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 fairl

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 mak

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.

I went for the Lacerta as well on my dob. Fairly cheap, easy to install and works very well indeed: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/202481-lacerta-110-dual-speed-upgrade-kit/#entry2141839

Good news! I hope you get lots of clear nights with relaxed viewing through your scope. SGL is an awesome place to get help.

Hello! Another thing you can try is to cover the other eye with an eye patch and keep both your eyes open. It might help you relax a bit when looking through the eyepiece.

Awesome thread, awesome scopes! I need to contribute soon!

Hopefully this season will have lots of NLC's in store. I really like to see NLC's (as opposed to ordinary clouds). The night are way too bright for proper stargazing anyway.

NLC's are always nice to see. A bit of a consolation prize since the nights are too bright and too short for proper DSO hunting.

One of my favourite astronomy apps is Mobile Observatory ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kreappdev.astroid)? Have been using it for a couple of years now and I've never regretted the purchase.

The Skymax 90 is great for quick grab & go solar sessions (that's the main use of my little mak). I do try some basic solar imaging every now and then, with varying result. It can be a bit tricky to really nail focus, but with patience it's no doubt doable. I made my filter cell/holder from camping mat and stiff cardboard and it works very well: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/185097-crude-diy-project-solarfilter-solarfinder/ One of my solar imaging attempts, nothing special compared to the highly skilled imagers on SGL, but I'm having fun dabbling every now and then : http://stargazer

First display of noctilucent clouds that I've seen this year. Noticed them through the window as I was getting ready for bed, but I quickly grabbed a camera and rushed outside to admire and photograph them. Just a quick RAW conversion to post it here. Now I'm off to bed. Good night!

I spotted 7 Lyrids last night, as well as a sporadic going the opposite direction. None of them were particularly bright or lasted long though. Still nice to see them. Got to see a very, VERY bright Iridium flare as well. Probably the brightest I've seen so far.