bwj

Glad to see someone else getting the bug. You might want to look at this site. https://www.nexstarsite.com/ I have an 8SE, and the book helped me immensely. Clear Skies!

I can't speak to a GEM for the C8, but I also have the 8SE. While it not the steadiest, I haven't had a problem with it for visual. I have am starting to use a piggyback mount for my DSLR. This article might be useful. https://www.sdfalchetti.com/blog-1/2021/1/16/astrophotography-with-the-nexstar-8se Clear skies!

The only issues I've had using the mains adapter is if I don't seat the plug well, or it isn't stable when I plug it into the extension cord I'm in the U.S, so my mains power is 110-120 volt.

In my case, it's the people in UK that can gloat. I only had about 4 clear nights in January, which is unusual for us. I was only able to get out once and had to stop after about 90 minutes because of dew and frost. I have a dew shield. but no heaters yet. At least one of the nights I didn't go out was because we had a week of -28F. And I'm a temperature wimp! Clear Skies!

There is this thread in the lounge Clear Skies!

I don't knowvif it will help with camera choice much, but this article goes through using the 8SE pretty well. https://www.sdfalchetti.com/blog-1/2021/1/16/astrophotography-with-the-nexstar-8se I keep reading comments that you can't do decent astrophotography with an alt az mount, or specifically with an SE. But it seems there are a lot of people successfully using them. Especially if it's what you already have, you can work with it. If for personal reasons you want to upgrade later, that's great. Clear Skies.

Take a look at this article. A lot of good information specifically for the 8SE. with both a dslr and astro camera. https://www.sdfalchetti.com/blog-1/2021/1/16/astrophotography-with-the-nexstar-8se Clear skies!

Yeah. And from what I've read, the original purpose was for personal assessments. The Bortle number was based on visual observation, so varies with each individual, depending on their visual ability/ condition. As such it is really a very subjective measurement. It can also vary from hour to hour or even minute to minute with atmospheric conditions. I think people try to use it for more than it is because most of us have trouble justifying the cost of an SQM and this provides the next best "measurement". I think the table I posted is a good step towards actually quantifying the Bortle numbers. Clear Skies!

Sounds like you're doing great! One other resource you might look at if you haven't already is the "Cloudy Nights" forum page. This thread specifically is about observing from Bortle 8-9. Long thread started by a beginner without much experience, and a lot of helpful comments. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/881347-if-you-live-in-bortle-7-or-8-or-9-what-did-you-see-last-night-in-your-scope/ Clear skies!

I have the 8SE but am lucky enough to live in fairly dark skies, Bortle 4. I would highly recommend you get a copy of "Turn Left At Orion". It will be very helpful in locating targets. A lot of people also recommend "The Urban Astronomers Guide" by Rod Mollise, part of the Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series. Last but not least is https://www.nexstarsite.com/NUG2.htm. It helped me a lot, and gives much more complete information than the owners manual. Clear Skies!

Look at some of the ideas from this post

Look up roll away or roll off observatories here or on https://www.cloudynights.com/ A simple Google search will aldo yield many images and videos of these, as well as the roll off roof style. Clear skies!

You might also look up "Backyard EOS". They have a free trial version.

For anyone....anti satellite defense!

You might be able to use a system like Pier-tech does for their observatories. http://piertechinc.com/roll-off-roof-observatories/ They essentially use industrial sized slides like oversized drawer slides. I have seen a couple on "Cloudy Nights" that used this method. Pier Tech had a smaller discontinued model that look almost like what you're doing and the slides don't show when it's closed. Clear skies!