HonestGazer

Hi All, I am building a platform based on the instructions in this thread (thankyou!) I just wanted to ask is anyone else EQ1 mount very loud! It is making so much noise and just want to see if that's normal or I have a dud?

Hi All, My boys and I had read that this week would get good views of Saturn in the UK, unfortunately (matter of opinion) we have been on holiday up until Tuesday and were starting to think we may miss it due to weather. I agreed that I would check the skies last night and if there was an opening and I could spot it, I would wake them up (bed time for them is 7pm!) And they could come out to observe and make there notes in the journals. I didn't hold much hope, cloud cover was high and the moon would be right beside her! However a opening came just after 10, took the scope out and started to explore. At first I was having no luck however managed to get Saturn locked in and wow! I really was blown away and amazed - my first viewing of Saturn and just wow. Needless to say I kept my promise, I went upstairs very gently spoke their names and they were up instantly and outside with me! Both of them equally blown away. As a parent you want to leave your kids sleeping and feel bad waking them however I think the experience was worth it and they now have a first page in their journal about Saturn! If you made it this far, thanks for investing the time to read and good luck at night all.

Literally just had the scope out with my two kids, we lined it up to the new moon first - it was a real wow moment for them. The moon looked stunning tonight. We then hopped over to Jupiter, albeit we decided to put on a 2x barlow after a while. Next visit was Venus and finally I put the astronomik UHC filter with the new Nirvana and had a fantastic view of the Orion Nebula. We then timed out as the kids needed to start getting ready for bed! Lovely moments and a great suggestion on the lens! Thankyou all!

My mind.....is blown lol 😆 I went for the 13mm Nirvana as @Mr Spock mentioned! Aim is to get near a 2mm exit pupil which from my research I have read is a good intermediate for DSOs etc.

Thanks all! I have gone for the Nirvana 13mm, my thought process being that it would be a nice intermediate for DSOs etc. And gets my StellaLyra to a 2mm exit pupil (I hope!) Regarding the 2" I am open to the idea, I just didn't want to spend hundreds.....yet....🤭

It's difficult to say! It should definitely be noticeable over the 60 x-cel. I have done alot of reading/research and 80+ seems to get thrown about alot!

Hi All, As the title suggests i am looking for a new EP - I have been enjoying my Celestron X-Cel-LX set (5mm, 7mm, 25mm and 2x barlow) however I am now looking for a wider FOV! I'm not looking to break the bank (appreciate that is the difficulty with the wide FOV) but want to see what people's recommendations are! Explore Scientific are looking like a good option.