Space Hopper

I'm sure the boffins will be able to magic up some software to mitigate the issues these pesky satellites will cause. Have faith.

@Brian28 I can certainly recommend Astrograph. Rupert is a pleasure to deal with. He is always happy to chat and give great advice but be aware alot of his business is high end stuff and available in very limited numbers so some of his scopes for eg will incur a long wait time. He's also heavily involved in his remote siting facilities overseas so is out of the UK regularly. As i said, a pleasure to buy from, and quite often he will deliver to you in person, at your home address. Do you have a particular scope or other item in mind ?

That wouldn't be too difficult. La Palma looks great : its on my bucket list.

Sweet set up Garry. I have an astro friend in EMS who uses a AZ Pro with his (similar sized) WO FLT132 and it handles that very nicely. I'm always impressed with how quickly the thing slews around, and how quietly. My own views of the M42 Trapezium with my new TEC have not yet yielded the elusive E & F stars 🙄. Poor sky's and seeing have scuppered that. I've only had 3 or 4 goes at it, and not had a chance at all for a month, as its perpetual cloud at night here in Derby.

I'm really looking forward to observing these two this summer. And Mars joins the party as well !!

With regard to the Saturn video, i've actually seen Saturn looking almost exactly like that, and even a little bit better in moments of really good seeing towards the back end of September. I was thrilled at the time, because Saturn is right at its lowest point in the sky for us northerners (i'm at 53ºN) and it can only improve over the coming years. All about getting decent seeing. And being patient. I've only had that night and another about three quarters as good in the 6 or 7 times i've observed it since i had my scope before it got too low. Using a binoviewer helps, because you can observe in total comfort, relax, and follow the planet and play a waiting game, hoping for a few moments of steady air to come along. I was using a 2.6x compensator and 13mm Naglers giving a little under 200x which i think is a sweetspot for Saturn. It will be a good 5 or 6 months again before i can see it again and in 2020 Mars will join the party too.

Impressive stuff Stu. I perhaps should have opted for the Planet tripod myself, although my Uni 18 is fine and i always push the spikes well into the ground. I also raised the height of the accessory tray by about an inch (takes 30min with a bit of drilling) which thus spreads the tripods legs, lowering the centre of gravity for better stability.

Sky Safari is good too for your phone. Showing Venus' current phase at 82.2%

I only have experience with the Baader HW's which are excellent and a class above everything else. But i appreciate you've not listed them and they are expensive, hence possibly your other two choices. However, keep in mind they take up a big chunk of lightpath : there may be some difficulty obtaining focus with either of them with a 72mm scope. How are you for back (in) focus ?

@fiestazetecmk2 super looking scope. The mods you've made look very impressive 👍🏼🔭

No brainer. Indoors. In a warm, dry, secure garage. Way too damp, way too wet, way too cold to even consider keeping anything permanently outdoors here. This is the UK !! 😀 Our climate is atrocious !!

My scope history ; some binocs too.... 1. Astral 60 refractor. Christmas present in 1980 from parents when i was 13. Gave me my first views of Jupiter and Saturn, close up lunar and a lunar eclipse. The seed was sown. Scrapped in 2017 after 30 years of inactivity. 2. OO 10" Newtonian reflector on dodgy EQ mount. Purchased 2001, sold 2004. 3. Canon 15x50 is bins. Purchased with funds from Newt sale above. Still in active service. 4. WO FLT 132 Apo Purchased 2008, sold 2018. 5. Celestron C8 Edge HD. Sold after a year or so. 6. Meade 6" ACF SCT. Second hand purchase. Sold after a year or so. 7 OO 10" F6.3 Dob. Second hand purchase 2016. Sold after a year or so. 8. Canon 10x30 is bins. Still in active service. 9. OO 12" F4. My final Newt / Dob. Purchased with sale funds from OO 10" in 2017. Sold October 2019. 10. Fujinon 7 x 50 bins. Second hand purchase. Optically superb. Still in active service. 11. Celestron C9.25. Sold after only 6 months in 2018. 12. Tecnosky 70mm refractor. Sold after a year or so in 2019. 13. TEC 140 refractor. Purchased in 2019. My last 'major' purchase and final 'big' scope. This is the scope that will see me through to the end, all being well. 14. Epilogue. APM 105 refractor. This really is the last biggie, i promise. Purchased 2019 to compliment the TEC, and for quick grab / go / travel and hopefully an image or two in the future.

It makes my little 140 seem good value in comparison.

No doubt. I was very impressed with it at the IAS, and if i didn't already have my DM-6 , i'd be in the queue for one.

To me, that takes away its 'raison d'être' To get away from wires, noisy motors, plasticky hc's and polar alignements. 👎🏼 Whats best about these types of mounts (i have my own) is their elegant engineering, and ease of use. A set of encoders and a good DSC is all i need.

I'm tempted to buy the latest Apple watch, but have resisted the temptation. So far.....

Thanks John. I think so far, my efforts have been scuppered not only by poor seeing, but by poor transparency as well. We've been subjected to a biblical amount of rainfall here in the last 2 - 3 months as we all have, possibly over a metre here all told. I perhaps exaggerate a little, but at the end of the day all that moisture has to go somewhere.

Its still on my list i'm afraid. Never even had as much as a sniff of it, same goes for E and F trap stars and Neptunes moon Triton. I think my last attempt was ruined by excess moisture in the atmosphere, and i was seeing some weird looking stars at times. I will persevere with it.

I think my Fuji's are 7.46º fov (don't quote me on that, although i can confirm by checkiing) And the optics are excellent ; star colours are beautifully rendered.

Christ : i'd sooner him than me.

Fujinon 7 x 50s are rather nice.

Successful test !! I love watching that thing land ! Never ceases to amaze me 😀

Back on again T - 9 mins

Late notice i know. T - 10 mins, but now on hold i think.

Coast 'Crew HL4' I brought it from this years PAS show in Kettering. They are American, and this one is the best head torch i've ever used. Comfortable to wear and is perfect over a winter hat. Ideal in every way. Duel Red / white LEDs. Bright white while setting up / packing up and just the right amount of red (not too bright or too dim) Highly recommended. Battery life is very good too. https://coastportland.com/collections/headlamps?_=pf&pf_t_feature=Feature Category%3A Dual-Color White %26 Red Beam