Shimrod

Looks like the sale is North America (US?) only, no change in price over here. Amazon.com prices are unchanged, so anyone in the UK wanting to take advantage of the sale (and it does look attractive!) would have to find a US based astro shop that will sell abroad.

There was a question on here a little while ago asking about where to get some Canon IS binoculars repaired as they were quite old. As I was browsing a Canon photography website I came across a link that points to the end date for support/repair for various Canon equipment including binoculars. This is probably of particular interest if you are thinking of buying second-hand. The link is to the Japanese website so I have included a cut & paste of the google translation for the binoculars below. Canon Repair support period

You had no problem doing that in the first post when you announced the channel! I don't think anyone here has any problem with another channel sharing hints, tips, guidance and reviews for astronomy but it really needs to have some actual content before it can be described as a valuable resource. Edit: You've also put Mr. Ince on the spot if he hadn't given you permission to post this.

You won't need a bahtinov mask for visual focussing, but buy one if you ever have more than a passing interest in astrophotography. I would probably stay away from the LX200 - I have an LX90 (my first 'real' telescope) and the fork mounts are really heavy - although very stable. If you are set on a 8" SCT a Celestron SLT, SE or Evolution model would be lighter and easier to manoeuvre. Generally the OTA in an old telescope would be fine, but I would be worried about the electronics failing. I'm going to guess the store is ENS Optical. If you're absolutely set on getting a larger telescope, you might want to look at the 8" Celestron Starsense explorer. It uses push to technology (you put your phone in a special cradle and use an app) to guide you to the right location in the sky. Have a look for reviews, it seems to be a well respected system. The total weight of the OTA and mount is around 20 kg.

The point wasn't missed - the post describes it as ' an invaluable resource for beginners and the more experienced' yet there's nothing there. It may become one in time, but there's absolutely no content of interest or value there at the moment.

Are you sure? All I see a handful of very short timelapse videos and nothing educational at all.

How did he know how to contact outside of eBay? Wanting contact outside eBay is a scam warning sign, but how did he get your Facebook details? On the listing side there's nothing to indicate this is a scam listing. The seller has 100% positive feedback and has sold other astro stuff that is consistent with the reason given for this sale. Other items sold also have the same surface background so I don't believe the account has been hacked. Are you sure the Facebook contact was genuine?

I was counting the whole package in the weight - OTA, ,mount and tripod. Even if 15Kg isn't too much to carry, the shape and size of an 8" SCT make it an awkward thing to carry. I'd suggest trying to get to a showroom or local astronomy club to have a look at some telescopes. If you're looking at an 8" SCT have you given up on the idea of taking it down the road to the park?

If you're asking about the difference between an 8" Newtonian and an 8" SCT, then the key differences (apart from a shorter tube) are that the focal length of the Newtonian will be shorter and the field of view in the SCT will be narrower. There are many objects (especially those visible in light polluted areas) which look much better with a wider field of view. Indeed some objects such as the Pleiades, Orion Nebula and Andromeda galaxy will not fit into the field of view of an 8" SCT so you could be missing out on some of the best targets. If you are still considering the 100m dash down the road to the park, bear in mind that while an 8" SCT might be lighter (around 15-20kg) it is still an awkward lump to carry and you will also be carrying accessories (battery, additional eyepieces etc). If you haven't read through it yet, the 'what can I see' thread is worth a look and may help you consider what you might want to achieve visually. I still think if you want something that is portable (and can be easily loaded into a car), the small refractor on an alt-az mount (manual or goto) or the table top dob might be your best choice. edit: just for reference, I have an 8" SCT on an AVX mount, but if I want to go any further than my garden, I have an AZ-GTI and choice of 61mm or 80mm refractors which I take out instead.

I had a quick look at the financial filings - looks like they have been burning through $150m per year, with revenues in the last year of around $2m. Even if the satellite launch had been successful, I'm not sure the profit on a launch (estimated at $12m cost per launch) would have been enough to get the company to breakeven given the current competition level in the launch market.

This would probably be even more awkward to carry than the Dob - at least three separate trips to carry the OTA, mount/tripod then counterweights and accessories. I would second @Ags suggestion of refractor and AZ-GTI - which can later be converted with a wedge to provide an imaging platform. Alternatively if the park has some picnic benches, consider one of the smaller table-top goto dobs (such as the Heritage Virtuoso) which will be portable and give you a good visual experience.

Failure is part of Musk's development process - much like Brian McCready (who won the Kremer prize). Unpinning this is having components that are reusable (as well as easily repairable) to enable a fast development cycle. It also helps to be well capitalised at the start which it seems Virgin Orbit was not if it only took one failure to bring the company to near collapse.

I've no experience of this eyepiece, but if you are after a wider field of view, the Celestron Luminos 31mm (82 degree) eyepiece is on sale at Amazon until this evening at £193 - about £80 off normal price. It's a large and heavy eyepiece though (over 1kg).

Sorry, I misunderstood your original question. You can't control the focuser with the handset unless you are using a Celestron mount - the focuser connects to the aux port on the Celestron mount and the handset operates the focuser via the mount. If you want to use it with your NEQ6 you are going to have to use your laptop. I control my AVX with the laptop rather than hand controller. I use CPWI and that allows me to use an XBOX game controller to control the mount - including the focuser. Possibly you could do something similar with sharpcap? You can control the focuser with the Celestron handset if you are using the Evolution, but you will need to use a laptop for the NEQ6

You can power (and control) your focuser by connecting it to a USB port on your laptop - just make sure it provides enough power. Alternatively it will also take a 12v power source (although you will still need the USB connection to operate the focuser).

I ordered mine last week after dithering for a while - bought the last one from an Ebay seller at £105. Not had a chance to use it and this is my first zoom eyepiece, but it clicks nicely into place as you zoom and feels well put together. I am hoping it will go well with my ZS61 to make my travel kit a bit lighter.

Have you flashed the firmware of the mount at all? If so check which version you have installed. I don't mean the version number (e.g. 3.40), but whether you have flashed the standard or AZ/EQ version. If using the latter, you have the telescope on the right hand side of the mount (when looked at from behind the mount) even if using it in AZ mode. If you have the standard version of the firmware, the telescope should be on the left. Skywatcher firmware download page These are the descriptions of the firmware from the above link. Standard firmware (telescope to left) AZ/EQ firmware (telescope to right, or for using a wedge in EQ mode)

If you don't mind second hand there is a 12" dob listed in the 'for sale' section. You'd have to have a trip to Cornwall which may be a bit far, but the saving on new would pay for an overnight stay in a hotel!

In the Starsense hand controller, you should be able to set the GPS module as the source of date/time under the Time and Location menu - Time/Loc mode. You need to give the GPS module time to lock on to enough satellites to be accurate when you turn the mount on - this can take 30s to 1 minute (occasionally longer). You should see a solid 'G' when you go to view/mode time when the GPS has a firm lock - a flashing 'G' means it is still working on an accurate lock. You can't start your Starsense alignment until the GPS has got a good lock.

It's worth downloading the CFM utility from the Celestron website and checking for firmware updates first. There have been some updates that have improved wi fi stability (depending on WiFi version) so try the cheap option first!

Why just 2.3.5 - the latest version is 2.4.3 There's been a number of user interface enhancements which make it a bit easier to use, some bug fixes for wi-fi and also tracking issues. I'm using the latest version without issue on an AVX.

Glendale app seems to be broken and has been most of the day (Showing server offline). Makes no difference as it's wall to wall cloud here - and forecast to be like this all week so I'll miss the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus as well, having watched them get closer over the last week.

The forecast has updated on the NOAA website - looks like the peak of the CME is going to arrive during daylight hours now rather than late evening. From https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/3-day-forecast

There should be an upload option on your phone - if you have a a picture on a camera, people tend to take a picture of the camera LCD display showing the photo! I find the Glendale app really useful for checking whether people are actually seeing aurora, but recently I am not so sure about the accuracy of reporting - it was wall to wall cloud here yet people were still reporting aurora as visible! Forecast is for G3 storms tonight from late evening: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/3-day-forecast

Isn't this the same question you have asked in this thread: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/406992-observing-help/