Jiggy 67

I haven’t but barlows are pretty simple pieces of equipment so any would work just fine, obviously if you go premium you might get a better result but I don’t think there would be much in it. The eyepiece is the important thing and if you’re gonna go for a zoom (which IMO every ep case should have) then the Baader would be my recommendation. An expert on barlows may disagree and I use the Baader 2.25X but I don’t think it’s a mistake to go for the BST

A great zoom eyepiece, use mine a lot especially on double stars where it makes a huge difference in not having to change eyepieces as you zoom in to split the stars

Amazing sketch of probably my favorite planetary

Do you mean “bought” in April 2018??.....If so, that is some delay in delivery!!! 😀 What was the problem?.....Lovely scope btw

Mine don’t blink either, don’t worry, yours is working perfectly

Welcome to SGL. Regarding your specific question, although there are a lot of Americans on this site, it is predominantly UK based. Try asking the same question on something like Cloudy Nights. Otherwise ask away 😀

Nicely done Mike

Hi and welcome to the forum. First bit of advice, forget photography, expel it from your mind....for now. I would just concentrate on getting to know your equipment, visually observing the solar system and other easy targets for now, visual observations are very satisfying and you will learn the sky over time. There are loads of experts on here (not me) so just ask

Reading the FLO description, this filter is made by Astronomik for Tele Vue....which is a fantastic endorsement of Astronomik by TV. I have Astronomik O-III and UHC and can totally recommend them. I’m no expert though.......but Tele Vue are

Just to note, for Mac, I downloaded it straight from Apple store, no emulator

You can on Mac, don’t know about Windows

I love SkySafari. I have Stellarium too but think SS is better. I have the Pro on the laptop and Plus on my phone. They talk to each other across SkyLive so any work carried out on the laptop transfers over. It’s fantastic for recording and logging your observations and linking your obs to the database for added info and Hubble (and other) photos. The ability to download observation lists and even share them is another good feature. It took time to find my way around but wouldn’t use anything else now.

SkiSafari app has transit times of stars in the info page for the object

Absolutely correct, but as always happens with this topic, the conversation turns to the age old argument between GoTo fans and manual fans....and their entrenched positions 😀😀.....always amusing and never reaches a conclusion, it’s gotta be the oldest running argument on these forums...long may it continue!!

Another excellent article. I find a lot of mixed opinions on filters, some people prefer not to use them at all, but I think this article shows that with the right filter for the right job, and a bit of patient use, they can make a big difference. Unfortunately it also shows that if you want good results, you need to put your hand in your pocket!!......there are no cheap filters in the article

I’m not particularly bothered by the lack of UK images, though I did notice it when I read the mag, but I would be interested to know the readership figures in the US for a UK magazine. Maybe there is a bigger readership in the US??

Probably the best article I’ve read on filters

You contact the site directly quoting the fact that you are for the star party for which the whole campsite is reserved usually. All pitches are EHU. Im hopefully hiring a camper/ motor home for the October camp and spoke to Lesley at the site. It’s the same price as a tent, all pitches accommodate vans and tents and she welcomes them......better than roughing it!!

Thanks John, saved to my Amazon wish list for future reference

.......bizarre battery though....😀 the HoTech that is

+1 for the HoTech...it is a quality laser that doesn’t need collimating and uses a compression ring in the focuser so you know it’s centered in the focuser. It is expensive but quality costs

As @Cosmic Geoff has said it really is a personal choice. I would now only consider GoTo and I started out manually. I’ve seen objects that I would never have seen manually, objects that don’t even feature in the Synscan handset but by manually inputting the coordinates can be found in minutes. Personally I’d rather be observing than searching

A lot of people in favour of dobs and I can understand why but one question that hasn’t been asked is “how dark are your skies” none GoTo dobs will probably involve star hopping which is fine if you’re under reasonably dark skies. If, like me, you have heavily light polluted skies then star hopping can be difficult and that’s where GoTo is a God send

You can’t that I’m aware of, unless you’re using a camera and some form of software but I’m no expert in that. What mount have you got? On an EQ mount PA is about aligning the RA axis of the mount with the North Celestial Pole. For that, without electronic means, you need a polar scope for accurate pa. For visual observations you can get away with pointing the mount North but don’t expect accurate polar alignment.

I wouldn’t say that the altitude scale is “completely wrong “ just not accurate, it will get you in the ball park. If you imagine that the North Celestial Pole is an infinitely small dot in the sky, close ( in our comprehension) to Polaris then just using your eyes to get the mount RA axis anywhere near it just ain’t gonna happen. A polar scope will get you much closer, but then, if you want to do Astro photography you would want to be even closer!! Welcome to the world of tracking objects!!.....