MarsG76

No matter what happens it'll be fascinating... if it does breakup than it'll be brand new features to image... new astro challenges.

I see your point too... ultimately the EQ mounted scope is the better choice as a potential all rounder... mind you tho, the 16" dob and planetary imaging firing crisp nights... oh mummma...

I've noticed that too, it's like it's boundary has been breached, I hope that the GRS is not falling apart. would be a great pity. Views of a detailed Jupiter disc with the grs on a clear night are breathtaking... I had such a view the other night.

Sure a 3 or 4" scope would be easier but those are not one of the choices here.... Everyone statrs somewhere, I started with a SCT and eventually worked through the obstacles... Overall I dare say that imaging with a C11, with or without a FR, would be easier than with a 16" Dobsonian.....

I agree with everything you said except the quote.. why not? I don't think that it so hard.

the knobs and the focuser are essential for planetary imaging.... you're already fighting the atmosphere, no need to add the battle of the shaky OTA to the equation.

I'm very happy for you.. I'd say that most of us had a similar feeling.. the worst thing is that the tears blur the image.... 😉

I have the 8SE, so it's similar to your Evo 8.... identical except for color?? I added Bobs knobs and a JMI focuser to mine... that made collimation and focusing SOOO much easier, faster and much more accurate. Attached is my best ever image of Jupiter from last year.... imaged using the Skyris 618C when the seeing happened to be perfect that night... But this year I wasn't lucky enough to get as good seeing yet (hopefully).. but so far I captured these :

Made during a time when there was pride in quality.

It might be a combo of slightly more magnification revealing finer detail, and/or perhaps works better with the 14" Skywatcher??...

I recommend to buy it if in the market for a barlow...

Definitely.. anything with "Made in Japan" stamped on it is a keeper... it's mostly Chinese and Taiwanese poor quality knock off these days... or Japanese/USA made with a premium price tag.

If you're using a HP computer than after you power up, restart the computer and unplug the camera and plug into another USB 3 port... I found this worked for me with my Skyris... might even work with other brand PCs.

If it does than it's so little that it's not noticeable... but you might be right.... some have claimed that the Ultima barlows are more like 2.2X.. it's still a testament to the quality of Celestron's barlow that cost me 1/4 the price of a 2" Televue 2X Powermate.

Being a modded DSLR imager and getting some results that I'm happy with, I recommend that you mod your DSLR and get to know AP with it before hand, especially when you're planning on going mono... buying a OSC camera as a stop gap seems like a waste... But I wouldn't mod a camera for the price you have quoted.. I modded my DSLR myself and I'll tell you that the job is not worth 300+ pound.... if you don't want to mod it yourself, than there are services that are 1/10th of that price like quoted by @carastro... Later when you go mono, you can always use the DSLR for your color data, and use the mono as luma for detail.. that will cut your imaging time substantially not needing to expose RGB individually...

Congrats on the image.. and thats a very nice and tidy kit....

Did you observe yet?? How'd you go if you did?

Thanks for the updates...

Last night was actually a quite crisp night.. there was heaps more details in view through the eyepiece.... perhaps your focus is slightly out?

Yeah I hear you... but the stop is programmed into the CGEM head so it wont go past 15 degrees...

Welcome to SGL and good luck on astround 2....

Absolutely... and I deal with meridian flips frequently.... if your mount is like a CGEM, you can track about 15 degrees past the meridian before needing the flip or what I do often is wait until the object to image is about 15 degree before hitting the meridian and than start imaging toward the east for the rest of the night if need be... but the only difficulty I find is using a OAG with the guide star... always have to manually find a new guide star after a flip and sometimes that's not possible at high focal lengths, so than I have to settle to imaging only upto or from just before the meridian flip...

Some would say that its not possible.. but I'm sure someone will find a way to go that deep and detailed....

That might introduce other obstacles.. ie the meridian flip....

Sounds like a good night.