Roy Challen

I was at my skintest when I first got into astronomy 20 odd years ago. Oh well nothing's changed there then😉

Seriously though, the choice and price range of equipment available now has never been better (supply issues notwithstanding).

It's the same in most hobbies, the point at which you're past the 'entry level' is in my opinion solely down to the person doing that hobby. To some, my gear is still entry level. 

I do agree that recent price increases won't have helped things, but buying second hand is always a good option.

Watched it, missed it at the exact moment it disappeared...🤦‍♂️

First light for the Skymax 90, BCO 18mm and RGO 7mm.

I had the Skymax mounted on a new-to-me Altair Astro Mini AZ mount, on my First Horizon tripod. I had already balanced it and let the scope cool down outside for a while. 

Found the Moon easily even without having the finder aligned, although I did align it while I was there. Using the TV Plossl 25mm first, nice and sharp as expected, but I could see the seeing was a little off. Perhaps this explains the tiny yellow fringe on the lunar limb. I don’t recall seeing it when using the Tal 100.

18mm BCO. I have very rarely ever bought an eyepiece brand new, but I did get this one new, from Harrisons Telescopes. Like the TV plossl, this ortho is very sharp, and comfortable to use. The full disc of the moon still fits within the field of view. Excellent detail along the terminator. No yellow fringe, or any other false colour.

10mm BCO. Again, a very sharp eyepiece, but this one was second hand and could do with a clean. Still comfortable to use, but tonights’ seeing limited its use.

7mm RGO. The seeing didn’t allow this eyepiece to really shine. I have had one before so I know how good it can be. Still reasonably comfortable for me.

Altair Mini AZ. Very simple to use, needs good balancing to work effectively, but once balanced is very easy to track the target even at high mags. Surprisingly stable, there were slight gusts of wind this evening, hardly noticed them at the eyepiece.

At about 18:10, I noticed a star close to the limb that looked like it was going to be occulted. I have never actually seen an occultation before so decided to wait for it. It was slow going, and I kept checking the time to make sure I had it exactly. At the critical moment I glanced at my phone, and when I got back to the eyepiece, it had disappeared! Ah well, at least I had the time down - 18:38:48. I checked Stellarium for the star, it was 99 Tauri.

After that minor disappointment, I packed up, satisfied with the rest of the session and very happy with my super lightweight setup.

First image is through the Televue plossl, the second through the BCO 18mm.

Great stuff! Glad someone got this on camera, I haven't been able to get a view at all☁️☁️

7 hours ago, NVDW said:

Yeah the wooden tripod is kinda tiny. My GP is on an AL110 now

I have the same tripod for my Polaris, it's for Newtonians so that the eyepiece is at a convenient height when seated. Not so convenient for long fracs, I put  breeze blocks under the feet to raise it up a little.

12 hours ago, LDW1 said:

I bought this mount to replace my ball head. Can't wait for a clear warmer nite. Sitting on the floor it sure feels solid with that 2lb counter weight.

Just got the same mount myself, and is that a 3LT tripod I see? I also use one although it is a little bit wobbly, my Horizon 8115 is much sturdier but doesn't fit in my rucksack.

Interesting project, astronomy doesn't have to be expensive!

Also, do you have any eyepieces? You definitely need them. Try them without the barlow. Usually these scopes come with  25mm and 10mm eyepieces. Try the 25mm first, without the barlow.

BTW, why have you got two barlows?

1 hour ago, StuartT said:

haha! sorry. I don't mean 50GB a frame! I mean 50GB a video (which are 5000 frames long)

Ahhh, I see now. Good job I don't image, get me into all sorts of bother that would🤣

On 17/01/2022 at 22:20, StuartT said:

 They're 5000 frames and about 50GB each.

 

250 TB? I'm not surprised Registax is running slow...or am I missing something here?

Seeing the sun for the first time in HA.

55 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

It would help if Skywatcher had Ursa Major and Cassiopeia in there like it used to, instead of Octans. When I set up my EQ5 I thought I'd been sent the wrong mount!

Isn't Octans for southern pole alignment?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octans

I suppose the process is the same though.

Yes, the Polaris is a versatile mount. My long fracs were a bit of a pain as the legs of the tripod are designed for Newtonians, but it's perfect for the little Skymax. I'll be using it for lunar, mainly, and Jupiter and Saturn when they are next visible from my location.

I need something that can do everything my Tal RS can, but in a much smaller package. 

So, here is my new to me Skymax 90 mounted on my Vixen Polaris, easily carried in one hand. Doesn't even need the counterweight.

My first ever Skywatcher telescope, I'm impressed, it's very well made and considering it's the older version, it's in great condition too. 

It's a refractor, it's grab-n-go. Now weighing in at 3kg exactly.

I managed to catch all these features in a half-hour session before the clouds returned. Some nice proms on view too.

1 hour ago, Bikingbill said:

I've got one of these. It is well built and the optics seem really good. It's my first reflector and has taken some great wide field images. I would recommend it but I have limited experience of other reflectors. RVO have been very helpful with their advice😃

 

 

You mean refractor?😉

3 hours ago, spacegalaxy said:

I think the problem is I will have to buy from abroad but other than that, how big is the mirror and the focal ratio?

110mm aperture, 800mm f/l, so approx f/7.3

On 28/01/2022 at 05:14, spacegalaxy said:

Hello! I am a space enthusiast, who has a very simple 70mm f/10 refractor with a alt-az mount. I believe I have seen everything what this scope can see neatly. It can't show me much in the light polluted skies of my cities. I am looking for a cheap telescope upgrade around 160$, which will be my second and more serious telescope, I will like a dobsonian or a eq telescope. Suggestions? Also it needs to have free international shipping, because I live in India.

(P.S. Sorry for my bad English, I am not perfect in this language!)

With your budget, finding something that represents a step up will be difficult, but not impossible.

I don't know how easily available astro equipment is in India, but I would look out for a second hand TAL 1. It's a pretty good Russian reflector, on a reasonable EQ mount. They are easily available here in the UK for well under £100. I got one for free - £0!

If you decide to go this route try to find one with the later 1.25" focuser so that you can use modern eyepieces, otherwise you'll be limited to what they come with originally. They're not bad at all, but are a different size.

The downside is that the setup is heavy, so I doubt anyone would post from abroad.

6 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

It's a Takahashi illuminator, and it looks very much like a Takahashi finder as far as the focusing eyepiece goes. However I've never seen a Tak finder with the adjustable/focusing front cell, so perhaps it's a hybrid, though it could be a true Tak. The crosshairs on the Tak finder are very fine and engraved onto glass, so that would indicate if its a true Tak. Also, Tak finder tubes are smooth with no groove for a rubber O ring.The finder bracket is not Takahashi!

The Japanese script on the illuminator says Takahashi.

Sorry, no info, but it looks very nice.

Neat and tidy setup, like it.

On 23/01/2022 at 21:32, Nicola Fletcher said:

Yet another Tak - my FC76-DCU. I can make it more grab and go with a smaller mount but I really like the AZ-EQ5!

The setup is nice...but I'd kill for that setting!

I gave mine away, however I also acquired it for nothing. Is it complete with mount? You could try asking for £75-100, but that'll be the absolute max. 

Shame really, as they're good telescopes.

Amazing! A tiny spot of light moving through space beats anything on Netflix/Amazon/TV!