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I had a Pegasus attached to my SCT, unfortunately the bracket bent which meant the belt was not tight to the pulley. Suppose I'd not had the SCT sitting supported as well as I though, and the weight gradually bent the bracket.

One setup I have is WO Redcat 51 + carry handle, DeepSkyDay EAF focus adapter, ASI Air Pro, ASI183MC-Pro, WO Slideguide, ASI174mm. One power cable to the mount and one the the ASIAir. Rough manual focus at first use, then just let the AAP manage everything. If it need to come in, then grab the carry handle loosen bolts on mound ad carry it all in. Redepoyment is reverse of a move plus balance check. Similar with an 8" SCT (I added a Losmandy dove tail), reducer, EAF, OAG. Hold by fixed dovetail and slide out.

One less cable both support a ZWO cooled camera, filter wheel easily enough. Quick to optimise focus at start of session - of course needs a rough focus before first autofocus, after that, it just works - but I bring the OTA and accessories in when necessary, so no need to recalibrte

Have you checked that the laser itself is collimated? How to collimate a Laze [sic] collimator Advanced Newtonian Collimation Laser Collimator Squaring up that cheap laser collimator I did a thread few years ago stripping down and collimating a 10" f4 that I can dig up if you thing it useful? It mostly concentrated on the secondary as It was loose and had a twisted vane.

Sorry, I misread tho compatible cameras list, thought listed 1600 and 2600 - need new glasses.

I just bought (2nd hand) a Starizona Filter slider for ZWO cameras which is sized to allow the existing clear glass filter to remain in place. I plan to uses this with an ASI294MC cooled pro and a dual band filter

I've go one of those as well - the 1st 12v version I bought. The pair of 5V EAFs both seem OK

minor changes to layout (again 🤪) added aperture area : pixel area ratio as a prelude trying yo get flux per pixel now displays an asterisk for items in various data tabs to when "owned" field contains "y" added colour to data tabs reviewed calculations against AstroTools utilities to validate results Astrodata Shared.xlsx

The field of view looks to be quite useful for DSO.

I prefer the original too. In fact I intend to watch tonight - just to get that phrase The other phrase was Klaatu barada nikto OK, 54 minutes in is where the phrase is uttered. Definitely "Gort Barenga"

Of course, feedback is welcome. Camera data is useful, and will be appreciated, I just need to make it more obvious the data provided is sample and will vary per individual camera. I will be adding my ASI 1600MM, another 183MC, 120MM and 174MM once I have time.

easy enough to add I expect, aperture is optic diameter^2*π/4 mm squared pixel area pixel width/1000 * pixel height/1000 mm squared do you want aperture area : pixel area or vice versa? One will be very large in the order of 1x10^9, the other very small, 1x10^-10 Adding calculation for pixel flux should be straight forward - let me dig up the calculations from somewhere.

Gort: baringa or are you thinking of this? : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwie9qyvgKj4AhUaH-wKHQJgCfgQwqsBegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DuFWUn8k4PNg&usg=AOvVaw084DV7XdDjOIRmAp6qb8Pg

F-ratio is used to estimate sky background noise, and thence an approximation for exposure length. The sheet uses pixel size (and f-ratio) for field of view using the formula 180 x π (2*ATAN((0.5*Sensor__h__mm)/(Binning*combined_focal_length))) Pixel scale is pixel size *206/effective fl. I'm not setting any importance to any factor, merely, putting the calculations in one place. In my research I also found, yesterday, that something similar has already been produced on Astrofriend's website. So, I may discontinue this project rather have duplicated sources.

There is a version of Stellarium for the Mac available to download from the website: https://stellarium.org Another option would be CloudMaker, who actually do a full suite of applications - only for the Mac on Indigo platform.

Tried red spot, and tetrad, went for a goto instead. Lasers only used for entertaining the killer Kats, or collimation. works for me as all my cameras are ZWO or DSLR. One day I must try a splitter cable for the DSLR shutter and run 2 side by side

Shame I do not have a 3D printer Must invest one day

hehe last night was probably the first clear night here since my 8"RC was delivered (just after that ship cleared the Suez Canal) - it is still in it's box issues with mount last night so, nowt captured. Maybe tonight?

don't get why anyone needs a laser pointer Prepared to be bombarded

sympathy to those who may be affect however, <shrug> 500miles away, who cares LOL 9mph is about the lowest I see, and mostly 80+% cloud for the 6-12 months; except for today; clear skies and temp above 14C

I have updated Astrodata Shared.xlsxto look neater. It will also now update the calculations for unity gain and exposure based on selected imaging camera; IF you have Sharpcap Sensor data for your camera. Added graphs of e/ADU, read noise and dynamic range for selected camera. Notes when adding SharpCap data, the camera name must match the camera name in 'camera data' tab. included data was gleaned from the internet or measure on my cameras, and will not necessarily match yours, particularly sensor data. Hope this proves useful to some.

awwww, cute wee puppy 😃

Mercury spins on its axis three time for every two rotations around the sun. I found this which describes it, with a video of the motion. https://www.skymarvels.com/infopages/vids/Mercury Spin-Orbit Resonance.htm

It just occurred to me, there is someone (based in Glasgow I think) who gets great results from their system which is indoors with limited views through an open window.

Do you have any equipment available or are you starting from nothing? do you have visibility on the sky to the North ( this helps in setting up) Do you have some one who can help with the physical aspects of setting things up? You could start with a DSLR with lens, sitting on a lightweight tracker, such as those listed here: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/star-tracker-astronomy-mounts.html. This will automatically track a target, however, does need some setup steps to make sure it points in the right direction (which any telescope needs to have setup). It is possible to set up a system to control a 'scope on a mount from indoors, but, it does need some work out side - as does anything above. However, astronomy does require some financial outlay; mount, telescope, camera, and if you can't be outside, a control system.