Starslayer

Love this post. What scope are you using? I am fuzzy chasing too but also interested in the tv ep .. i should be finding ring neb but can I? Can I be………….. ‘erd.

Brilliant, thank you

Ok all. So I have taken the plunge and gone for this - see below. £200. Purposely kept it small and I literally do ONLY want this for my astronomy interest. My choice based on I think I can actually use this to do everything if I need to but also have the choice to take stuff to the iMac at different stages as necessary . A class refurb and 1 year guarantee. REALLY appreciate all the help even though I did not understand all of it. 😉🤔 I have a SV205 arriving today too so fingers crossed for clear skies.

Can I just clarify this then.. Any old laptop to do the capturing is fine. It is the next stages that need the power so I could then go to my iMac for the rest. ? No need for separate graphics in the laptop but is SSD still preferable to improve the capture quality etc.?

Thank you for the ongoing replies. They are appreciated although much of the information and terminology is well above my experience / knowledge level. I do like the idea of the Raspberry thing but the downside I can see there is that I will be using an alt az mount without goto to try and captcher say 1 minute of moon / planet. (Yes I have been watching Small Optics you tube channel ) I will not be able to see what I am focused on using the Pi. I have successfully installed windows 10 now on my iMac. I think I need to crowbar my daughter’s laptop from her studies one night and see how I fair.

Perhaps I can rephrase this. Ideally I would like to process what I capture on my imac. Is this possible / advisable? Am I better off getting a windows laptop? If I can use the mac then the spec of the capturing laptop can be greatly reduced can it not? otherwise the lap top will preferably need to be of a higher spec as described above by those kind enough to advise. Well I know what I mean. 😉 I am researching bootcamp to run windows on imac. Wondering if this will involve a windows purchase. Update. have researched bootcamp and it seems like I can run windows 10 on my iMac for free. SO, am I / can I be, in a position whereby I just need basic capturing capability which I can then do all the intensive stuff afterwards once transferred to the mac? I am not a computer genius by any means but I do try and teach myself and sort issues through google / youtube.

Interesting thank you. What this has flagged for me is that I could use something pretty basic for taking the original image avi file etc .. I could then transfer the files to my imac running 24gig of ram perhaps? Edit - ah maybe not. I see some of these thing will not run on ios.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/astrozap-flexible-dew-shield.html works well for me with my Celestron 6” sct

Hi. If I want to have a dabble with some basic imaging of moon and planets what is the best way for me to run the likes of Sharpcap, Pipp and Registax and t use an entry level camera the likes of sv bony sv105 / 205. ? I have imac , ipads etc but no laptops / macbook and nothing on Windows. Assuming ( rightly? ) that my best option is to get a laptop I can dedicate to this and without breaking the bank what are the minimum requirements of that laptop that I need to look out for / consider? Am I best going for a windows based thing? I have a source for second hand laptops but need the specs before approaching. Thank you.

Not just you. I thought exactly the same when I read the title. 😉😂😂

Celestron's response. Hi Simon, I wish I could answer that question with certainty, but frankly, I don't know if the threads in both diagonal bodies are the same. I do not have a dielectric diagonal at this location to see if a swap will work. I have actually done a make shift job on this now by getting an o ring to match and using the 2" nose piece adapter from my Baader Hyperion Zoom. Not sure how much I would trust it on an eq but Alt Az ok. If anything , after all this the it is borderline balancing the mount and the tube has to be slid within the rings as far forward as possible. Appreciate everybody's help and Adam at RVO has been particularly helpful in the circumstances. In fact he is still 'on the case'.

A big beginners question here. I see this mount around yet youtube has VERY little by way of information. I like the idea of having a couple of scopes and maybe other bits all mounted together BUT......... this is where the ignorance comes in. Could I for example mount my 6" sct and startravel 120 on this together? Would that be advisable and the really big one for me is .................. if you mount 2 scopes on something like this can they both be aligned together so that a chosen target may be viewed and tracked at the same time with / through BOTH scopes?

Ys, agreed. Interesting though that the 'better quality' one does not have the little flip up cup that the other does.

I have been playing around with different set ups today and noticed a VAST difference between the stock 10mm eps supplied with my Celestron 6" sct and the Startravel 102. The KE on the left came with the Celestron. Field of view seems narrower but the weight!!!! It is double the weight of the one on the right. Would I be wrong to 'assume' weight = quality? Probably. Only compared in daylight with distant trees but if anything the lighter one is easier on the eye and there is no significant difference in what I see.

Thanks all . The rant that was never intended is over. I completely understand eqs now and how I can best 'use' mine with the scope as mentioned. Just visual for me . North is noted on a leg and the mount is locked to that with latitude dialled in ok. That is all I really need. Very quick lock on Polaris and off we go. Loosen the thumb screws and slew as I feel necessary ( although I did see something about going anti clockwise whenever doing that. ) Not really difficult and nothing to be scared about. Not sure about adding a motor. How accurate are they speed wise?

This is really bugging me now.. Got on to Celestron help who say they reckon that the separate adapter part will not be available on its own. Referred me to their technical support email team. Awaits response. 🤔

That certainly looks ‘the part’. Will research more later with Celestron. Thank you.

Mmm. Annoying to say the least especially when told something will work and it does not.

I know there is no such thing as a stupid question but. .......... I have had my 6" starsense Celestron sct for a while now and have had great fun and results throwing it around the sky with 'gay abandon'. I love it. Having acquired the Startravel 102 frac I have not had massive opportunities to play due to weather but I love the scope thusfar. It is the mount that is causing me concern. EQ1. I can polar align. Not difficult. I have no intention of doing AP other than messing with my mounted iphone. I am asking myself though why? I take the scope out, point a leg due north and use compass etc. I set then to 52 degrees. OK. What then? Go out when dark and align to Polaris? OK but then what? Having set it up I then eg want to look at Arcturus which is around to the West ish. Do I simply release the clutches and sway around to line up rfd and take it from there? How does the original polar alignment fit with all this and why am I doing it? Is it purely that I can then use the RA slow mo to keep the new target in view? If so then why? Give me an Alt Az mount any day. Only difference is I use 2 slow mos instead of one? Have I got this right? If I have then the EQ is going. Hate the weight which also bumps the legs now and again too and the whole design concept of the thing ( he says appreciating of course the use with AP work ) . Am I just a visual only philistine and is my gut feeling to ditch this silly eq mount in favour of a decent Alt Az the way to go? It almost feels like I have just typed a rant. It is not meant that way. Clear outside is showing rubbish skies tonight and all is clear again so fingers crossed for later

Brilliant - the adapter has arrived and despite RVO confirming this would work it does not. The xlt screws ok to start with but when at the end of travel the thread is not deep enough and the xlt simply spins on the adapter when it should be tight. Back to the drawing board and a discussion with RVO regarding their advice.

I am fairly new to this myself but have a look at this. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-series/celestron-starsense-explorer-lt-70-az-refractor-telescope.html I have the more expensive 6" sct but the principal is the same. Plate solving technology etc. This will be easy to set up and move around. A simple alignment between phone mount and scope holds its memory unless the cradle is moved. You can move the scope around all day ( well night ) and with clear sky it will automatically reposition itself. I recommend you at least look at the explanatory youtube vids on set up / use etc. VERY reasonable price as well and you can always upgrade later. Other options are there with same tech but this is the smaller refractor which others have also recommended. FLO have one in stock and they will ship. Hope you and your daughter find what you need and hope this helps rather than add confusion. Regards Edit - some googling will bring other refractor options with the starsense tech. eg. https://www.picstop.co.uk/beginner-telescopes/celestron-starsense-explorer-lt-80az-refractor-telescope.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwvO2IBhCzARIsALw3ASqroS12lII6MBFITH2M_MhEzBmcjBPJ_AyYV-9Wk-GUt13OxOo5SjYaAuXmEALw_wcB

I don't think so. It needs to be 2" female not sct female which seems a tad smaller

So after all that it seems like the adapter I seek ( ie female 2" to male sct) does not exist so........ next best thing. https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-2-male-push-fit-to-sct-male-adaptor.html Just a little concerned with the weight of the xlt being held just on push fit and a couple of thumb screws. They did point out though that a 2" dieletic would weigh the same and that is push fit too.

Thanks Heather.. That has lead me to this. I have emailed FLO to check. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-2-nosepiece-with-2-filter-thread.html. Although I am not sure that it is the right way around. They will tell me for sure.

Simpler maybe but a hell of a lot more expensive. Just needs some sort of reducer.