Mark at Beaufort

That is a great image and proves that the faint dot I observed was the comet. So thanks for the image.

Yes I went looking for the comet early this morning using my Apollo 15x70 binos. Found the area but the Moon made it very difficult to see anything. Anyway I picked up a faint dot which was in the correct position for the Comet but to be honest I cannot be certain.

I thought about this because I have used an enjoyed so many scopes and accessories. I think buying a 10" flex Dob made me enjoy seeking out DSOs which was improved by a 80mm finderscope. Then getting the Uranometria star atlas which allowed me to find so many DSOs Finally being involved with SGL and getting to meet so many other members and picking up so much information.

Brilliant Francis. Hope one day I will see it. I recently tried out the new 16" Stellalyra Dob and the view of the Veil Nebulae using an astronomik O-111 filter and a 31mm Nagler was incredible. Your Dob will be so brilliant at a dark site.

Agnes hopefully Steve Tonkin @BinocularSky will see it and advise.

Nice one Paul. I got up but that part of the sky was cloudy. I told my Son about it as he lives just outside San Francisco - I am waited to be told whether he stayed up to observe it. It would be nice if he took a photo.

It looks great Michael. Hopefully the Sun will come out to test the scope with the Herschel wedge. Then if it stays clear you have Venus,Saturn and Jupiter. I regret selling my Astro Tech 4" ED and although I have the Svbony 90mm (which you have seen) it's not the same. I really fancy this new Starfield frac so I am looking forward to your opinion in due course.

Just been observing the Sun with the PST. There is an interesting arching Prom on the SE side with a filament that appears to be attached

I have flocked several scopes the most difficult being my 12" Dob. I removed the primary mirror cell and the secondary mirror. I did the cross method and cut the strips into 3 sections to avoid getting too many bubbles. As stated the 12" Dob was most difficult because my arms were only just long enough to get to the middle section. I think it made a difference so happy I did it.

Wonderful photos Nicola. I have always wanted to visit Birr Castle and this thread has convinced me that I must do it sometime.

Well done FLO the perfect telescope for Planet, double stars and solar (with appropriate filter protection). Not too bad on the brighter DSOs as well - excellent addition to your stocked range. Sorry forgot Astro imaging.

I recently went on holiday and wanted to purchase a small refractor which I could use for astronomy and general terrestrial viewing. I bought this scope - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284334028570?epid=9037411843&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4233a0f71a:g:MLQAAOSwwrlctHO2&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSwcmzw5CLtzTE60FqHcnq2J0zUmY9eHB%2FTPvqPO%2B933rKaBovkDcU3j6CQaYZA9ioqe%2FS0OtseGb3KCCzkqoTBi%2FKy3Xgoo5GT3ZDnQNhEx3w%2B2PKJbFGXTKO0DYCgir7RfBGPr9urkYBB05Cj3fM0YxVB0g0ZEOy6D%2B%2FGDkjJwYpc0nyOeTF3sXa4QzvkNZ1KVdn50szOgWEGVP67bv7Pmi271k4S4LddH58iKgF5762s9Qgaxe7B7GGkXEgt1Pf9WBLSBMXM5kOVJEjng7z5lD5Vj00IYAN%2Bq4fZsGSKvLiYyL70ORVgRB16rd7EGR9U11ajIVFX%2FRbJ0lgmWXPH5LGmOEZ9X0kwspmxLgqNX54SvG3kByPJ7kdHqJzUTBw5S4M0RPVqQzIXoSh3gaUrsxK8wBnDjSud1zVTLon2jr%2Fp5D%2BEIqpd62y8sbtBSS8j3AO5AFPH2nJdUjCgW%2BOO2N9LYWGXcXT72bwg8WVnVnB%2FBXUkmSaDpryYQZ4yCD8Gif6CtQYq0EEkeZHJsj5no%2FusCTMRVD0g6tEI0zrGU3zoMSu3DVjMIv3K4wj7O%2F2%2FyFujDePr2ZlBL3WX4sL8DuHWlsTFbVke%2FawOypqCvKqNhVzWqG4cIBr%2BwqhDt1ZB6K39%2BOKSDzXYC7xW5Rwo2l0SLbkHDXL221Yv%2B96KtmsVw%2FmjRB3eK02iGT1VhyHlJP%2BaSmjDfgSDI5%2BxkAeRZmp%2B0Vp5Dw8N9Eu90OSYeQN7AgXAn9fHxUth2HXdvcwMJC0k5Rg8AxHx5U0rDOlt9uPo%2F7CWBNz5RyN86h3vcNfTJ51flD5nM5HIzX4%2BzFbLqQ%2F4jy8xy05c1uaR%2F%2Bzuw%3D%3D|clp%3A2334524|tkp%3ABFBMnon1kaFf In addition I purchased this diagonal from FLO -https://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/stellamira-125-90-erecting-prism-diagonal.html I am really pleased with this scope - it has very little CA and the double speed focuser is very good. I also purchased a Svbony 7-21mm zoom which is very lightweight but provides a good image. Whilst away I had some good observing sessions picking up a number of DSOs. More recently I purchased a white light solar filter and a Baader continuum filter and have had many good sessions observing the Sun. Okay I have a number of good and reasonable large scopes and some quality eyepieces but I am really pleased I bought this small refractor which is brilliant for quick grab and go.

Paul the Sun was good this morning in Ha - nice sketch. I like the mount it looks ideal for the PST.

Jamile you need to post in English

Yes Michael it was rather nice together with the iOptron mount

Very nice Stu. I have to say I have used many alt/az mounts over the years some with slow motion cables and some without. The quality of the az75 is amazing and wonderful. Tracking the Sun using your Tak today tells me I want one of these mounts and you really don't need the cables. Last word brilliant. P.S. I also now want a Tak😀

Neil thanks again for the heads up. I viewed 67P last night using my 6" Reflector . The clearest view came using 6mm Ethos.

Neil how did I miss this excellent thread. Really enjoyed the details plus the info on 67P. I have a clear sky at the moment so hopefully I will try and observe it tonight.

Excellent @John I really must have a go with the 12".

Yes @Stu I observed it using my Heritage 130p having obtained its position from Stellarium.

Great report Francis. Chris and I checked out the new observing site yesterday - you are going to like it with your 4" Starwave and we don't need to worry about others booking the site.

Thanks @Stu for the heads up on Ceres. I have no record of observing this minor planet so because of its ideal location I will give a go over the next few nights. last night I visited a new dark location close to Hereford with 360 degrees viewing with almost no light pollution. A local farmer has given his approval to use his site. Anyway like you I used binos (15x70) and saw the same objects as you recorded. I was pleased to observe both M33 and M101 so things are looking good for taking larger scopes.

I have both the 10mm and 17mm and I rather like them. You can see from my signature that I have 3 reflectors - 5" ,6" and my 12" Dob and I use these EPs in each of these scopes. I do have better quality EPs which I mainly use but I am happy to keep these because I am satisfied with the view they produce. However, I thought they were no longer available. have you found a supplier?

I only wish I had a 2" dielectric mirror diagonal so I could try out my Ethos and Myriad EPs. I did observe Jupiter (a tiny bit of blue on the edge) and Saturn (no Cassini division). Also forgot to mention a very bright Meteor ending just above Dubhe at about 8.40pm

I bought this SvBony f5.5 frac a few months ago mainly for holidays but it has become very useful as a white light solar scope with a continuum filter. Tonight was very clear and transparent so rather than watching 'strictly', with the wife, I went outside observing. The only diagonal I have is a StellarMira Erecting Prism which I used with my ES68 24mm EP, SvBony 7-21mm zoom, TeleVue Nebustar 2 filter and finally a Hb filter. These are the DSOs I was able to observe or nearly in some cases. M81, M82, M51 (just a glimmer), M101 (failed), M13, M92, M57, Both parts of the Veil (with Nebustar filter), North American Nebular (with filter), M27 (filter), M71, M15, M2, M31, M32, M110, NGC281, NGC 7790, Helix Nebular (with filter), M33, Double Cluster, Kemble's Cascade with NGC 1502, and finally tried California Neb with HB filter (not sure). I am really pleased with the quality of this refractor which was not that expensive. I am also pleased with SvBony zoom (especially solar). I could have taken out a larger scope but I just wanted to experience a small refractor to see what I could observe.