Saganite

Yep, outdoor curtains Nick, that's the way. Had to do the same thing myself....

Thanks to the 'Heads up' I had the OO 12" out and cooling from 9pm last night, 2nd, and I had an enjoyable couple of hours. The transparency deteriorated over that time but I did see Neptune and Comet Africano, as well as a dozen Messiers, and the Witch's Broom....

Wicked....🤣

Congratulations Brian, well done.

Nice one Omo, I tried to attach the link but could not, however that is the one I read...

I have just read a post on CN which shows the new Baader Maxbright binoviewer, and it looks pretty good. Availability seems imminent . Prisms are 27mm, clicklock eyepiece holders with adjustable diopters. More pictures will be available soon. This was announced today I believe. Price.... 425 euros

I recently returned from a touring holiday in the USA spending 4 nights in Sedona. On Sunday 8th, a sign appeared in the hotel reception advertizing 'Stargazing live ' that evening in a dark area just outside of the hotel. I went along and discovered a local guy with several bits of kit, but principally a 28" Dob. I had visions of spending a wonderful evening with a kindred spirit who would allow me unlimited access to his leviathan scope , but within a short space of time a lot of people had arrived anxious to see objects in the sky, and I became just another person allotted a few seconds before making way for the next. This was really good and I was quite happy listening to the gasps of approval at what was being shown, and several expressed astonishment that such sights were visible at all. This may have no real bearing on this interesting thread, but I could imagine a good number of those people went away with the idea of observing for themselves.

... mine too.....( My defense Ade....I read the post last night after falling asleep, putting my Grandchildren to bed ) My apologies to David ( dweller 25).....lovely sketches !

I love the sketches Ade, you should post them more often.

Whilst I applaud the skill and patience of imagers, and I too love to see what they produce, I have no desire to attempt it myself and I am firmly in the camp of observational Astronomy. It is being at the eyepiece, under the stars in real time for me, and always will be, enjoying the peace and quiet. If I could not do that, I would not bother at all.

You got M33 Piero, but I searched in vain. It can be elusive I believe.

Nice session Piero, and mine was almost identical, with my 00VX12L ! I started at about 10pm so did manage to catch Saturn though the seeing could have been better. The transparency however was very good but got gradually worse by 1.45 am.

A lovely report Dominic, and keep posting as they are always a joy.....

Absolutely disgraceful, shameful even.................Do you mean like this Jeremy ? A Tak Blue version arrives this afternoon, so I will have a green one to sell.....................Insidious thread this

What a find for £12, excellent binoculars, well done.

I wholeheartedly agree having used both the TV 32mm and the 30mm Ultima. There is also the 35mm Baader Eudiascopic, another possibility with all the same attributes.

The seeing here is poor, like water flowing over the Jovian disc, however, I can see the GRS , so I will hope for some improvement. Magnification is 57X through my Tak FC.

I will ' second 'that

Good question Alan. In around 1974 I got hold of a home built 6" reflector and it was on a very basic equatorial mount, which could not be adjusted, and was so unstable you could make a cup of tea whilst waiting for the image to stop moving. I did discard this and fabricated something much better at a later date. The thing was I thought it was just incredible, I could see the Moon close up, I could see Jupiter and Saturn with rings and moons. I had one eyepiece, with an in built barlow, and I never considered that I needed anything else, and never had anything else for at least 2 decades For me it was simpler even though The kit I now have is light years ahead of what I used to use.

That was incredibly interesting and a joy to watch, so, many thanks John.

Excellent !

Nice view at the moment of Callisto just above the disc of Jupiter.

I appreciate your comments very much , Thank you. Steve

Thanks Rob. It took very little time to do once I had decided..

Yes, I looked at ways to do something similar to what you have done, but with such a long scope, it seemed it had to be all or nothing. I think the best advantage now apart from being able to shield from light is having instant power, that really is great, as before, I had to carry an 85 amp hr leisure battery from the garage, and that was back breaking.