Astronomist

+1 for the nirvanas! They have very decent edge correction for the price, and even the giant 28mm is only just over £150.

Very hard to tell the difference, but IMHO the Towa does look a tiny bit sharper. Still, impressive performance for an antique lens!

1 hour ago, Neutrinosoup said:

what are the mid and upper tier manufacturers for Dobsonians in the UK?

You could look at orion optics UK, their products look very good, however their reputation is less than stellar.

Take Mr Spock's comments Re weight with a pinch of salt, Vulcans are much stronger than the average human... 🖖  Joking aside, Dobs are really not as heavy as they look. Most of the awkwardness comes from their large volume, which can make negotiating stairs tricky.

If the quality of that model is anything to go by I can't wait to see the full size Dob! What aperture will it be?

1 hour ago, Mr H in Yorkshire said:

no-one has made their EQ platform with the altitude axis as an integral part

Pretty sure I saw a couple of threads about this on CN a while back, and I think at least one person has built one. Trouble is it makes the whole thing a lot more difficult to transport, as in many EQ platforms the top and bottom halves aren't actually held together. also it makes life difficult if you want to use DSCs as you cannot transition to pure altaz.

definitely get the 10" if you can lift/transport it. I have the bresser version (which I believe is slightly heavier than the stellalyra) and it really isn't as heavy as it looks, however the ota weight 'with accessories' is advertised as 13kg when in reality it is closer to 18kg. As @Second Time Around mentioned, the altitude bearings make a very convenient handle.

Here's my sensible, compact 14mm 82°... only weighs about 1.1kg. 

Welcome (back?) to SGL!

Cloudy here in salisbury, but the weather forecast predicts better conditions on the way. 🤞 

Maybe a satellite flare? There used to be a constellation of satellites called 'Iridium' that famously flashed very brightly at predictable times, but I don't think any of those are still in orbit. modern satellites do flare sometimes, but not as brightly due to their small solar arrays versus the huge ones on the Iridium satellites.

I doubt you will need to use an extension tube with a barlow, although it is a possibility as your scope was designed for prime focus imaging with an astro camera. If the screen is completely black then either you missed Jupiter, or more likely the ISO/exposure values are set too low and need to be increased.

Optimally you should be at a focal ratio of around F20 to F22 for planetary imaging with your camera. If I assume the scope is a William optics zenithstar 81 at F6.9 then idealy you should be using a 3x barlow.  Of course it is still well worth trying with a 2x barlow, you just won't be taking advantage of the scope's full resolution.  Give it a go, you might be surprised with the results!

Identified Flying Lantern if you were wondering...

Last night I was shocked to see a Bright reddish orange light moving across the sky at improbable speed. At first I thought it was a Jet on afterburner or a model rocket, however after training the scope on it I realised it was a chinese lantern. I estimate the lanterns apparent size at around 0.3° which based on a true size of 70cm (apparently that's how big a chinese lantern is )  gives an altitude of ~440 feet. It appeared to move at around 5x the speed of the ISS (which moves at ~1.6°/sec) so 8°/sec at 134m. All of this works out to a very approximate speed of 40mph. 

What if it landed on a thatched cottage? 🔥

I really need to get out more , working out the speed of flying lanterns isn't a sane way to spend a monday evening.😆

I'm going to give the pup a go this year, but I suspect the seeing and my dob's TDE might hold me back. I will give it as many attempts as possible though and hope for good seeing 🤞

Looking forwards to it! Hopefully it's a 99% off sale... 

I see Uranus as a faintly blueish grey and neptune as a sort of pale azure, with the colours being more saturated on nights of good transparency or when I am not dark adapted. Interesting how differently people see the colours; I suppose the 'true' colour of something depends on the person observing it.

I really like that, why don't you drill 1.25" and 2" holes in the board, in the manner of the eypiece holder on the side of the rockerbox? I would try build myself something similar, but I dont think it would work with the alt bearing design of Bresser / ES Dobs.

If I were in your situation I think I would go for the previously reccomended 8" stellalyra dob, which comes with 2 decent eyepieces. Collimation is really not as difficult as it sounds. An 8" Dob is a scope that could, with few upgrades, last you a lifetime, as long as you don't contract aperture fever or a desire to do astrophotography. However if portability is a major concern there are clearly better options to explore, as outlined in previous posts.

Avoid the EQ1 and 2 mounts at all costs!

A lot of people who use dobs transport them in one piece on a sack truck: Example. this means they never have to lift the scope in any way, which is great assuming there are no stairs between the place where the telescope is stored and the set-up site. 

I would suggest attempting to focus on a star but alas most of the uk is covered in clouds...

Welcome to SGL!

38 minutes ago, GasGiant said:

would you look at DSO nebulars and such, through a 30mm eyepiece/Dob for a wide FOV ? 

Yes. I Gather your Dob is a 10" F5, so this provides a nice large exit pupil and wide TFOV for observation of large DSOs.

It's hard to compose photos in the dark. 

Here's my 10" cooling down, ready for my first session in almost 3 weeks. please just imagine the top and bottom parts of the telescope are in the frame. Note also the elegant observing chair and accessory table.

And yes, that is parcel tape holding the rockerbox together.

I have a similar project in the planning phase at the moment, so very inspiring to see one as good as this. Unfortunately you are a far better woodworker than me, so copying might be difficult!

Welcome to SGL!