Joef

I’ve just recently bought the 72ED, my first refractor, so can’t compare to any others, but I was very impressed with it, I use it with my DSLR, no flattener or reducer, and got pinpoint clear stars to very near the edge. I was fortunate it came with a Bahtinov Mask, which really helps with the focusing. As I say, I’ve nothing to compare it to, but I’m very impressed with it. Good luck with your decision.

I’m relatively new to this myself, having only got my scope in January, but if the skies are clear, I’ll be out, there is so much to see up there, agreed, the planets are not ideally placed right now but IMO one of the best ones is the Moon, and in the early days of the hobby, it is an ideal target, get you used to the scope, the eyepieces, and the way the mount works, I can spend hours just looking at the moon. As for DSOs, there’s a huge amount to see, Andromeda and Pleiades are so easy to find, and when you see them, you’ll get a huge buzz. My advice is start easy, and build up, those planets, stars, nebulae and galaxies have been there millions of years and will still be there later on in the year. Have fun.

I use the Moon Globe App, simple to use, and informative., AND it's free.

Just thought I’d let you know, the jubilee clip mod works a treat, Thanks for the advice.

I have these items on order now, should be a day or two. Thanks a lot.

Tonight I had the first opportunity to get out with my new HEQ5 Pro mount and 200PDS. When you go from target to target the mount tracks fine, no problem there, but the way it moves, the eyepiece position obviously changes position, sometimes on the side, sometimes on the top, so the scope needs to be spun in its brackets, so you can look through the eyepiece comfortably. The questions are, is there a right or wrong way of doing this, if the RA or DEC moves, do you have to start from square one again, ie alignment, balancing etc.

Tremendous job there, looks really good and solid. I think my other half would go Ape if I hit her with an idea like that. 👍

I’ve got the 12mm and 5mm BST E/p, I really like the 12mm, but just can’t get on with the 5mm, it’s probably just me and my eyes.

Nice looking set up there Gary.

That looks very impressive.

Hello and Welcome to SGL.

Hello and a welcome to SGL Denise.

Welcome to SGL from a cloudy and rainy Scotland.

Welcome to SGL.

Welcome to SGL, perhaps 2 pairs of socks.