RobertI

Nice haul! I had a look at M36, 37 and 38 in my last session with my little 130P. I missed the red star in M37 - will look out for that one. I did spot the faint cluster NGC1907 in the same FOV as M38 - that was a nice surprise.

Lovely results Gav. Particularly interesting to see the relative sizes of the different nebulae. As you say that is a good field of view for nebulae. 👍

Nice report John.

Heritage 130P on Sky-Prodigy mount. A very ‘user friendly’ combination. 👍

Excellent observation and write up Martin. A fascinating cluster with one very blue and super red star to boot! Definitely worth tracking down.

Having recently cleaned the mirror on my Heritage 130P, I had been waiting for a chance to try it out and last night's crystal skies was my opportunity. I also got out the Sky-Prodigy mount - although I love the simplicity of manual mounts, the Sky-Prodigy is such a great match for the H130P - it's a match made in heaven really. Setting up the mount, it auto-aligned first time and even after a two hour break for tea, it was still happily tracking and aligned. Another good reason to go for the Sky-Prodigy is that if you haven't prepared an observing list, just use the Sky Tour feature. So, with the sounds of children trick or treating in the distance, I had a very nice session including some doubles: 65 Piscium - A lovely double of two equally bright white stars separated by 4" ?? Arietis (can't read my handwriting on the notes!) - Another 4" double, this time with one bright and one much dimmer, just visible at 65x Psi Piscium - Two identical white stars, 30" apart Zeta Aquariids - Another site of identical twins, this time 2" apart and more challenging. Theta Aurigae - A double of mags 2.6 and 7.1 separated by 4" and just visible at 130x. ...and some clusters in Auriga.... M36 - Sparsely populated but unmistakable M37 - Beautiful rich cluster, best viewed with the 8mm at 80x, gives the impression of having dark lanes M38 - Midway between the above two cluster in terms of star density NGC1907 - Visible as a small faint cluster in the same FOV as M38, the Sky-Prodigy's "Identify" feature told me what it was, a really beautiful rich little cluster benefitting from high power. ...and a few old favourites..... Pleiades - I'm never sure if I can see any nebulosity or whether it's just my ageing eyes! M1 (Crab Neb) - Not much detail to see, tried a few filters, OIII, UHC and UHCE - the UHC was best but didn't reveal any more detail. M42 - First view of season, very low over rooftops but the Trapezium clearly visible. I decided to finish just as the clouds rolled in.

Watched the video Chris, very informative and entertaining as always. Am I right in thinking that the dewshiled could retract further, making the scope shorter for travel, if the the rings were removed/moved?

That’s a beauty. Interesting to see the fine focus knob on the left - for left handers?

You and I actually met once Dave - I bought a manual CG5 on a 2” tripod from you. I still have it, now with motors, rarely used these days except for occasional high power planetary sessions with the C8 or 102ED. 👍

They’re both big old beasties (the scopes, not the blokes!).

My very nice neighbour asked me to help her 8 year old granddaughter to see some things in the sky with her new astronomy telescope. I happily agreed and popped over to be greeted by this wonderful chap: Made entirely from lightweight plastic, it sported a 70mm uncoated plastic singlet objective (stopped down to 30mm), a finder (with insufficient adjustment to align with the main scope), a 6mm plastic eyepiece giving 50x and an incredibly wobbly tripod which made focusing all but impossible. I asked whether she might prefer to look through one of my telescopes, but sadly it had to be that one. So out we ventured into the cold and wind. After a bit of fiddling around we managed to see the moons of Jupiter, the belts (shown as one) and the rings of Saturn. Frankly, a sensational result for such a bin-worthy scope. Hopefully the granddaughter has been a tiny bit inspired!

Nice result, lovely sketch.

Well, somebody has to point this out Olly, that's actually seven consecutive consonants! 🤭

Someone has finally dared to ask the question!

I used the fingertip method to clean my 130p mirror last night and it worked a treat. Highly recommended. Thanks Chris! 👍

You forgot to take the lens cap off John.

Oh no, that’s just horrible Chris. 🙁 What on earth are they going to do next? If you are feeling brave enough I would just politely ask whether they could switch them off by 9pm each night. I think if they know how important astronomy is to you and what effect the lights have they might want to be reasonable. Fitting a timer would be easy for them. I’ve generally found neighbours are happy to help once they realise, but I know some SGL’ers have had bad experiences. If that doesn’t work, invite all the neighbours to a star party on your driveway - you might then at least get some support from the neighbours and minimise the risk of someone else doing the same. Good luck.

That is the one big plus point of using my Newt on the EQ mount - observing at the zenith is a joy. Other than that it’s a monumental pain!

Nice job! Just like my Nadira observing chair, but zero cost! I am also a fairly recent convert to seated observing, and I have to say it makes observing more relaxing and enjoyable.

How have @Alan White and @Stu found the mount to use when near the zenith? This can be a real pain with Alt-Az mounts as there is not much leverage in the azimuth direction (as the scope is pointing up). Would it be of benefit to have a two or three attachment points for the panning handle to overcome this? Apologies if this has already been discussed in the thread(s).

Are you sure she didn't say "I hope that is going in the garbage"?

Crikey! That's a huge difference. Hard to believe that's an 8" next to it. My 6" Newt would look like a pea shooter. I had planned to eventually get at 12", but I'm wondering now.....! Guess I need to see one in the flesh.

I think we all need more clear nights - we've obviously all been cooped up for far too long.

Now THAT is a beautiful telescope. Well done on such a wonderful restoration. I love the powder blue livery, it goes so well with the polished metal. Add an orange stripe and you have a telescope in the Gulf Racing colours! Looking forward to seeing how it performs.

All this talk does make me wonder - given the choice (assuming quality, price and weight capacity are the same) would I prefer dual-mounting capability without slow motion or single mounting with slow motion? I’m honestly not sure. I really want to want the AZ75 if you know what I mean - might just have to buy one to find out. 😋