Merak

It looks like the 80ed has the same crappy focuser as the 100ed-r , shame really as the optics are pretty good.

A new diagonal plus a couple of colour filters. Edit: surely Royal Fail could've done better than giving a 12 hour window for delivery? It came fairly early but didn't like the idea of the possibility of staying in all day

Had a crack at taking some pics of the ISS a couple of nights back - only just got around to messing about with the images. I reckon I can improve on this - just more practice and mucking about with settings! Meade LX90 8" ISO1250 1/1250s Processed in digital photo pro.

Cloud and the need for an early night meant I only had a 'play' for a little while. Decided to hook up the dslr to the scope for some single shots, no stacking - just keeping things nice and simple as possible. Just a little bit of editing in Digital Photo Pro. First one with ISO400, 1/250s. Second is a cropped image with a OpticStar x3 focal extender, ISO1600, 1/320s. Mark

Had a nice time looking at Venus and the Moon, something I could spend ages looking at when in phase.

I've downloaded SkEye and will give that a go somewhen.

It would be good if Celestron decided to sell this as a separate item.

What's the eye relief like on the Svbony zoom lens? Cheers, Mark

Sky-Watcher AZ4. I feel it could easily use a more compact mount, something I may look in to for trips away from the house. I'll probably end up getting another diagonal too.

The new addition having first (day)light. I wanted to make sure I had the correct extensions on to get focus so I didn't have to mess around at night. I borrowed the Celestron diagonal off my SCT and read the 'system chart'. All my eyepieces came to focus, both with or without the x3 focal extender. Hopefully there will be a clear night soon!

Thanks. Cradle and Dovetail(More Blue 220mm) have arrived, just need to find some suitable bolts/screws to put them together.

I was going to wait a bit longer but a couple of events that's happened recently made me realise that you really don't know what's round the corner. When I saw it was in stock I decided to go for it. I'm just hoping that the cradle and dovetail I ordered are in a separate delivery.

My 80mm Meade Adventurescope, with c100ed-r hiding behind it. Apologies for any cloud because another frac will be joining them soon.

I'd choose them in that order. I've read that there isn't much difference visually between the FC76 and SD81, how true that is I don't know. For me the 76 edges it because of the option to add the Q extender.

I am still trying to find the appropriate sweetener for 'her majesty' - whilst fluorite would be ok for me, I don't think she would appreciate it!

I went to work yesterday evening cursing my luck that it was clearing up but nothing I could do about that. It was still clear when I finished at 3am so got the ST80 clone out of its backpack, plonked it on a photo tripod and went out to the garden. Had a quick look at Albireo - always nice to look at colour contrast doubles and since it was nearby, a quick hop to M57. Also had a look at M3 and M13, the globs looked like brightish balls but couldn't resolve many stars. A little 'surf' through Cygnus followed, not looking at anything specific but a nice and rich area to look at. Then it was onwards to Cassiopeia for a little look where I came across a celestial treasure in the form of WZ Cas, something I don't recall seeing before. This distinct reddish coloured star makes an extremely nice contrasting double with a nearby blue star, something I will return to in the future. I did have some focuser issues at times, probably not helped by the very sticky gunk that masquerades as grease on the working parts, something to sort in future by attempting to clean it off and replacing it something that isn't glue-like! It's nice having a grab n go scope that doesn't take long to set-up, especially for the quick after-work sessions like this and I've been pondering a more refined upgrade. I just need to decide what a suitable bribe would be to keep the mrs happy..... Mark

True but I have a c100ed-r so sorted in that way. The 76 would fit in a backpack split in two so easier to get to walk or ride to slightly darker skies.

Somewhere between infinity and forever?

I'll probably end up with something like the fc76dcu as I want something at the lighter end for grab n go and those shorter sessions where lugging a bigger scope would be a bit of a pain.

For me it would have to be some sort of Tak as in the 30 or so years I've been astronomising, they have always had a good reputation. The only question is which one....

I think we will see more in the way of integrated EAA/EEVA type scopes with digital eyepieces, much like the eVscope 2 that is available now, but a lot cheaper in future. At the moment the cost of something like that is out of the reach of many but perhaps in 10-15 years time they will be far cheaper?

It's nice to see comparisons, regardless of what the scopes cost. I have the meade clone of the ST80 and it's good for what it is - a very light grab n go, starsurfing scope that can fit on a light photographic tripod. The view of the Moon is quite pleasing at low to moderate powers too. I've finished work at 2am before and it was clear so grabbed the scope for a quick 5 min look before bed, which turned in to 45! Did find some coma at the last 10-15% when using a 24mm APM UFF but I can ignore that. As for the Tak, I've never looked through one but I know they've highly regarded as a brand in the 30 or so years I've been astronomising. Maybe if FLO get some stock of one of the smaller Taks I might get tempted.... Mark

Enjoy! I'm saving for a new scope and saw this advertised - just a few months too early for me!

M51 through my LX90, 16 lights @ 1 minute each, darks, flats and bias processed in Siril. Just ordered a f6.3 focal reducer so will put that to use when it arrives

I use a 12v 12Ah sealed lead acid battery with my lx90, so the power tank should be ok.