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Yup - I'm mostly a Skywatcher user now, and that's my main power pack. I do also have a TalentCell power pack, but the Celestron LT is the one I use by preference.

For 'a few hours' you should be OK using 8x rechargeable AA batteries - I've generally found that Skywatcher are OK with rechargeables (Celestron, err - less so!!) However, I generally use the 6.1 Ah Celestron Powerpack Lithium LT and it does several sessions with no problem. https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/celestron-powertank-lithium-lt-61ah.html

Professor Clive Ruggles is giving a talk on Archaeoastronomy on Monday 12th Feb at 6:30pm (UTC). It's being given over Zoom, and the link (not to be shared) can be obtained by emailing the contact name at the website here https://www.discoveryinthedark.wales/darkskieswalesweek

Yes, a system like ours is rare compared to what has been observed, but given our methods of discovery exoplanets, I strongly suspect that we would find it difficult to identify the majority of systems that were similar to ours. Of course, it's possible that we are 'rare', but we don't have the tools to know for sure.

Top tip - Children using the telescope will instinctively try to grab hold of the eyepiece, so a strong recommendation is to put a dining chair backwards by the eyepiece, and get the child to put both hands on the back of the chair before starting to look. That way, they can lower their eye to the eyepiece with their hands kept busy - this allows them to balance themselves comfortably, without moving the telescope. It works for adults too! They can be even worse than children for 'grabbing'

Heres our Heritage 130 in the bag we use for taking it out. It's slightly smaller than the 150 Heritage, so is probably a bit more manageable if you don't have transport yet. Depending on where you're observing, there may be a table or something similar to rest it on. That, a 32mm eyepiece and a 7-21mm zoom will probably scratch most astro itches to start with. However, you might also consider a pair of binoculars, the Opticron Adventurer 10x50 T WP are very well priced, and if you have a look at the Binocularsky.com website you'll have a multitude or targets to go for. There's a monthly newsletter too that gives you binocular friendly targets for the time of year. The website is run by Steve Tonkin who writes for various astro magazines, and is also here as @BinocularSky .

Under Ideal conditions, an astronomical telescope would have the final image at infinity - and that gives the 'correct' magnification based on the ratio of the focal lengths. If you took your spectacles off and had the final image at your eye's 'limit of accommodation', then the magnification will be different.

Oh, interesting. It's the day before we head off for a trip to Astrofarm France, but we could easily load the car and find a Travelodge nearer to Portsmouth. Hmm, very tempting.

We saw it at Morecambe late in '22 and it's brilliant.. Peterborough cathedral is also brilliant - take binoculars to have a proper look at the nave ceiling (you can see a little on the right of the second photo)

The issue with trying to use a Newtonian scope with a camera (dSLR or Mirrorless) is that in a Newtonian the primary image is usually formed inside the focus tube, and unless a low profile focus tube is fitted it will NOT be possible to get the image falling directly on the sensor, which is where you want it. You can get away with it by using a Barlow lens to increase the effective focal length - that can work, but reduces your field of view replace the standard focuser with a low profile focuser relocate the primary mirror a few cm up the OTA - this will reduce the effective aperture (unless you also replace the secondary with a larger one)

For imaging with the camera you have, you would be better advised to get a small refractor or a catadioptric scope like a SCT or a Maksutov. Of these, a short refractor will be far easier to get deep space images - as tracking and guiding is a lot less critical. On the other hand, you should be able to get good images of the moon with the catadioptric scopes. The 'advice' not to buy from Amazon is partly because they don't have the quality control needed to sell technical equipment, but mainly (in my view) because we need a healthy range of specialist dealers to allow us to get the less obvious products needed to go to the next level. But you are where you are, given you're looking to 'trade up' on the replacement. If you can't find something else, non astro, to use your Amazon credit, it's probably justified to buy from them. I can't advise which scope though, except to say that most Newtonian telescopes don't naturally work particularly well for astro (unless specifically designed for it). Your camera is pretty good for starting with astro imaging, here's an article by Ian Morison about the similar A5000 for astro https://www.ianmorison.com/the-sony-a5000-apsc-mirrorless-camera-an-astrophotography-bargain/ Ian's blog is well worth looking through.

It's out of stock, so don't consider this as promoting another company; but I've just seen that Tring have the Origin 6 listed at ~£3800 (but out of stock). No idea if it'll be the same when it comes back in. As for the RASA 8, I know someone (here) who uses a RASA, and I understand that getting the imaging sensor correctly flattened is a bit of a fiddle. Whether this is behind the complaints and temporary withdrawal from the market, I don't know.

If anyone's interested in archaeoastronomy, a 3D model of the Callanish stones on the Isle of Lewis has been produced (after an 18 year interval) based on a 2005 laser scan, so you can import it into Stellarium and explore how the night sky can be experienced from within the stones. 2025 is a year that will experience what's known as the Major Lunar Standstill - in which the Moon reaches the maximum displacement below the Ecliptic, and produces the effects when it rises furthest south. It is suggested that the alignment of the stones at Callanish is specific to the site, and marks the significance of the Major Lunar Standstill. Download and explore at your leisure https://callanish.archaeoptics.co.uk/aboutcallanish.html (There's a particularly satisfying feature early on the morning of 22nd March 2025)

If anyone's interested in an amateur astronomy course, the Kalamazoo Astro Society will be running an online course on Zoom on Saturday evenings (for us here in UK) from 13th January. If you register online beforehand, you can earn a certificate, and you can catch up with the zoom sessions on YouTube afterwards. All free, I'm told. https://www.kasonline.org/amastro.html

It's also worth knowing the effect that the Jetstream has on observing. If it's streaming at high altitude over your observing site then the view of the planets will be downgraded. I use this site to see the current position of the Jetstream https://www.netweather.tv/charts-and-data/jetstream

Similar to the thread about the Moon in Cheadle, people may be interested in seeing Gaia (a 6 metre full photographic globe of the Earth) at Norton Priory Museum in Runcorn, Cheshire from 9 - 28 January. https://www.nortonpriory.org/events.php They had the Moon there a few years ago.. Should be good.

One of the limits to the distance measurable by parallax is the size of the orbit about the sun. If we could move a Gaia equivalent to the orbit of Jupiter, we'd increase the distance by a factor of about 5 (under current technology). However, that would be so much data that we'd need significantl improvements in data transmission from deep space. I find it interesting that Gaia is incapable of accurately measuring the parallax of stars brighter than 3rd magnitude - so most of the stars we would instantly recognise are inherently less accurately measured. This is simply because their light bleeds out from the sensor pixels.

That's what I'd say - a brief illumination from the centre of the fuselage illuminating the landing gear and the engine pylons.

They say they hope to have an update next week. Given the weather we're having, I don't see any way I'd need an update any sooner.

Just after midnight today, they sent an email request to try a couple of tests, and also asking for Android version etc, as they couldn't replicate it on their devices. Then, about 3 hours later they sent another email to say they've identified that it has a problem with the Android GBoard keyboard app and they advised that I should download the MS SwiftKey keyboard app. I've asked them when the fixed version will be available from Google Play

Another tip when using an app is to go to a known region of the sky and work out the faintest stars you can see through the 32mm eyepiece. Then, in the app, use the 'magnitude' slider so that those stars just about appear. That way, you'll be able to match what you're seeing to what's visible in the app (particularly when you have the circle showing) and that should make star hopping easier.

When I had a chance to go to the Mount Palomar Observatory in 2001 (regrettably, just as a visitor I have to say), I think I was most struck by the cold cold air streaming out of the vents between the dome and the visitors' gallery. It struck me as (belatedly) obvious that it would make sense to keep the dome air conditioned to roughly the forecast temperature for the upcoming evening, so that there wouldn't be thermal air currents between the dome air and the outside air once the dome is opened.

One issue with Cats (such as SCTs and Maks) is that the light travels 3x through the OTA, so the effects of any internal thermal currents are triply emphasised. As Olly and AKB say, insulation can help reduce the effects (and is often mentioned on other forums) - though in both cases using a Hyperstar or RASA will by their design tend to show less effects as the light only travels 2x through the OTA.

I've held off from updating from SS6+ to SS7 - there doesn't seem to be much gain, and I read a lot of significant complaints with 7 when it first came out.

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