Knighty2112

Yeah, was looking to get the Monster parallel mount. I have the smaller one already, so will have to do with that one. 

Approx 25cm x 11cm.

Leave tracking mode when observing planets in sidereal tracking mode. The movements of the planets are too slow to discern any orbital movement unless observing over a very long periods of time. Use solar tracking only for the sun, and lunar for the moon only as these will show larger movements in the sky when observing, especially when using higher magnifications. Also, try to make sure when you align the mount that you align last with the up key pad and the right key pads as this takes out any slack in the gears which can make the tracking lag after a while, again more pronounced when using higher magnifications. I have the larger version 6/8SE mount and that works very well after leveling and alignment. 

Sulk at the sky gods! 

I have the 6mm EP. Works well on lunar and planetary observations. The narrow fov does make it a little hard to work with, but for the price it is a good EP with its limitations none the less.

A second hand 80ED scope would be a great option if you could get hold of a second hand one. I have an 80mm and 102mm AA ED Starwave Ascent ‘fracs which I now always tend to use when observing doubles. I have not noticed that the semi apo filter reduces star colours much, but I’ll check it out again and see on my 2 achro ‘fracs I mentioned. Maybe my colour perception is not as good as others perhaps!  

One extra thing to contemplate if you wanted to go down the Evo 102 ‘frac option you mentioned is to get a Baader semi-apo filter to use with it. I use the semi-apo filter on some of my achro ‘fracs (Celestron Omni 120, Bresser AR-102S) and it works very well at reducing/eliminating any CA on any stars/doubles etc, and also improves the images any planets too when used.

Wish I only had one streetlight to worry about where I live. Some rope from the washing line to shed to drape something over looks easily doable. I got some black material that I use sometimes to block lights especially when looking for DSO’s.

Looks similar to the mount that went with this scope I’ve just had a search on.

https://www.omegon.eu/telescopes/omegon-maksutov-telescope-mightymak-80-az-merlin-synscan-goto/p,56278

I would say if you want to observe more than the moon and the sun then then get a minimum 60mm aperture. This will show Jupiter and Saturn reasonably well and allow approx 120x magnification. Venus will show it’s phases well too. If you got an ED scope this generally allows you to push magnification a bit more too. Should get some nice widefield views with it too.

2 inch EP’s are generally best for wide field views, so not sure if views would be any better than what you already see in your 10  inch dob with your 2 inch EP’s as both focul lengths of both scopes are pretty much the same at about f4.7/4.9. The views might be wider than what 1.25” EP can show, but its down to you if the cost of a 2” diagonal to get these wider views. If you find the 10” dob a chore to lug out and set up then maybe it is worth it with the quicker setup time of the ST102 ‘frac to get these views with the 2” EP’s, although the extra weight of the 2” diagonal does add more weight to balance out on you mount you use.

Not sure if it does but does your front cover on your  scope have a smaller aperture that you can open to stop as much light getting down to the mirror? I find that large newts do better with Venus and Jupiter when stopped down like this, although generally I prefer to use my ‘fracs for planetary/Lunar observing. Failing that use a filter of some form on your EP’s to reduce the glare.

34 minutes ago, Macavity said:

I think (in my younger days) I might have tried "Coquille St. Jacques"? 😎
(No sniggering at the back, "Smith Minor"!)
For fans of "Reflectors"? 🥳

https://www.opticianonline.net/features/animal-vision-the-unexpected-eyes-of-scallops

Maybe there's some other "good stuff" here, re. what our OPTICIANS do...
I remember a Father (and Daughter!) "Opticians" being interested in my Astronomy! 🙂

 

It appears to bear very close resemblance indeed;

“The tilted, off-axis mirror of the scallop eye bears a striking resemblance to the segmented mirrors of reflecting telescopes”

As they have over 200 eyes apparently I wonder if over another few hundred million years of evolution it might further resemble the reflecting mirrors of the James Webb Telescope?  

How about about a moon filter (0.3, 0.6, or 0.9), or a polarising one which you can set to the best position to block out the brightness? Not to expensive from FLO.

It’s been a while since I’ve done any lunar imaging, so dipping my toes back in tonight with some using my AA 80ED Starwave ascent ‘frac, and ASI462MC camera. Captured with AVI video with Sharpcap, and stacked with Registax. Further processing of image in PS, and on Ipad.

1 minute ago, Zeta Reticulan said:

I think the European Ice Age comes next, when rising global temperatures shift the Gulf Stream. So scientists say. I'm not a scientist, so it's difficult to say.  Sounds about right though.

I do know what Soylent Green is made out of though ...

Great movie. Not seen it in years! Squashed peas wasn’t it? 🤔

Yeah, I wonder what it looks like from a truly dark site somewhere in the world away from any LP of any kind?

Me, I’m still waiting for the next ice age. Scientists did tell us there was one on the way not to far in the not to distant past it seems, and scientists are never wrong are they?
<……quickly runs for cover!……> 

I never use the renamed company for any thing I send off in the mail. I’d rather pay the extra money and get RM or Parcelforce to deliver anything I send. I do get deliveries from them though, and TBH they always have delivered OK. Maybe I've just been lucky perhaps with them. 

BTW: here’s the view of Mars from Skysafari which matches pretty closely what you saw in your scope with your Mars filter.

Nice report. Yeah, weather been terrible over here in the UK for last 3 to 4 weeks, so not done any observing myself for a while which does get very frustrating. Looking forward to viewing Mars again with my Celestron Mars filter, especially as Mars gets bigger during the rest of the year. This filter was bought just for the sole purpose of using on Mars, which when skies allow does a very good job in teasing out details on its surface. 

A dual speed makes focusing much better than a single speed, so yes it is recommended. Skywatcher dual speeds are a good choice, but they can start to get quite expensive. All my scope bar one has dual speeds, and I’m waiting to upgrade my scope that has a single speed focuser with a new dual speed one.

1 hour ago, Mandy D said:

I've thought about it many times, but now I have an iOptron RC6 with dual speed focusser which I struggle to focus, I'm not so sure when the 200P (and 250PX) seem to focus so much more easily for me. I must be doing something wrong.

I use a bahtinov mask on some of my scopes on a bright star first to make sure I have focus correct before I do any visual observing. RC’s tend to have longer cool down times which makes focusing tricky some times, so a bahtinov mask might help here for you.

Excellent images. Well done! Some nice details on view there! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Nice report Stu. I’ve been busy with work for the last 3 to 4 weeks, which has meant I’ve been away in hotels so with that and the weather I’ve not had hardly any chance to do some observing. Hope that might change soon, as got a week off coming up soon. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻