Piero

Here's another one

Thanks @FenlandPaul, unfortunately it's cloudy tonight..!

Yup! That's my "astro corner" only one here though! I also love natural wood finish on dobsonians. Dunno why, but it marries nicely with the simplicity of the Dobson design.

Last night I had a quick (well almost 2h!) session with the dobson. Taking the telescope outside and mounting it took just less than 10 minutes. All Good! Observed Jupiter, Lyra constellation, and the border of the Moon showing a little of detail (as it is almost full). The new ladder works as expected. I could sit while observing Jupiter, and use the first step when observing the Lyra's doubles and M57. Here are a few photos! And this morning the lovely dob woke up with some sunshine

If you live under dark skies, a Telrad might be the only finder you need. Otherwise, a magnifying finder can make a difference. Personally, I do like straight through finders, and I have moved to Telrad plus RACI only very recently. Yes, this combo is a bit easier to use. The way I do is: point with the Telrad, and then star hopping with Tablet and RACI finder. Dead easy!

Congratulations Stu! Lovely scope. It will serve you well

Thanks, Niall the third step are also perfect for my girlfriend's twins nephews. One seems quite interested in astronomy. It is a very comfortable and solid ladder, no wobbly at all. Plus it can be reused at home.

I cannot comment on the Baader zoom, but on my zooms, the views always improve when I add a barlow. This happens both on-axis and off-axis. I largely use my zooms for high power.

Sure: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00556PQ9E/

...and the ladder arrived today! 1st step for 70+ Deg altitude standing up, and 2nd / 3rd step for very low altitudes sitting. It feels very safe on it.

Nice setup, Mike! Depending on how well the Antares VS60 handles high magnification, it could be that my TV-60 will leave together with a few other things. Therefore, a simple finder shoe should be sufficient for this.

My dob out for a 4h session

I've recently ordered an Antares Versascope 10x60 RACI finder for my new dobson and my plan is to also use this finder for the Tak-100 when this is used at high powers. I don't want to install a finder on the Tak, but rather prefer adding this on the other arm of my AOK Ayo 2 mount. Unfortunately, the two arms have a shift of about 1 degree, making difficult the use of TV-60 I have, as a finder for the Tak, particularly when this is used at 250x or more. I also found this finder show https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p10787_TS-Optics-Finder-Base-with-2x-1-4--photo-thread-and-sinkhole-for-M6-and-1-4-.html , which could ideally be attached to a dovetail directly using 1/4" bolts.

Last Friday I had my second session with this telescope from 11.30PM to 3.30AM, mostly at low/medium power. This time, batteries were installed in the telrad and finding targets with this device, and then star-hopping with the tablet+RACI finder was really easy. Many targets were seen: Veil nebula, NGC6940, NGC6830, M27, M71, NGC6802, Emerald planetary nebula - NGC6572, IC4665, M14, NGC6366, Wild Duck cluster, M15, M81, M82, M51, Gamma And, and a few others targets met during star hopping. Here a few photos of the telescope just before starting off the session.

Super! Thank you very much for your help!

Lucky you, John! I am jealous! I wish I could stay up till late to observe, but cannot due to work. Yesterday evening the sky seemed pristine here in Cambridge. Steady too! Glad to read you enjoyed observing the Veil nebula. Well done!

Thanks, Paul. Actually, you can find 0.965" eyepieces on eBay, and there are quite a few expensive second hand ones by Zeiss in the APM website. I modified my Nikon zoom to work in both 0.965" and 1.25" modes. For the former, I got an adapter from China. 2 or 3 pounds including shipping cost... Crazy!

Thanks, John. The 31mm Nagler is about 5.9mm in your dob, if I'm correct.

Nice one, Mark! Congratulations on your new dobson which I'm sure will provide you with a lot of new targets to observe. Maybe the slightly astigmatism you spotted the first time was due to the telescope not fully cooled? It happened with my new dobson too, and once it was cooled down, astigmatism was gone completely.

@Commanderfish could you tell me what the weight is, please?

Super report, Gerry!

Thanks Gerry

Is the transmission plot for this new filter available?

Out of curiosity, what range of exit pupils do you use for observing large extended nebulae or large galaxies? I tend to use something around 3mm, but would like to read what other members do.

Derek, how do you align the TV60 to the Dobson?