WhySoSirius

Im off to Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh on tuesday. My girlfriend and i have booked a few excursions, the one im most looking forward to though is a stargazing trip in the desert. They drive you out before sunset, put a little show on for you then set up some telescopes when it gets dark. I cant wait to see how the sky looks. Should be crystal clear with no light pollution at all. Just wish i had a decent camera! Anyone else been on this trip in Egypt before or similar trips elsewhere?

i was out last weekend (friday 22 april) gazing at saturn again and thought id attempt to take a picture of saturn using my iphone, and after a LOT of camera phone hovering managed this. i was using a barlowed 9mm ep at the time on my nexstar 130. i know its a crude image compared to many others on here, but its a start, i didnt even think it would work this well!

Thats not a bad idea with the streetlight! i may try it, and while im at it i think i'll sabotage every halogen security light in my neighborhood too. What exactly are filters used for? Do they just alter the colour of the images you see? Or is there more to it than that?

So, two weeks after getting my scope I finally got the clear night I've been waiting for! I know there's been a few clear nights lately but I've been waiting for a clear Saturday night so I didn't have to worry about getting up early for work the next day. Anyway, about half 11 last night i stuck my head out the window to see how clear it was and yes! Not a cloud in the sky. Out i went and a quick scan of the sky with my iphone app showed me saturn was in full view, just drifting over the roof of my house into perfect view from my back garden, just above and to the right of Spica. Unfortunately theres a streetlight right outside my front garden, so i have to wait until it drifts around the back before i even have a chance of decent viewing. So i hastily set up the new nexstar 130 and got it into my field of view using just the 25mm that came with the scope, just able to make out the rings i was already well impressed with what i could see. After setting up the auto tracking and centering Saturn in the eyepiece i got the 9mm lense with the 2x barlow out, slotted it into the eyepiece and needless to say, i was blown away. The clarity of the rings was unbelievable, better than i ever imagined. I also swung around for a quick look at the moon before it sank below the horizon, and again, was blown away at the amount of detail i could see just with the 25mm. Cant wait for the full moon on the 17th, just hope its clear. Anyway the moon vanished so i swung back round to saturn for one last look before calling it a night, just as my mum and brother returned home from work. they both had a quick gaze and couldnt believe it was real. we were all dumbfounded by saturns beauty. even my brother, who is the more materialistic type, not usually bothered about anything other than facebook or shopping, said seeing it 'made him feel special'. It really was an enjoyable night for me, and now im thinking of attempting some photography , i just need to buy a suitable camera. As i discovered last night, the iphone camera just doesnt suffice!

There certainly is. I bit the bullet last Wednesday and went ahead and ordered the 130 . 2 days later it arrived! unfortunately though there hasnt been a clear night in bristol since then so havent had a chance to test it out. that didnt stop me setting it up in my living room though, and in terms of build quality/ ease of assembly i cant fault it yet. im also awaiting delivery on a barlow lens and moon filter so hopefully they'l arrive in time with a good clear night and i can finally get out there and enjoy the night sky in a bit more detail.

Hi im new, just registered and im looking for some advice. I've been shopping around on the net for weeks and weeks for a good first telescope and Ive managed to narrow myself down to two that both look pretty good but just cant decide which one to go for. Can anybody offer me any advice between the two telescopes in the title? From what i can gather, putting design and aesthetics aside, these two are quite similar optically, despite the 127 being slightly more expensive. any help would be much appreciated.