JeremyS

Well, that’s definitely one in the eye for Galileo 👍🏻

C9.25 I find to be an excellent all rounder. Recommended.

And then there’s the tales of the one that got away 😊

If you want to make measurements of separation and position angle, then a driven EQ will be by far the preferred option. This is due to the high magnification and the desire to have north in the same position in the field.

Nil by mouth

I’m a late adopter on Ethos. I find them excellent in my TSA 120 and Mewlon 210. I have 17, 13, 10, 8, 6, 4.7, 3.7 The FL of the M180 is also long so you won’t need the shorter FL Ethos. Their wide FOV means long drift time with an altaz mount. Optically they are excellent though fairly short on eye relief. I find the Leica Zoom excellent with my M210. Can really tune in the seeing.

It’s always good to wonder at these things. If you want to read a bit about Betelgeuse and how observations by amateur astronomers have helped to understand it, have a look at this article by Mark Kidger in the BAA Journal

It looks like my “Eau de Flourite” by Parfums de Takahashi body spray. Comes in baby blue or hospital green tins.

The latest distance estimate for Betelgeuse is 548 ly with an uncertainty range of 499 - 634 ly, see Joyce et al: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/abb8db

Aha, the Tak is out of the bag 😊

Sometime possibly in the next 100,000 years. That is imminent in the timescale of the universe.

Congratulations @geoflewis, on both counts! I wish you a speedy recovery.

That looks wonderful, Nicola. I hope you get to use it on Jupiter soon.

I read this over Christmas. Very interesting. Only problem is all the typos, often several on the same page and many dozens in total. It looks like they skipped proofreading. I found that a bit offputting.

That’s as good a motivation as any, John 👍🏻

Interesting to hear that John, considering I thought you had a Nagler 31. Looking for something lighter/less bulky?

Nice work Dr @mikeDnight 👍🏻 These are superb finders.

Not seen this guide book in person before. Nice and compact. Bought used.

I thought it was a metal detector at first. I might be in the market for one.

Do you have a (secure) area, dry area that you can store the OTA that is closer to outside temp, eg shed, garage?

If going larger than 1.25 inch diagonal, I’d go for a mirror (to avoid longer path length through a bigger prism). BBHS is my preference. You could cut cost and weight with T2 size. The Tak 2-inch mirror is super too, but I generally like the Baader Clicklock

Not sure if this was posted before, but Daniel Mounsey on CN explains where small apertures can win in double star observing (including on colours): https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/633339-put-your-stars-on-a-diet/?p=8833872 I must get my Tak FOA 60Q out…

A very late delivery this evening from Amazon. only published last Friday. One of the authors is my great friend from school days, Professor Tom McCleish, who tragically passed away last year. And the book was brought to fruition by my good friend Mike Frost, of the BAA.

Anything to help me improve….