LunarRob

Well the clouds cleared last night and although the seeing conditions weren’t brilliant and Jupiter is lying low on the horizon I managed to get the scope polar aligned to Polaris and was happy that Jupiter tracked really well could o oh see 3 moons and it detail was hazy on syvbony 21mm zoom lense but it was a good proof of concept can anyone recommend the best budget camera for planetry i was looking at dslr but believe the telescope cameras would be best they have the sv105 on Amazon for £50

Thanks for the input John i seem to have picked the worst time to test the mak as the planets are so low in the sky and what with the cloud I haven’t even been able to catch Jupiter before it dropped below the horizon I think the 8” dob with the 2” 28mm deep view is hard to beat for general looking around I’ve got svbony 7-21mm in the mak and tried it alongside the dob at stars but obv a much narrower field and not as bright but I got it for planetary as I found I was constantly re-adjusting the dob and wanted to try some photography so the eq2 mount and map would be better with the ra motor I’ve enjoyed learning how to setup the eq2 mount though tbh when I point it true north and at 53dg lat the scope is well off!!

Very helpful thanks for sharing

Ok so ended up picking up an explorer 130 on eq2 mount also as it came with the multi speed motor drive boxed so now have the 8” dob 102 mark and 130 newtonian im thinking of keeping the dob and mak and flipping the 130 what would you do?

Hi Guys so i picked up a Skywatcher 102 MAK with eq2 mount for £120 as was really interested in the eq mount and tracking objects and would like to get a budget DSLR and try some AP plus portability The Orion XT8PLUS was my re-introduction to astronomy after having budget scopes as a kid and wow the 1st night i saw Jupiter and its moons and Saturn with the rings clearly visible as well as clusters of stars Anyway just getting to grips with the setup and as per waiting for a clear sky........

Got some clear sky early evening but by the time I’d collimated it and bought it out it had closed over. Could still see Jupiter and 4 moons but should have done this earlier, lesson learned

I do. I’ve got app and planisphere so reading through them though think I would need to get to a darker sight to see it

Well a weeks worth of cloud, checking the clear outside app looks like Friday will be the night here in Cheshire. 👍

Thanks John good to know I’m on the right track 😀 can you just blow those clouds away 😫

Hi it’s f5.9 8” 203mm

Ok thanks - Here’s the latest colimation, I think it’s much better. Sorry the picture isn’t the greatest holding my phone up to the lense

Thanks for your help, I know there are guides but when it’s alien to you sometimes it’s easier to get help with the aid of pictures ive finally cracked it with assistance from yourselves I’ll post a pic of how it looks now later on

Sure am, funny you should mention that see my other post on here…. Saw Saturn too!

Is is amazing and at moments could see the colour and marking. this can’t get old

It sure is when you zoom in and start seeing the rings wow. Showed the mrs and she thought it was an image didn’t believe me at first lol