Jiggy 67

Not tried those but this works pretty well https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/astrozap-telrad-heater.html

No it’s not, my experience is that it will run it with no problems and a couple of dew heaters to boot. If you are into AP you may need a second supply though. For visual it’s great…..but expensive

If you have SkySafari, it contains an observing list of double stars from the Cambridge Double Star Atlas which I have been working my way through. Contains most if not all the above. Out of all of them, Beta Mon has to be my favorite…..stunning triple star!!

I use this Celestron one as well. It is expensive but very good for visual use. I run an EQ6 R Pro and 2 or 3 dew heaters for 5/6 hours with no problem and two lights remaining (indicating that it is still 50% charged

Obviously, opinions on how dirty something is is subjective…..just ask my wife!!……..but unless it’s really dirty, and not just dusty, leave it be.

Thankfully the humidity reduced dramatically after 9pm and the skies remained clear so I managed to get about 3 hours in under clear but moonlit skies

Been looking forward to tonight as it’s forecast clear and all green on CO so setup early. Been out for the last hour under horrible conditions, everything soaked in dew with an atmosphere akin to looking into a swimming pool!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this bad……anyone experiencing similar?? I am going to give it an hour, turned everything off apart from dew heaters (I’m visual only) and see if the skies dry out a bit

Wow they are amazing, like a true pro. I’ve often thought about sketching, appeals to me far more than AP but I sketch like a 5 year old….your examples make me want to try again!!

Let’s not forget, observing astronomical objects is a very challenging pastime. It is dependent on numerous factors including quality of equipment (you are right to upgrade ep’s, your current ones will be poor but eventually you will want to upgrade everything!!….it’s not a cheap hobby), seeing conditions and transparency which can spoil your obs regardless of equipment, light pollution levels……..and expectations. Visually Andromeda will only ever look like a dim grey smudge (unless you have very dark skies) as will all galaxies, most of which you won’t be able to see. The planets are heavily affected by seeing conditions, one night you will see Jupiter as nothing but a fuzzy disc, the next you may be able to see some banding which will require heavy concentration over a period of time with dark adapted eyes and good conditions….this hobby is not easy!! You might wonder why anyone bothers….for me it’s the challenge of seeing something thousands of light years away and trying to tease as much detail out of it as possible, often resulting in failure…..but I’ll try again later. The Pleiades maybe just a collection of bright dots but together they make for one of the most beautiful objects in the sky, all clusters are similar, they are bright dots against a darker backdrop, they will never be anything different…..but many of them are stunning. Keep at it and you will enjoy the effort required for some very small wins

I don’t think it’s sensible to permanently fit a finderscope to an OTA, for all sorts of reasons, damage, storage, transport. And there is no way you can expect it to be aligned across multiple scopes or even the same one after removing it, the very act of removing it from the shoe will send it out of alignment the next time you put it in the shoe as the locking screws will move it. I always align my finderscope on the first alignment Star, takes about 30 seconds

PS Align Pro app gives everything, location, date etc as it should be inputted into Synscan. Also the best PA app on the market imo

Yeh, given that the S6 is 7 years old, that could be the problem

Nice report, doubles can be challenging indeed and not just the separation. I was observing Xi Cephai in Aries the other night, a lovely double star with a bright white star and a blue companion close by , they look beautiful together……however it’s actually a triple with a third star further away from the B component, only problem was that the third star is 12th magnitude and I just couldn’t see it

Welcome Tony, I work in Chester, lovely City. Enjoy the forum

Likewise, I haven’t been near eBay for years, I’d rather pay more for piece of mind

My only concern would be the quality at that price, seems too cheap to be good……but I hope I’m wrong

I’m sure I was that fit once…….about 30 years ago!!

Excellent news Alan, I’ve been saving myself for this mount so looking forward to getting my hands on one….though I’m sure they’ll sell out pretty quickly at first

Is there any update on a release date for the AZ75??

Baader Wonder Fluid all day long

Likewise, I currently have to hard flight cases but they are bulky and don’t make good use of the space they have. I ordered one of the new Astro Essentials ones on FLO (the soft one) but really didn’t like it and sent it back, I would have won a £25 voucher as well for posting a photo of it full as well!!!! This looks a lot better, better use of space and I like the compartments for filters etc. I reckon I could get the contents of both my current cases in this one case. Think I’ll go for it 👍

It was good whilst it lasted 🤣

I would suggest “The Epic Y”….gotta get your name in somewhere!

Great report Joe, be interesting to see if someone can come up with a name for that asterism…..or have you earned the right to name it?!? 😀🤞

Right back at you, Merry Xmas to you and everyone on SGL