Chris

I can't even process this, he was so young, talented and down to Earth. Such a loss to the astro community. 

He will be remembered!

Who could forgot the thumbnail  Welcome back Russ! and FIY its galaxy season : )

Hats off to you, that's incredible, Paul, well done! 

I really liked the idea of an affordable smart telescope but I didn't find the Dwarf II that usable right at the start. However, the Sticky buttons and bugs were soon fixed by firmware, and the very latest firmware has improved things a lot! Improved tracking and horizon limits on the goto as well as an unlinked stretch during live stacking have all made a big difference.  I'm really enjoying using it!

Very sorry and sad to hear this terrible news, John was part of the fabric of the forum, a very clever chap who knew his unions as well as Bresser's and handles. RIP John  

Looks fantastic! Hopefully you wont leave it another ten years for your second image  

10 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

I think it sounds like time for a 70mm f10 mount comparison video. 

😄 I'm thinking Ursa Major 80mm f/6.3 Table top Dobsonian verses the Mercury 707?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ursa-major-telescopes/ursa-major-80mm-tabletop-dobsonian-telescope.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-mercury-707-az-telescope.html  

Timing my 3 kids whilst they set them up, find objects and focus. Followed by a vote on ease of use and views seen. 

15 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Have a look at this article https://britastro.org/2018/what-telescope-should-i-give-a-child

An interesting read Jeremy, I'm a little surprised the authors singular recommendation under £150 would be the Mercury 707 though. I mean I agree the 70mm f/10 optics will be nicely corrected and it will give decent views of the Moon and bright planets, however it's on a yoke mount with a push rod for altitude adjustments which might be frustrating, it was for me thinking back to my 'Christmas telescope' age 7 so I might be biased. What do others think of the Mercuary 707's yoke mount?

Then again I was also surprised regarding his opinions on table top Dobsonian's, for me it's hard to beat a Dobsonian in the under £150 price bracket - stable, simple to use, cost effective mount meaning most of the money goes into the optics. Just don't use them indoors like we all recommend for any telescope, and don't use them with a garden table with a leg missing. 

Classic refractors are great obviously - low maintenance, high contrast, long depth of focus, easy on eyepieces and the eyepiece position is great for kids to reach, but you just can't get a decent mounting for them under £150, new at least. 

Warm welcome to SGL, less bad backs and bigger scopes getting used, sounds like a win👍

Its the apparent size of a peach! 

Excellent! Sharper than I managed

12 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I always star test. Other methods can get you close, but that last little tweak is what brings out the fine detail on planets and the moon. It also enables you to use higher powers, much like with better quality optics. 
The frequently heard 'you can't get over x200 in the UK' only applies to poor seeing. If your scope has quality optics and is well collimated, when those steady nights come along you can really push the magnification well beyond that.

On a night of good seeing my 12" is razor sharp at x380 (4mm eyepiece) and isn't even breaking into a sweat.

Good to hear Michael, sharp images at 380x mag is very impressive! 

18 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

I was hoping for some real time shots of star testing done with planetary / guide camera? Maybe that would be worth adding.

24 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Important part of star testing is knowing how to distinguish seeing and tube currents from the rest. Video of actual defocused star in different conditions might help there.

 I agree those would have been a real nice touches to have in the video. I guess I tend to be a little time limited uploading videos on a weekly basis e.g. I brushed up and made notes Friday night, recorded Saturday morning, edited Saturday evening/night, and made a thumbnail and uploaded Sunday morning. I was hoping I'd got around the tube current head scratcher by saying make sure your telescope is properly cooled but examples would have been good you're right. 

27 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

You should also make slightly more distinction between pinched optics and astigmatism.

Astigmatism can be inherent in the optics or caused by improperly supported mirror. That kind can't be fixed with adjustment of the clips. Similarly - pinched optics is more likely to show up as triangle in case of three clips used to hold mirror. Astigmatism due to sagging mirror will be worst when telescope is pointed horizontally (near horizon) and usually happens with larger / heavier mirrors

 

Yep good points, I tried adding text to the screen to clarify but more on this would have been good. 

Thanks for taking the time to give your feedback  

I do try and limit the number of videos a share on SGL as I don't wont to spam the site with the things! However, I thought this one might be worth sharing as a bit of a star testing primer.

If anyone spots any errors please let me know, I can always add a pinned comment with amendments etc, otherwise I'm wondering how many of us star test our scopes considering it can tell us so much? 

3 hours ago, Mandy D said:

In pink? Hell, yes! Just need some money now ...

I've just shown my wife and 8 year twin girls and they couldn't say are you going to get it fast enough 🤣

Absolutely incredible! I can see why you have a lot of imaging awards  

Both very nice Stuart, is it bad that I can't tell which used the ADC? 

Sky-Watcher 200p f/5 plus 2.5x Barlow and ZWO ASI 462mc camera. 

Captured in SharpCap, stacked in AutoStakkert and processed in Registax6 and GIMP. 1.5x drizzle applied. 

Animated in Movavi. 

Very inspiring Neil, that's one hell of a Newtonian you have there! Nicely processed too. 

For reference: 

The forecast initially looked ropey but it turned out to be a relatively clear so I gleefully managed to capture the double transit plus GRS at around 9:30pm on the 26th.

Equipment used - 200p f/5 Newtonian, 2.5x Barlow and ZWO ASI462mc.

Image stacked is Autostakkert, wavelets in Registax6 and finishing touches in GIMP. 

Superb!

Thanks for the heads up Paul. I've been using Astrobuitenen's great site to check transits but I would be keen to know what App you're using there if you don't mind?

http://astro.vanbuitenen.nl/jupiter

I've searched for transit apps and lots of them seem to be related to astrology. 

Just to rub it in its looks like it's going to be clear until 7 ish then cloud but you never know : )

On 21/10/2022 at 12:02, PeterC65 said:

Some images of M31 and M45 taken with live stacking last night using the 72mm APO and Uranus-C camera. This was also first light for the StellaMira x0.6 Reducer / Field Flattener which worked really well.

Nice, the ED72 + 0.6 and IMX585mc is looking promising for EAA which is good to know. I'm sometimes asked if the 0.6x is suitable for the ED72 and I've basically said I can't imagine it giving good corner stars with an APS-C sensor but should be ok with small sensors. You can see the corner stars starting to stretch right in the corners in your images and peoples tolerance to this varies but I'd be happy with that considering you get to image at f/3.5 and fit in large targets like M31! : )

Lots of detail and not over sharpened, fab stuff!