Mark at Beaufort

I am hoping to view this Transit - I will be on my canal boat so I just hope that it remains clear. I have been fortunate to see both Venus Transits - one in the UK the other in California. I have also seen two Mercury Transits the last being in 2016 when we chased the clouds in Hereford and observed in a Pub car park in Derbyshire

Nice image Alan I am really pleased that you are getting into the dark side. From home I can see the Helix quite well. In fact I can screw filters into my 15x70 Apollo Bins and can make out detail. A few weeks ago I bought one of these TeleVue Nebstar filters and had a very decent view of the Helix in my 12" Dob.

Bob its no problem. I have often star hopped to a DSO thinking I had the correct object and got it wrong. As Mark stated its a good photo of NGC 404.

Very nice Alan. I totally agree so I am looking forward to your first light.

I agree with Mark. I can see Mirach's Ghost but not the Comet. Nice image Bob

Thanks for that Stephan - it would be interesting to see this modifications - although cylinder screws with threaded inserts are easily available.

Firstly can I say welcome to SGL. I have a Heritage 130P and I have produced a number of threads outlining modifications to this lovely little scope. Firstly I would put the scope in your hand luggage. The OTA only weights about 3 kgs. Secondly for travel I would serious think about a zoom eyepiece - this one has received reasonable positive reviews - http://www.opticstar.com/Run/Astronomy/Astro-Accessories-Telescopes-Opticstar.asp?p=0_10_5_1_8_330 - the scope came with a 25mm plossl??? so its okay at the moment but can be replaced in the future. Clearly the mount is the problem area and you could purchase a tripod + head + dovetail - this will cost addition funds. I know that its recommended not to take apart the wooden alt/az mount but if this is the only alternative I would take the risk. Carefully unscrew and do not over tighten when putting it back together. The downside is you might split the wood so be very careful. The mount could go into your main luggage in the hold. If you don't want to take this risk we can recommend suitable mounts as an alternative.

Doug an interesting thread. I have had too many scopes over the years and now I have just 3. The 12" Dob is large and heavy - I keep the base in the garden shed and the OTA in the utility room. Its an effort to set it up but the views are fantastic. The 6" Newt is a great grab and go and sits on an AZ5 mount. Finally the Heritage 130p - incredible little scope. I keep thinking of a 4" APO and then perhaps a 5 or 6" Mak/Cass or maybe the 6" original Cassegrain. As you say Doug the weather has not helped our hobby plus Jupiter and Saturn being too low for a few years yet. So Doug perhaps you should sell some of your OTAs and get that 5" APO that you really want.

Looks great John. I have been looking at the original 6" Cassegrain for some while on the TS website. The cost of this at 399 Euros seemed a bargain - https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=10748#cs. The only thing that put me off was the total lack of reviews. So I am looking forward to your review/opinions in due course especially the comparison with the 180 Mak.

That looks an interesting book Jeremy. Perhaps you can undertake a review when you have had chance to study it in more detail.

Hello No I did not buy Bob's Knobs but bought them through this website http://www.wdsltd.co.uk/product/3338/adjusting-screw-steel-metric-wds-605/?sku=30911 . The reference model is 605-200435 With regard to the Neoprene this was bought in a roll. I need to find my order - I will get back to you when I find it. Just found the order which was from Homecrafts.co.uk - unfortunately it looks like the company is closing down and the neoprene rolls are not available. Maybe you can get it elsewhere this is what I originally ordered - Neoprene Rolls Black 1200 x 1250mm

You could always buy one of these - https://www.365astronomy.com/365Astronomy-2-to-1.25-Filter-Adapter.html

Been outside with the Heritage 130P and 8-24mm TeleVue + 1.6X barlow and had nice views of the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. Hope it stays clear so I can try and view Africano.

Michael I looked at 8am this morning. Firstly in White Light and although the websites were showing AR2749 I could not see it in my 80mm frac. I then switched to the PST + DS and I could detect some plage around this area plus a few Proms around the edges. So hopefully AR2749 will get bigger - assuming we have some clear skies to view it.

Geoff a few years ago I did a comparison of various coloured filters + no filter + the Baader Neodymium filter on a filter adapter having 5 slots. As you can imagine I could switched between each filter, very quickly, to see which gave the best view of Jupiter. Well the Neodymium gave the most detailed view - so Geoff enjoy your views of Jupiter and saturn.