't be able to edit this format, but it can open the files and convert to 8 bits per channel which it can work with.

The focal reducer for my EdgeHD fell apart in my hands today. All the elements are held in with a small ring that only requires about 2.5 turns to undo, and it had come loose when I removed it from the 'scope. Fortunately I was indoors when it happened and the elements landed in my hand and I was able to keep them in the right sequence. It's back together now, but it needs to come apart again as I can see dust on the internal elements. A bit of superglue I think once it is clean enough. In a momentary lapse of concentration, I have also removed the counterweights from the mount when packing up before putting the mount back into the home position. Managed to stop the 'scope from swinging around and the camera from smashing into tripod - I only managed this by stupidly putting my hand in the way, but it was an instinct reaction. Didn't break anything (kit or body), but it was very painful.

I think you need to compare that to the price of the ED80 in Australia - that's $1399 (or £700) for the £485 kit over here. If you take the same deduction (FLO sell the tube only by splitting kits), then you are comparing $1104 to $1500. A big chunk of that cost could be the upgraded focuser, depending of course on how good it is.

Last year there were 281 days with no sunspots, and so far this year there have been 70. During 2011-2015 sunspots were visible nearly every day. I follow this website for solar activity Space Weather as sunspots are also associated with auroral activity.

I have a different brand powertank which I charge with a car battery charger, as it is much quicker than the supplied charger and has rescued me from a completely dead batter before. Assuming you don't have one of the lithium based powertanks you could try that. I connect my charger into the car batter jump leads, but if you don't have those you may need to remove the battery from the case first. If you have one of the Lithium based powertanks I suspect this wouldn't be a good idea to try.

Before you hit buy on that shopping list - you mention at the start you have a Nikon camera, but your list only contains an adapter for an Canon EOS - have you selected the wrong item? It also sounds like you are imaging from within a town, so you might want to consider a light pollution filter.

That's very kind of you, but I've had to order a screw extraction set so I've added some m4 hex bolts onto the order.

So I've just bought an Skywatcher 80ED DS-PRO along with a Baader Steeltrack focuser. I'm making a right mess of removing the screws that hold the focuser to the OTA. I've got one out, but the other two are problematic and I'm not going to be able to use them to hold the new focuser. Can anyone tell me what size screw I need to replace them with? thanks

So I made a decision and the new scope arrives on Monday. I went for the Skywatcher ED80 DS PRo in the end, but I've bought a Baader Steeltrack Diamond RT to upgrade the focuser. I decided that some of the other telescopes were just a little too wide for me - the ED80 gives me a good compromise on portability and use for visual and photography.

Looks interesting, but I've actually been thinking of pushing the budget up a bit - any comments on the Esprit 80 ? I've read a bit about balance issues but can't find many reviews. While I am after a scope for travel so would like something useful for visual, when I am at home it would be mostly used for imaging.

Do you think I would be better with a rack and pinion focuser over a Crayford focuser give nthe weight of my camera (about 1kg)

Is that really the same as this one from Altair? Starwave 80ED I have been looking at so many scopes in this range that you start to see similarities - they just look like re-badged versions of the same scope. Would there be any reason to choose one over the other apart from price?

This would only be for in the UK, so something I can fit in the car along with luggage - this makes the 8" EdgeHd too bulky. Something the size of the Skywatcher ED80 with it's carry case would be ok, and budget wise £500-600 mark would be ideal. The AT92 would be well out of budget!