TractionMan

I've been on the lookout for NLC's since the beginning of this season, but no luck, until last night. As I was getting ready for bed, I glanced out the window and FINALLY, some beautiful noctilucent clouds! Grabbed my DSLR and a tripod and ran outside. Camera: Sony SLT A77 Lens: Tamron SP 70-200 F/2.8 Di USD Tripod: Benro A4570T with Benro B1 ballhead Settings: manual mode, RAW, ISO 500, f/4.0, 0.5 sec, 120mm Post: Some basic minor tweaks in PSE15 (levels, contrast, unsharp mask and slight colour correction)

My binos: Opticron Imagic TGA WP 10x50 which replaced my old Celestron UpClose 10x50 a couple of years ago, mainly for stargazing but they do get some daytime usage every now and then. Couldn't be happier with them I think. Then there's the latest addition, the Opticron Discovery WP PC 8x32 which I bought a few week ago. I wanted pair of binos that were compact and easy to bring along on dog walks, geocaching trips, daytime hikes, casual bird/wildlife watching sessions and so on. Pretty decent binos for the money, although not quite as sharp as the Imagic's

Nice review of a very interesting looking chair! Looks very well made and portable as well.

Greetings! Just stumbled upon this free ebook, 101 Astronomical Events in 2017, while trying to find my way back to the wonderful world of astronomy (I hope you don't mind me posting the link here). Yes, I've been visiting SGL quite a bit lately as well, unfortunately only in "lurk mode" though. Now I just need to remove the dust from my scopes and binoculars and get back at it!

Mobile Observatory is really nice. Have been using it for a few years now. Not free, but well worth it IMO. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kreappdev.astroid

Congrats on first light! Sounds like you had a blast! Hope you get many clear nights and awesome sessions!

Hello! Choosing your first scope is not an easy task. Yes, advice can be quite contradictive, since different people have different opinons. It's a good thing to have lots of different opinions to weigh against each other, but in the end, it's you that have to make the final decision. When I got really hooked on astronomy I spent more than a year with binoculars and enjoyed it very much (still use them frequently). I read that you don't like using binos. However a lounger/reclainer will help with uncomfortable view positions. Anyway, when I finally decided to get a scope, I picked a fairly cheap one to get a feel for if a scope REALLY was the way to go for me, or if liked binos better. The scope in question (after reaing lots and lots of advice and opinios) was the Skywatcher Heritage 130P. I was worried about collimation, but it actually wasn't that hard. I'm glad I got that little scope to start with. It got me even more hooked and I've upgraded a couple of times. Sorry if I'm rambling and if it's of no help to you, Just wanted to share my experience of how I picked my first telescope.

Hello and welcome to SGL! Cheshire, Telrad + riser and TLaO are great additions to your scope (10" is an awesome start). I suggest that you try the supplied EP's for a while and get used to handling the scope/finding your way around the night sky. That way you can get a feel for what you want and need when it comes to EP's later on. If possible, try to find a local astronomy club and try different EP's with your scope. Oh and if you havn't done so already, download Stellarium (great free planetarium program). Hope it helps.

But those HUGE scopes does seem to "shrink" a bit after a while. I thought my 6" was huge when I first got it, now it's my grab & go, so yes, when/if you upgrade later on, it makes sense to keep it. A 6” will show you plenty no doubt about that.

Hello! Binos are usually a great start. Don't have to spend a fortune on a pair either to get you started. 7x50 or 10x50 are great to use and when you do get a scope, the binos are still great for scanning the night sky. Before I got my first scope, I spent more than a year with my cheap Celestron UpClose 10x50. There are lots of wonderful things to see with binoculars.

Hello and welcome to SGL! The BST's and Celestron X-Cel LX's are probably the most common/recommended EP's here. I've never tried the BST's so I can't comment on them, but the X-Cel's on the other hand make up the bulk of my EP collection. Got the first ones when I had the Heritage and they worked very well with that telescope IMO. Still more than happy with my choice. If you can, try to find a local astronomy club/and astronomers to see if you can try a few EP's with your telescope. Oh, by the way, what kind of budget do you have in mind when it comes to buying new EP's? That kind of info makes it easier for the members to give suitable advice.

Thanks for the heads up! Always fun to watch comets!

No idea what kind of budget you have in mind, but the Celestron X-Cel's should perform very well in the 127 mak. I use them quite often with my tiny little 90mm mak, mostly for solar viewing and some grab & go lunar sessions when I don't have time to pull out a bigger scope.