cfpendock

Like Richie092 above, I use a Lakeside motor. This works very well for me on my C11. I presume you are intending your set-up for astrophotography, in which case the Pegasus system sounds ideal. I also presume that your C11 has a "visual back" - so that you don't move the mirror when focussing. I use a Moonlite focuser fitted to a visual back, and I keep the mirror locked. It works a treat. Chris

Hmmm.....Dangerous talk. But an absolutely stunning image in all respects. This has got to be as good as it gets. Chris

Very nice. I like the colours. I also have a sneaky suspicion that you quite like Taks. Chris

Well, I see no one else has answered your questions, so I will suggest one or two things based on my experience. 1. A. - You certainly won't need a guide camera for visual. Provided that the mount is reasonably polar aligned, then it should have absolutely no problem in following any target. B. - From memory, these screws are different lengths. Be very careful to use screws that will not interfere with the mirror mounting, but yes, you can use the screws to mount accessories. Normally, if the accessories have been purchased specifically for this model of scope, then appropriate sc

I would be very surprised if they were. My image is comprised of 16 combined Luminance exposures each of 300 seconds, i.e. a total exposure time of 80 minutes. And even then, the quasars are only just visible. Eyes just don't work like that. Chris

I agree with Martin regarding imaging time and star colour. It may be my screen, but it seems to me that both images have a slight green tint???? I also agree that Craig Stark's paper illustrates very well the effect of signal to noise ratio. In very simple terms, I always assume that this S/N ratio increases roughly according the square of of the image time, i.e. 4x image time gives 2x signal to noise. I know it is not 100% correct, but it works for me. So it is a law of diminishing returns. 16 x 300 seconds exposures will be twice as good as 8 x 300 seconds. But to get twice as good as

Thanks, Steve. I know, obviously it was the excitement of actually being able to see the quasars. And to think that those photons started out on their jouney so many billions of years ago, eventually finding their way to my village, my telescope, and then landing on my camera sensor. Makes you appreciate the enormous power of these things. One day I will finish the image of NGC 1073, although it is rather small - somewhat less than 5' of arc, but weather etc..... But pretty incredible all the same, for the reasons I gave above. Chris

I did try the Hubble test from April 2015 using my C1100 setup, but without success. However, last year I did start a project on NGC1073, and in the attached (very heavily cropped) image I reckon that I have captured three quasars. I find it almost impossible to ascertain their distance, but from various research papers, their distances range from 6 to 15 billion lightyears (15 billion lightyears equating to around 10.3 billion years in time because of the expanding universe.) Perhaps someone could enlighten me further??? But as Nicola Hannah Butterfield pointed out above, those smudges of lig

I would have a look at some sort of dew protection. I see that you have already considered a dew shield, but I would also consider an electric heater tape. Also, if you eventually go down the astrophotography route, then a "visual back" adapter is useful. Chris

What does EEVA mean? According to Google it is something to do with embryo viability. Are you sure you have the right forum? Chris

I use one of these. Works a treat although it doesn't have a heater, but costs next to nothing..... https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CP2GX9P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Chris

Nice job for a difficult target. Chris

On the other hand, I find this eminently transportable: Chris

I bought a CPC 1100 Edge. It was very heavy, and although it is superb for visual, eventually I wanted to do some astrophotography. So I took it off the mount to make it into an OTA. It is now much more manageable, and I use it mounted onto an EQ mount. In this way, it remains a first class visual scope, but even in my amateurish hands, it can produce the goods for photography - you can see what it can do in some of the images in my album - https://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/2996-dso/ . Some of the images were taken with my Tak 106, but the others all with the Edge. So in my o

Very very nice. Chris