SwiMatt

It's the mount that came with the OTA. I did not have time and money to update yet - but I read good report of the AZ5 with the Mak 127. The weak point is the tripod which I will update soon for a carbon one. And yes, portability for me is paramount since I live in a light polluted neighborhood and at the third floor in a small apartment. That bundle gave me the best compromise between aperture and portability (although knowing what I know today, if I did that again I would go with smaller APO).

Thank you all for the answers! Actually, I was aware of the undersize aperture when I bought it, believe it or not. I had read about it but don't remember where. I haven't tried to split many double stars, the lowest I have gone is probably 4 arcseconds (Algieba comes to mind), so cannot confirm what @Zermelo says. I'm not the most avid double stars observer. And no star tests either. I observed the planet in all sorts of conditions and one thing that I can tease out is when seeing is bad 😂 and in terms of cooling, for my planetary sessions I normally put the Mak out well in advance to cool it down (even 1 or 2 hours sometimes), I'm not sure if temperature gradients would be so strong to actually affect the optics once the scope is acclimated, but maybe this is something to account for. Let's put it like this: after few long sessions (probably more than 10 sessions at this point), I find Jupiter quite boring since I can never tease out more than just the equatorial bands. I have seen possible traces of festoons and GRS, but far from conclusive certainty. So far, I thought I didn't have enough optical quality of the OTA or experience: now I am starting to think that the erecting prism might exacerbate the other limits. I will buy a star diagonal and come back with answers as soon as possible (when the weather allows again)

For additional info, I found out that the particular bundle I got (Skymax 127 with AZ5) comes with an erecting prism, not a star diagonal. I wonder why SW would make this choice, considering that on the page of the SW erecting prims it says that it is designed primarily for terrestrial observing. It seems to beat the point of a beginner bundle at that price point...

Thanks for the recommendation @Zermelo and the warning @Louis D!

Dammit 🥲 And also, I will have to relearn my handles directions... thanks @Stu. Any suggestions on what to look for if I wanted a good diagonal that doesn't break my bank?

After 6 months of use, I thought I would get deeper into the "litterature" to try and understand my Maksutov a bit better. I am very happy with it: the stars are very sharp and I got amazing views of the brightest DSOs. One thing that has been frustrating me is that, despite all my attempts, planetary observation still does not give me views rich in detail, but... I guess it will come. Digging deeper into the details, I realized something that has me baffled, to say the least: the views in my Mak aren't flipped - but I seem to understand that it should revert right and left when used with a star diagonal. If this is indeed unusual, I figure that when I got it from FLO (discounted, a customer return) they must have included an erecting prism instead of a star diagonal, and this got me wondering: am I taking full advantage of my optics? Am I losing precious photons and contrast? Might this explain why I have such troubles with observing planetary details? In short: should I buy a star diagonal?

Have you thought of not going to bed at all?

Great question! Personally, I had been in online forums (for other hobbies) before, and I know for a fact that it takes some luck to find one that feels like a real community. The reason I started with SGL and not the other one is that SGL seemed far less American (I lived in the US, I love the US, but... I think you know what I mean here). From the moment I joined - a few weeks after I caught the bug for astronomy - it just felt right. It's a fun bunch people with very deep passion and knowledge of the craft. And from the start I haven't felt like "the noobie", more like a "mentee" in a way. That was fundamental for me to become active on here.

The only club that ever asked me tests of admission was a Magic club 😅 I too have been very involved in committees/mods groups for both clubs and online forums, and I understand that it can be annoying when all you do as part of those committees is dealing with new comers who treat clubs like a paying service, instead of a community. But I don't think that adding a clause like the one you mention is the right way to deal with it - and the few times that I saw it at work it backfired spectacularly leading old members to leave too. I personally would not put up with it if I was looking to join a club, but only because of my past experiences with people who would think of such rules in clubs - it's a knee jerk reaction, more than a reasoned argument.

Too tired for a full session, but the sky looks splendid, so I went out on the balcony for a little bit with binoculars. Despite the Moon high in the sky, I spotted easily M45, M42 (both fuzzily visible by the naked eye) and the Double Cluster. While searching for the latter, I spotted something that looked a lot like an open cluster but couldn't say exactly what it was. I was around where NGC 457 is supposed to be (according to star charts), so maybe I got that one. I also glimpsed M103 in Cassiopeia, knowing what I was looking for it was easy enough - but quite small. A final look at the Moon, and now I'm back in for bed!

Thanks for the precious suggestions! I will try the hood for sure, glare is indeed an issue on my balcony. To be honest, I also did not expect to resolve any stars, which in turn did not make me look for it...

Thanks for the tip @Stu! I extensively alternated between direct and averted vision, but haven't tried flicking away in that way. Will try it for sure next time. Of course, with high light pollution stars might just not have enough contrast to actually be resolved? Just a thought. I have been wondering a lot about exit pupil recently - after the thread about small APOs: with my machinery and my best eyepiece (100x), exit pupil is 1.27mm. I wonder if that further decreases details that can picked up?

Woke up early to enjoy possibly the only good night of February. All in all, limited by what is visible from my balcony, I had a very nice session! I saw a couple of doubles, M3 and possibly M94, more in my report:

According to the weather forecast, I had two opportunities to observe this month: either earlier this morning after 6am, or later this evening. Because I have a dinner I need to attend, my only chance was to set my alarm at 5.30am on a Saturday morning after a tough week at work. I... love this hobby I guess. The cat wakes me up at 4.30. The sky is completely covered. The forecast now says that by 5am it will start opening up. Still, I'm crossing my fingers that this was a good idea. I put out the Mak to cool down, and get ready to get out in the cold - but first, a coffee. At 5.15am I'm sitting on my observing stool on my balcony facing West, looking at the clouds that are running across the sky; in between the clouds I can see all the main stars in Leo. Transparency seems good. The skies open up, and I thank the astronomy gods. First stop: Algieba. Because I started my adventure in astronomy only last April with binoculars, I haven't had the time to study all the spring constellations then, and Gamma Leonis is a novelty for me. At 60x, it's a bright yellow star, at 100x it starts looking like a little "8". At 150x I split the star, but the seeing isn't amazing and I need to look for a good minute before I can detect the empty space between the two components. It's a beautiful double, two tight yellow components looking one slightly smaller than the other. I'm not used to notice differences in size in the few doubles I've observed so far: this effect might be enhanced by the poor seeing, but it's nonetheless a pleasing sight. Next, finding myself in Leo, I try to go for the Leo Triplet. I often put a near-impossible object in my list, hoping to get surprised. It rarely happens, but when it does I start jumping up and down from excitement... but this isn't one of those times, unfortunately! But it's still a good exercise, and I don't loose enough time on it to get frustrated. By now, Canes Venatici is visible under the end of my roof, and Arcturus is visible if I lean out. I point the Mak between the Guardian of the Bear and Cor Caroli, and look around; after a few seconds a bright reflex attracts my eye and I have M3 in my field of view. At this point I am very excited: M3 was a globular cluster that I looked for ever since I got binoculars back in April. Because of inexperience and seasons I had never managed to see it. Now it is dead center in my eyepiece. I think I spent 20 or 30 minutes on this globular cluster. While my 5 inches are not enough to resolve stars, I notice that the center of the cluster is less concentrated than say M15, and to my eye the diffusion looks almost asymmetric, more round one side than the other. I am fascinated by this object. Following this excitement, I want to try something a bit harder: M51 comes to mind, but I know it's one of those difficult targets that does not take light pollution well. But I had read somewhere that M94 should not be impossible, so that's what I go for. I star hop using Stellarium, starting from Cor Caroli: surprise of surprises, Cor Caroli is a double star of which I had no idea. The field of Canes Venatici is not too rich in stars, so I find a fainter star to its right (mag 6 or so) that should lead me directly to M94 by going vertical from there. I find two points of light that look like stars: at 60x, in the field of view I manage to focus one of the two, but that other point of light never reaches focus. The same happens at 100x: I manage to focus one star, but not the other. The more I observe, also with averted vision, the more I have the impression that this object is diffuse with a bright center. I really think I got M94 - but very difficult to be sure. At this point, the sky starts getting lighter. I see new shadows on my balcony. Time to get back inside and warm up with a well deserved hot coffee. Contrary to my expectations, this was a really great session. I might try to get out again after my dinner tonight - but I suspect that I will be quite tired. One last note: I love this hobby

NASA has a register/archive of eclipses that should also show path maps for each eclipse... the map is not working on my phone's browser, but I link it here in case someone is luckier from a computer: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=04471223 I'd love to know why that specific date!

Why do I still bother setting up when I see a clear patch of sky? I know it will get cloudy by the time I get out

Stunning image!

Absolutely nothing to be sorry about! The more you know ASTAP starts stretching the limits of my knowledge in dedicated astro software! But it is now saved in my browser as yet something else to look into

The only reason I haven't tried DSS is because I run all my machines on Linux and DSS is only for Windows but so far the scrips that come packaged with Siril were good enough for me. My photos were also done at 50mm (with zoom on the kit lens) but @f4 if I'm not mistaken. There is no doubt a way to stack these manually without the flats, but I didn't want to take the time to play around with all the possible settings to detect stars when registering the images. Ah-ha! Good tip, I did not know. I'll look into it, thanks! Thanks for this tip. It does sound cool, but you got the wrong impression of me 😂 all the talent I have in software manipulation, I lack in hardware I wish I had the savoir faire and patience for such a project...

I will no doubt attempt a star trail with my phone next, I have good feelings about winning this 😂

Starting to feel like I should get out while I can Tonight I will take new flats and to the very least get a normal starry sky...

Things that happen when trying to write in English! I learned something new today

I can totally understand that! Playing with software and coding is a thing that I like so much, I just never thought before of how much of this there is in astrophotography. That feeling when you do something right and a real picture pops up on your screen (even a wrong one like this)... it's a real dopamine kick. It's the same kick I get when my code at work runs smoothly, on when I fix a tricky bug. I don't understand how I wasn't seeing this side before.

It's a scary thought! I currently don't have the budget to be too hooked to astrophotography 😂 But I have no doubt that I will continue experimenting with the little setup I have. With a ball head for the tripod I have and an intervalometer I will have enough to give it a "real" try - that's all very cheap and accessible.

I am one of those who do JUST VISUAL. But yesterday night I had my first shot at astrophotography Just a month ago I didn't believe taking pictures of the sky could ever be for me, but I just had to see what the fuzz was about. With just a DSLR and a kit lens, even without a tripod adapted to the camera, even without an intervalometer: I put my camera on the balcony table and took about 30 lights (2.5"), a few darks, a few biases and a few flats (ask me more about the specs if you're interested - they're beyond the point). The goal was not to take the best picture I could: I knew that with 30x2.5" I could really not go anywhere - but with no intervalometer I wasn't about to do a 3 hours session of clicking. But I wanted to test the process, learn about the science of it, see if I could eventually like it. Incidentally, I completely messed up the flats - using a headlamp that had a very concentrated center beam. My impression? It was a lot of fun. Being under the stars is always good, even from my balcony, no matter the tools at hand. And the processing! Now, don't get me wrong, it was a bit frustrating: I tried processing manually without the flats (on Siril), but there was just not enough signal to do anything with it. Without flats I just couldn't manage to detect enough stars to register the images. On the good side, doing it manually allowed me to understand what each step is for. In the end, I applied the automatic script using my terrible flats course and the result was hilariously bad. But also weirdly satisfying! There are two reasons I'm posting this horribly wrong attempt: I had just so much fun, and while I will remain a visual observer first, I also will get into getting some gear targeted to photography (a tracking mount, first and foremost); To let any beginners know: you'll mess up, and will mess up hard. As I said, I'm a professional scientist, I understand quite well the things I did and what went wrong, and what I should and should not have done (heck, I knew it while I was doing it). Just have fun with the process, and it won't matter. Not looking for advice at this stage, just wanted to share a fun experience!