Tyson M

That's a stunner there, Michael

Here it is using ImPPG for greyscale and to highlight outer nebulosity. M42imppg by SolarT RM, on Flickr

Here it is, my first DSO! Obligatory M42 It wont win any awards but fun to capture and process nonetheless, especially when I bought this camera for planetary imaging. m42combinedgimp2unsharpcropborder2 by SolarT RM, on Flickr Equinox 80mm, ASI224MC, AZEQ6 FC, PIPP, DSS, GIMP

All decked out with its Porta II panhandle, tube rings and RDF. Wide field set up complete. EQUNOX801 by SolarT RM, on Flickr

Tell me about it. Good sessions are few and far between for me. My last clear night on a weekend with average conditions was Jan 20th 2017 roughly. Hence why I got myself a GnG set up to just get out more, with intermittent cloud cover.

Great idea Charles, Here is my input, a bit offset, highlighting ray structure, Eratosthenes to the left of it, with Mons Wolf mountains. It is apart of the mountain range Montes Apenninnus. Meade 254mm ASI224MC

Just followed this from the beginning! Great to hear you finally got everything dialed in and a good mirror confirmed. Your atm skills are quite evident, gorgeous work and cheers from Canada. Regards.

The new to me Equinox just came in yesterday, and literally the first night I got it I went out under very cloudy skies and tested multiple equipment out. It is a beautiful scope kept in great condition from previous owner. The views were very nice! The moon was very pleasant, detected a tiny bit of yellow CA using both my 13mm nagler and 14 meade hd60. Could have been the cloudiness that I was looking through as there was thin cloud over luna. This scope can take high magnifications on the moon, which is really nice, and surprisingly easy to track with the porta II. Last night, for the first time ever, I have ever found a use for my 5x TV powermate! I am glad I kept it because it works awesome with my 13mm nagler on the moon. Didnt break down, still very sharp- just a tad dimmer. 5 degree FOV with the 31 nagler was pretty sweet, although I was in town amidst light pollution. It will be amazing at a dark site. Cant quite focus the entire FOV , a bit of field curvature. The Equinox's main mount is my new to me Vixen Porta II with custom wooden adapter to mount the EQ6 tripod legs to it. I bought everything preowned. The Porta II was in rough shape and rusted, required a lot of work including a chemical bath, retapped threads and screws and tear down/cleaning regreasing- but I finally have a system that works well. I can see myself getting a lot of use from this scope, especially once I pick up a lunt diagonal and solar continuum filter.

This is giving me ideas and simultaneously making my bank account tremble with fear lol

Partly due to reviews on SGL I purchased one of these 80 Equinox's myself. It's purpose is for alt az grab and go and future imaging. Nature, WL solar and DSO stuff eventually. I want the versatility and usage that my large SCT and EQ mount just don't, like impromptu observing on partly cloudy days. Just waiting for completely clear skies for hours on end is limiting my time outside.

I love that APM. I think I am going to get an APM like that or the 140 doublet from them some day for strictly visual .

It finally came in today!!!! Ordered in October. Upgrade from a LSTHa50 B400 which I sold to fund this. It exudes quality, it currently is the nicest piece of astro gear I own. IMG_20170224_190803 by SolarT RM, on Flickr IMG_20170224_190658 by SolarT RM, on Flickr IMG_20170224_115357 by SolarT RM, on Flickr

This has made me want to consider an experiment. I have the asi224mc. Even tho I have a ridiculously long f10 sct,,,i bet I can 10 a 2 second subs without guiding.

wonderful write up!

Stellar review (pardon the pun). This scope is gorgeous.

I am in love with all of them truly. Would be happy with multiple moonrakers haha, but if I had to choose, it would have to be: NEBULA CLASS F13 100MM & F15 80 MM or F12 104mm Probably the F15 80mm because I have a 100mm scope now and that is an impressively long focal length.

Omg!!!! Those moonrakers are absolutely stunning!!!! Holy sweet mother of pearl. I must have one some day. What an elegant beauty!

I still haven't even found Uranus yet. Wonderful image.

What tripod is that if you don't mind me asking? Looks sturdy, and i'm curious on the wood leg ones.

Thanks for taking the time to post this!