Buzz Parsec

Excellent capture.

A selection of gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing. Your mosaic is absolutely stunning! Can't wait for a clear night now to get back out and have a bash at the moon.

I like it.

That's a good image. Love the moons. Thanks for sharing.

Those are brilliant.

That's a cracking image.

Brilliant. I'd be so pleased if that was first colour effort. Good job and thanks for sharing.

Can't you try both and see which comes out best? I've always worked like your option 2 in the past, with good results but; it would be interesting to see how option 1 fares.

Wow! That's just a thing of beauty! It would great to hear about first light when you get a chance to use it.

To keep a collimator collimated, I use a lego jig to rotate the laser and make sure it stays on spot; not create a little circle on a wall a few feet away. I saw this on an American forum, so can't take any credit, but it's worth sharing. 2 mins to knock up if you have a small, lego or Minecraft minded child!

Just wanted to share my set up. Not the most hi-tech but it works fine for me. I have the one scope, an Orion 200 8" newt, which I have owned for about 10 or 12 years. Apart from the occasional collimation and washing the mirrors every once in a blue moon, it's as it was when I bought it. I couple this with an even older, but still mighty fine, Tal motorised mount on a Tal pillar. The mount runs a RA motor only, powered through the mains. Apart from blowing the 0.25A glass fuses now and then, it needs little attention and tracks really well. I've been out of astronomy for a few years but getting back into it as my 12 Yr old daughter is fascinated by anything astronomy. I'm hoping to get her involved in lunar and planetary imaging, as per the photos taken many years ago using this set up. Thanks for looking.