Mr Magoo

Thanks for the heads up Paul. That is an amazing image from a Seestar S50 (which I know nothing about). I just Googled the scope, advances in amateur observing and imaging equipment forge ahead in leaps and bounds. I saw a similar scope on a recent night out with my local astronomy club. A gentleman came along, pulled a similar if not the same type of scope out of his backpack. He set it up in minutes next right to a group multi wired imagers. He was finished within a couple of hours, folded thee scope up and popped it back in the backpack. The ultimate convenient grab and go, with impressive results.

Very interesting information about red dwarfs. I will be scouring the Web for more detail, this is the kind of stuff that fires up my imagination. Great report, thank you.

Very impressive, to have your own observatory is every astronomers dream, well done

I purchased the Fujinon FMT-SX 10x50 in 2015. Excellent binoculars. After eight years the Fujinons re in the same condition as the day I received them. I considered the rubber coated version, but dismissed it as unnecessary for land based observing (more suited to marine use, wet binoculars, extra grip). The textured finish is the way to go for astronomy purposes. You won't experience rubber rot with Fujinon binoculars, they are manufactured with top quality materials. I also own Fujinon 10x42 HC binoculars for nature and spotting astro observing targets. The FMT 10x50's are quite heavy at 1.5kg. I use them both handheld and with a tripod (with a Fujinon tripod adaptor and joystick head). Handheld viewing can only be for short spells, after a while the weight makes holding them steady quite difficult. The stars start dancing around. On a tripod the Fujinons excel. Nebula like M42 is well defined. Large open clusters fit very nicely in the field of view. The 10x50's were my first observing purchase, for a year I used them to learn the constellations. The Fujinon FMT 7x50's will also be an excellent choice. Same quality, lighter in weight, and brighter in view. I've not used the 7x50's, but I've carried out the same research you are no doubt undertaking.

I spent three weeks hiking in La Palma last year. It is a very steep island, everywhere, even short walks can be a challenge. I stayed in Garafia in the north of the island, which is mainly rural with rugged terrain. My desire to go to La Palma stemmed from the many reports and videos about the amazing night skies. I'm a visual observer, no astrophotography. I took good 10x42 binoculars for the night sky and nature, plus a mirrorless camera and one do-it-all zoom lens. It was very tempting to take a small scope, but not at all practical. Personally, I didn't want to be weighed down with astro gear while travelling. For first few nights I was out into the early hours scanning the Milky Way, and it was amazing, dark skies, thousands of stars blazing away in every direction. But I wanted the gear I had at home to do the night sky justice. 10x50 1.5kg Fujinon astro bins, 7 inch Mak, a large dob, 100mm Tak, filters for nebula. I knew what was up there but didn't have the tools. It was somewhat frustrating. My visual astronomy took a backseat. I decided to focus on enjoying the rugged terrain, pine forests, people, places, and a well earned sleep at night after hiking all day. As you plan to visit the telescopes at Roque de los Muchachos, take sunscreen and a wide brim hat with a chin strap. There are strict light pollution rules in force around the observatories and approach, you will need to check for night time visits by car. Two visits in a week would dominate your 1 week holiday I feel. If you plan to hike the volcano route trail be advised it is totally exposed, sun and wind. If you are not accustomed to mountain trekking, don't try it. I did most of my trekking in the treeline. For hire gear, I would check for places in Santa Cruz.

I find the Moon endlessly fascinating. Our rather large neighbour has a wealth of information available, images, history, observing targets. So many interesting aspects. I bought myself Luna Cognita by Garfinkle earlier this year. Though I have only managed to dip into it now and again, it's a great reference set, and encourages me to learn more. I will be plotting out all the Apollo landing sites and visiting them fairly soon, this thread is another reminder.

There is hope for us yet!

I observed my best 2023 Perseid fireball last Wednesday around 11pm. I'm out observing all night tonight until dawn tomorrow, hope to see some stragglers. My observing dark site is miles from home so camera recording is not on the cards. Have to look into portable recording equipment, some of the meteor clips above are outstanding,

I will try tomorrow evening or Wednesday. Here in the South the forecast is clear sky and low winds for a few nights. With a new Moon conditions for observing look to be very good.

30mm UFF 24mm Panoptic 17.5mm Morpheus 13mm Ethos 8mm Ethos

Agreed. I'm looking for inspiration in my observing. On a recent overnight excursion to observe some Perseid meteors, I spent most of the night asleep! I Didn't even unpack my scope. Lack of observation planning came into it, there was no list of interesting, or challenging targets. I did see one impressive fireball streak across the sky for some distance, that alone reminds why I do this. Out of this world!

Well done, and thanks for the heads up. In between clouds over the next few days comet C/2023 E1 makes a tantalising target. It's been quite a while since I've had my Fujinon 10x50's out, which is a shame as they are excellent.

This gives me encouragement to try for Dubhe with my 178mm Intes Micro Mak. It's a double I've not considered before now.

Hi Paul, welcome to SGL

An inspiring read, and an awesome celestial journey. Star hopping your way to 1000 galaxies with an atlas and a push to telescope, surely the most rewarding way to achieve such a goal.

Stellarium shortcut Open Stellarium Click anywhere in the window to make it active Hold down Ctrl + Alt then press S This will take you straight to bullet point 5 'Click on Import orbital elements in MPC format' from the blog above Saves going through the configuration menu on the left side of the Stellarium main window.

Yes, the following is from the Nexus DSC manual I received with the unit in 2018. Stored lists can be found under Find from the home screen.

I've used the Nexus DSC for push to with a DM4 and DM6. I've found the DSC to be accurate, the instructions are thorough and clear. The DSC unit itself is very well designed and straightforward to operate. Support from Serge is first class. The Nexus is a superb addition to the DM6. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the pairing. For me, it's a top quality push to solution. When you switch on the Nexus GPS it starts to lock onto your location, where I am this takes 30 seconds. You assign setup parameters for up to five named telescopes. I have an Intes M500 and Intes M703 set up on my Nexus. I will be adding a Dobsonian sometime soon. Alignment is straightforward. You choose one or two star alignment, the procedure is much the same as for any goto system. I found the alignment procedure much easier than the Celestron CPC 800 that I had experience with. The quickest I've managed is 5 minutes aligning the Nexus, I wasn't trying for speed, it was just painless. My Nexus encoders are capable of 311,296 steps, this equates to sensitivity/accuracy, finer movements equals greater accuracy in locating targets. Fitting the encoders was somewhat fiddly, but the accompanying manual is very well written and illustrated, as is all documentation from Astro Devices. The Nexus DSC and encoders are manufactured from high quality materials and components, the service from Astro Devices matches the product. Another example of small scale expertise producing first class astronomy equipment, and taking pride in what they do. I bought the Nexus for a minimal technology addition DSC, I don't want to be messing around with gizmos when I'm out observing. But it's a very capable device and has many refinements should you choose to delve deeper. The brightness of the display can be adjusted in Display/Keypad settings. It starts off bright when you are entering settings etc then dims down.

Congratulations on a galaxy filled observing session. Hickson compact groups are fascinating. To see such sights in a 30” scope, and to have galaxies filling the eyepiece with good detail, must be amazing. Some observing sessions can really transport a person away from this little Earth, and out into the Universe.

Psychology or glass? Not wanting to shift the thread, I use my Pentax XW's on the moon because I see a subtle earthen/ruddiness/light brown colour to the maria. I prefer the view to that offered by my Ethos or Panoptic eyepieces.

Congratulations on the DM6, its a brilliant mount. I bought mine in 2017 with the Televue Starbeam finder adapter. I fitted Astro Devices Nexus encoders myself after receiving the DM6. Together with a Berlebach Planet tripod it's a great combination. I'm currently using an Intes Micro M703 which the DM6 handles with ease. I use Ethos, Panoptic and Pentax eyepieces from 5mm to 35mm, and have never had to readjust the balance, the DM6 just copes. Yet push to movements are fluid. I bought the DM6 with future larger telescopes in mind.

Hi, the instructions for adding a comet to Stellarium can be found here https://blog.martinbelan.com/2020/07/09/how-to-add-a-comet-to-stellarium/ . Screen snips are included which make this a very useful guide.

The ABS definition of a kit tester, to me, spells out trader, for profit. Those that are regularly buying up equipment and selling it on for profit are denying newcomers and longstanding members the opportunity of obtaining kit at reduced cost. I think they should be challenged.

Just added C/2023 A3 to Stellarium, my easy goto star atlas

Kit sold on SGL should be sold for the benefit of a members observing experience, not their bank balance. If you don't need it once you've bought it, put it back up for sale on the same site for the same price.