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I have an Altair Astro 72mm for travel, here it is on Thassos. Perfect for the brighter DSO’s in Sagittarius, and whilst Mars was tiny, it was good enough. Lightweight, but well made and overhead locker size and weight friendly even by TUI standards. Sits on a standard ball and socket photo tripod. Didn’t bother with a finder and managed to see lots. Good luck, Chris

I have a 15 Panoptic, purchased second hand. Love the views and the portability. My two most used eyepieces are a 24mm Panopticon and the 9mm Nagler. Purchased after being loaned one to look through with my Tak....the view was breathtaking. Expensive, compared to other brands, perhaps. Bear in mind that ES etc cloned TV designs for their own range. Pretentious, interested to know why you think that? Think £165 was pricey, but as no longer in production, the chances of coming across one diminishes each year. Chris

Just seen Prof. Brian Cox’s schedule for his live shows touring the UK, I’d say it’s definitely no SGL this year.

How did you get on with the Altair 152 Frank? I have the 125, but wouldn’t go any larger - barely all fits in my Mini as it is! Hope the clouds stay west of Seething

The producer of series 1 to 5 of Stargazing Live has said that he’s not heard of another UK series. His tweet at:

Thank you, I saw that, but the Sun isn't the most reliable of sources (I hope still)! Best, Chris

Is it happening next year? I know that Dara Ó Briain had tweeted that they were hoping for a special to celebrate a special anniversary, but could not find the tweet on a search https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q="stargazing" from%3Adaraobriain&src=typd Anyone heard anything? Cheers, Chris

Orion and the Hyades rising over Thurne Mill in Norfolk. ISO 1250 on a Sony APS-C Camera with a Samyang 12mm (equivalent 18mm) at F2.2 with an exposure of 25 seconds. Despite being rural, there are so many security lights in the area so composition was largely dictated to avoid the worst of the lp. I could have dropped the camera height a notch, but the ground was quite "squelchy" and didn't want to be too close to the mud! Adjusted the contrast and levels a little in Lightroom, but am new to Lightroom (1 week) so still finding y way around it...used PS elements to resize to a smaller file size for the web. Chris

@Jbro1985 as you mentioned imaging, I’d suggest waiting until @ollypenrice has a chance to reply, think he has / had the Tak you mention, and with his skies / location, is in a great position to give you an informed view on here. (No disrespect intended to the other imagers / Tak owners). As a visual observer with a Tak 76, I thought that once I’d acquired a larger frac; an Altair 125 doublet, that I’d probably sell my little Tak, in fact, owning the 5 inch Altair made me appreciate the 76 even more. I cannot quantify what it is, or why, maybe seeing 102 Messier objects on one night, but I’d have no hesitation in buying another Tak in a heartbeat, even over the bigger Altair. Good luck, Chris

I have the previous version that came in the flight case. Very well made, great views. Lightweight and airline (TUI) friendly. Took it and put to good use in Thassos and one evening at Seething. It will be coming to Santorini in May. The aluminium case it came in, less so: the handle came away exposing a sharp point on the train to Gatwick...the inner polystyrene tray fitted in a Samsonite backpack. To be fair, Altair do say that their cases are “packaging” which is BS, but the scope is great. Chris

Thank you, and only £35 from Tring Astro too, ordered one! Thank you Matthew. Chris

After 4 years, my Petzl Tactikka + torch is failing, I like this head torch as there's a red filter that flips down to uncover the white light. It's replacement needs to be light weight, easy to use with gloves and can switch the red light on / off without cycling through a white light....any recommendations please? The current Tactikka + plus doesn't have the red filter, some of the Petzl range now have to cycled through white to red light which is crazy. Thanks, Chris

I stored the OTA in a Lowe Alpine Flipside Backpack and left the mount attached to the tripod all the time...Think the scope was stored pointing down, but my room never really gets THAT warm, so unsure...Good hunting!

Congrats, the 5SE is an excellent scope; I had one for 3/4 years. The design means that they are very prone to misting up, with even the slightest hint of dew...Buy or make yourself a decent dewshield for your first night observing would be my tip. The Celestron alignment routine is superb, you can Solar Align on the moon (for example) and then GoTo other planets in the solar system that you may not be able to see in the early evening sky. Good luck, Chris

For those of you in East Anglia. Mark McCaughrean will be speaking at the Forum, in Norwich on Monday 22nd October at 5pm for the Norwich Science Festival. Not often we get an ESA Scientist in Norfolk, think it will be an excellent talk. Details can be found on the Science Festival Website at https://norwichsciencefestival.co.uk/events/once-explorers-always-explorers/ Chris