StarcrazyGeoff

   And I thought I might be able to see Neil Armstrong's footprint on the Moon.     Ah well, one can dream I suppose!  Great article, a must read by all newcomers. 

If anyone enjoys reading and looking through the old catalogs of Tasco, and many others, you'll get a smile from this:

http://geogdata.csun.edu/~voltaire/classics/

Enjoy!

Dave

Thank's for the link Dave. I have just book marked this, for further reading, during non observing cloudy nights.

Thank you Keith.

1 more to me becoming a star!  

209 and counting

Keep counting Fish, you are getting there!

Is there anyone a "Dark Energy" ... i haven't seen any

I think Black Hole for this category would be more appropriate, but I doubt Wendy and I will even become a Supernova, never mind reaching the dark regions. By then we will both probably have become stardust long ago, wandering the Universe like two lost souls. Meanwhile, we are on our way to forming our own star amongst you all. 

Don't be worried Geoff. My 4.5" arrived from Belgium (direct from Orion Europe via Amazon) in perfect collimation, and then when I changed to the 6" Starblast that arrived only slightly out, needing a small adjustment to the primary (using the three adjusters) to collimate. The centre dot on the primary makes this easy with the supplied collimation cap you'll get with the scope. With both Orions, the secondary was fine out of the box.

Assuming yours arrives in the same condition, you'll be good to go within minutes!

Thank you for that ghostdance. The latest information on my Orion delivery is that it will ship from Holland this Friday and I will be emailed tracking info as soon as it's on its way.

I just hope that it arrives like yours did, although I should be able to manage to get it lined up correctly, if it is slightly out. Meanwhile, we have been using the Sungar bins over the past few nights, viewing the Moon and Jupiter. Wendy was amazed how bright Jupiter was and how clear it was on the lowest magnification of 30x  Anything above that, was hard to focus on really.

Our serious stargazing will start, once we get the Orion, weather permitting    Watch out for our first report 

Astro Baby.

Wendy and I are now dreading getting our new scope, after reading all this about collimation. 

We will definitely have to read your guide and no doubt buy a Cheshire. Oh aren't we going to have some fun and games. 

Hi Steve,

I have a Sunagor pair of binoculars that are quite heavy and I am having the same problems. I have had a good browse on Amazon and came up with this tripod, which can be extended high enough to attach binoculars for sky viewing. They don't cost an arm and a leg, so click on the link below and compare it against others. There are a few reviews that don't give top marks, but you always get this on Amazon, no matter what it is. But there are some positive reviews which seem good. I have ordered one so the result will be answered when it arrives.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Binoculars-Stargazing-Photography-Collapsable/dp/B0096QWQBA/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419889833&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=Binnocular+tripod

Hope this helps.

Geoff