Ratlet

Did they clean it with a banana peel?

Do you have any pictures of the finished unit? Are you still using it? I'm thinking of building one myself...

My absolute top tip is to either scan or photograph them and upload them here. I love seeing sketches. You'll get good feedback and often people will see things in your sketch that you didn't realise was significant. The cloudy nights sketching sub forum is also pretty positive and a good place to post them.

Tak-umar?

I did a quick google to check that statement. Honestly I think it already does! https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2006/14/1876-Image.html If it weren't for the diffraction spikes I think you'd struggle to tell them apart.

Averted imagination is it mike?

I use a Uni POSCA pen for my white stars. It's got a fibre tip. I've sometimes found that ballpoint style can leave a sort of ring instead of a dot. Some cheap black card stock can be a bit of a mare for blending. It doesn't seem to want to play ball and the pencil/pastel just dusts off. I also second Mary McIntyre on youtube. She also presents the Radio Astronomy Podcast from Sky at night. Her youtube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Spiceyspiney I'd also suggest going for normal pencil on paper. It's a bit harder I guess to relate to what you see to what you sketch, but you can invert the image in basically any photoediting software and it's like hitting a bit I WIN button. Makes them look awesome. Sketching from photos is good practice, but you end up with LOADS more stars in a photo than you'd see through an eyepiece which can complicate matters. Using other people's sketches as a reference can sometimes be easier, or some really old astro photos done with film/. I really need to get out sketching again

You might want to consider some 90 degree elbow connectors if going for super short cables. I had a near miss last year with my camera where the mount rotated too much and put a fair bit of strain on the cable. A 90 degree connector would just pull the cable out if there was too much tension.

What angle do you have the scope at when you collimate? I made the mistake of collimating with it flat when I tilted it up to observe the mirror would shift slightly and affect the collimation. Now I collimate at 45°. I'm not doubting Mr Spock's diagnosis (he knows far more than me) and is probably correct, it's just afaik there is nothing to be done about astigmatism, so I'm grasping at straws. Also I think the GIFs you post have a fair bit of seeing going on and there are bits in the second gif that makes the star look out of alignment from the diffraction rings.

Lot of great comments here but one thing I found is that observing is a skill that you'll learn. How much power to use, how to discern detail amongst the brightness. It all comes with time. Don't be surprised if your first looks don't seem impressive. One weird thing though is once you 'see' something it becomes easier to see the next time. It's like your brain pump has been primed. At least that's my experience as a very green observer.

What scope is it?

I've been pleasantly surprised with both items that have been sent my way first class or next day arriving next day. Seems common theme that the posties are awesome, but the system has issues. Both our posties are legends.

Amazing images mate.

What you save on food you lose on the middle aisle...

You could do a mini all sky survey.

I feel your pain (a bit). I work rotation, 12 hour shifts 0600 to 1800 or 1800 to 0600 with a 1 hour commute each way, so I have to be up about 0400. On the plus side I get 2 weeks off completely between shifts. I'll often get up early (around 0200) for a quick session, but that relies on me getting to be early that night and the next night to recover. My observing style when I'm on shift is basically an astronomical scavenger. And clear and hopefully dark skies are worth a punt even if I only get one object in. Finding a good pace is key imo. Sometimes I get up and check and just go back to bed. Viewing through sucker holes at 0200 is not fun. If you are getting up early have a peep and make sure it's worth it. Don't get greedy though. Burn the candle at both ends too long and you'll burn out.

I just want to spread his love lol

All the talk of 24mm Vs 30mm in one of the threads got me wanting to test it out (as well as wanting wide field views from the new scope). Saw this maxvision 24mm 82° on the for sale section and pulled the trigger. No beans for scale but have some more of the bunny my daughter made me. Just need a diagonal to take it, though I will give it a burl in the dob if the skies clear.

Actual Astronomy Podcast did a recent episode on aurora. I think one of the presenters mentioned something about seeing an arc. Don't think his was red, but that wouldn't be too surprising as the camera will be more sensitive than the eye to red.

Clocked Jupiter in the twilight and through a crafty asking if the bairn wanted to look managed to get out for 10-15 minutes. Seeing was excellent, with some very light high altitude clouds providing a bit of a glow but not much interference, and I quickly ramped the power up on the 3-8mm zoom in the star field 102. There was intermittent moments where the 3mm gave some good views but 4-5mm was better. The wee man did well and correctly counted the number of moons again and unlike dad did not think that callisto was a field star... The AZ5 did pretty well at the high powers. Very much a 'dont touch anything' setup but the vibrations dampen down quickly and I'm getting the hang of using the slow mo with the refractor and letting the planet drift through the fov. One of the nice things compared to the dob is that I know the collimation is good. It's always a niggling doubt with the dob (In fact it's only since having the 102ed to compare to that I've been able to say my collimation is good). I'm currently rocking a 1.25" amici prism diagonal and the svbony bottoms out on it so I've ordered a 2" from svbony (their click lock variant) to see how that performs. Also so I can use some honking large wide field eyepieces which is the main reason I bought the scope. It's a real boon having a grab and go ready to go. I can get the dob setup pretty quick but I don't think I would if I was out for less than an hour, but the 102 is bringing the magic of a cheeky 10 minutes back.

Pretty sure I've seen threads titled "eq6 Vs am5, what is best to mount my Nagler 31?"

Provided you don't need long eye relief, I think it's probably one of the best options for a planetary eyepiece. It covers such a vast range you don't need to worry about having too much power for the seeing and you are unlikely to stump out when you have great seeing. Edit: best options for a beginner planetary eyepiece. Was mid fixing my doorbell when I posted and didn't proof read.

Love the fact the buckle is another, smaller image of the star cat.

We're clouded out but a guy on the Astronomy Scotland group had his all sky cam showing the view. Pretty impressive when I tuned in. Quite a lot of red.

I was afraid of that. Looks like it'll be going to the scouts with the lt80 I pilfered a starsense from. Feel bad selling it on.