ronin

Just in case it is relevant to/for you but these people do a cheap diffraction grating:

http://www.sciencestore.co.uk/acatalog/Optical_Components.html

About 4/5 way down the Optical Components, comes in 6"x1.5" offerings it seems. They say they do larger pieces and it was actually those that I saw about 2 years back. Think they were talking of A4 size then. Thought is that I suspect the item from Isreal is better but for building up a prototype where it is easy to get fingers and marks on items maybe some of this and a pair of scissors would reduce the blood pressure .

Also, and my curiosity, what is the handset that is in the OTA image? I thought that the 90 RA did not have a handset, just taking 3 AA and the motor in it drove only in RA.

Just realised where they are located, I am at Hoddesdon once a week, may have a look for them next time.

You will get more people responding if you move this to the main forum. Beginner section for Getting Started or the Scopes/Whole Setups bit.

If you can keep the magnification down try M42, stars dig out some coloured doubles Almaak, Albireo. Clusters should be good.

For the small extra your son should have talked you into the 72mm, but those 66mm scopes are very convenient.

Where about in Northumberland?

Going to drop into Keilder ?

As getting your hands into things seems to suit you how about a manual barn door tracker, the set up where one turn of a screw thred per minute matches the rotation rate - you then turn the screw head following the second hand on a watch.

May not be the most accurate but should be easy and you can/could post plans up in the DIY section.

Sounds like out of focus - the bright circle, Jupiter I guess. The spikes are part of owning a reflector. Also check that you have taken the 2" eyepiece adaptor out of the focuser otherwise you will never get it to focus..

Now do the really painful thing and apply a cost of each item then add that up.

Do not scream too loud, especially if you have a wife close at hand who might read the result.

A wall is far too close to focus on, you will now have the focus set wrong and the moon will be a blur or worse. Close on a 127 (Mak) will be about 1 or 2 miles away, a wall is just far too much.

The focusing on a 127 is via a small bit on the rear this is a fairly fine thread and will take a lot of adjustment, you just have to keep winding. It will take some time, it all moves slowly, it is not easy to access and you will likely be cold.

Cannot say if you need to turn clockwise or counter clockwise, try both. The piece being moved is inside the tube and picturing what is happening is not easy.

Use the 20mm, but at some time get a 30mm or 32mm plossl.

Not sure where you are (guess not UK), there are 5" or 6" flexible items to replace the small adjuster on the rear, they make life a lot easier.

Also post in the main forum, Beginners Advice etc, more read it and so more answers and usually quicker.

If I see something in the sky I have not noticed I can take a dobsonian and point it at the object. I can view it happily and never actually need to know what it is, or to an extent where. It just needs to be visible enough for me to aim the scope at.

If I have a goto, then OK I have to set it up, but I likely also would have to go find out what the same object was. You do after all have to tell a goto where to go to. Even if I can goto a nearby star (which I will have to know) then manually slew to the unknown object I can then ask the goto what am I looking at.

So with the goto I either seem to have to learn what it is before observing it or can learn from the goto what it is. Not however necessary with the dobsonian in the first instance and not possible in the second.

So why the repeated cry of you will not learn the sky with a goto. Learning the sky with a goto seems to be almost a intrinsic function of owning one.

Does not sound like the galaxies in ursa major, I would have said they are not visible by eye these days (too much light pollution), and they would not twinkle, just a grey patch.

Does sound more like Aldebaren with the Hyades surrounding it - BUT not sure it is visible at present, and I do not know of similar to Aldebaren+Hyades, there will be some just I cannot think of any.

Suspect more information is required.

400x will be poor (too much magnification) and a 5x barlow likely of no real use. Are the eyepiece's you are getting GSO plossl's? They may not like the f/5 scope. Planets are bright, you should expect diffraction spikes.

When someone wrote that tool they really didn't think you should be allocating 1/4 of the memory did they?

Then again when that bit was developed 256Mb may have been an insane amount. Times have moved on and now 256Mb can be small.

Don't give up go, for the astronaut bit.

Guess around Chesterfield, so maybe a bit too far for the East Midland Stargazers.

Meteors: Keep an eye out on May 24, reports that we may pass through recent comet debris, so might (just might) be something.

Aurora, best I can suggest is the Norwegian ferry service Hurtigruten that goes up and down the coast.

Decide what you want from a scope, the budget stated will get you a lot of scope, but a lot of scope may not be the best. I might suggest a nice 80-100mm refractor and an iOptron cube. Getting a big scope that you do not or cannot use is a waste.

About 100 mile south of you, Leamington Spa, in early June is the IAS, lots and lots of scopes there to look at.