Knighty2112

I have a small paperback 2nd edition of this which I bought second hand a few years back. Interesting lay out of the book for the maps which do make it quirky for sure, but to be honest can’t say I’ve actually used it much. Wasn’t aware it was still in print, nor available as a hardback book either. Larger pages in the hardback book look as though they show the maps better, and with some colour too. Astro pictures of the objects are nice, but wonder as this is aimed at viewing with binoculars or small telescopes etc whether these might cause disappointment when viewed visually.

Looks like you got Ursa Major area mostly in your images.

Like the Meat Loaf ref! Miss the big guy!

It’s big, but whether it’s infinite or not the jury's out on that one. Even scientist’s can’t agree on that question, so what chance have we mere mortals on SGL?

We’ve waited a long time for them, but surely in a couple of decades we’ll all have bionic eyes with zoom built in, along with automatic stacking of images!

Rush? Never heard of ‘em? I have have done this before on certain EP and diagonals. As long as the screw is fully tight then it never been a problem, even with EP’s with smother barrels. If you can source a longer screw that would be good, but getting one with the right thread for your diagonal might be troublesome.

Or fit the EP into the diagonal inside your house before you go outside, then fit the diagonal with the EP in to the scope outside as the screws to tighten in to the back of the scope are much easier to access and screw tight.

You don’t have to put the full barrel down into the slot into the diagonal. Leave the EP slightly higher so that it is secure still but with enough room to tighten the screw up better. Leave the EP about 5mm higher which should make it easier to do the screw.

Ooh, looks interesting! Just been watching some video reviews on this and looks very tempting at that price! 🤔

OK. Found it. Go to settings / Solar System and turn off Earth and moon shadow circles. Must have hit it on by mistake. Turn it off and they’ll disappear.

Sorry. Posted this one by mistake! 😉

Do they move like the FOV indicator when you move the view or do they stay in tha same place? Have you turned all the FOV options off in the Observe / Scope Display options? Does it disappear when all are turned off?

Of course regardless of wether you have Vixen or Losmandy dovetails fitted to any scopes always make sure any scopes are fully tightened in their clamps before you use/let go of it. I make sure I triple check this especially with my heavier or longer scopes.

OK. Hope you get some great views with it. 👍🏻

I have a C8 SCT by Celestron with a Vixen dovetail on (in fact this is what it comes supplied with when boughtwith the SE mount) and never had an issue with the weight of it on any of my mounts.

Was there a reason you needed to set the mount so high that you had to put the diagonal in sideways rather than the normal way of straight up? I have a Nexstar SE goto mount whichis similar to your mount, and never set it up at maximum height as this impedes viewing through the EP when viewing things low down in the sky, unless of course you are a 6’ 10” high basket ball player! 😆

I fitted one of these to my Skytee2 mount a few years back, but I had to shave off 0.5mm with a Dremmel on the 2 bolt head screws and file back a little more in the slots that I fixed it to on the mount with as the minimum screw holes were for 36mm, and they were then snug but screwed in OK. It does allow me to use either Losmandy dovetail which I have on my 12’ Skywatcher Newtonian, and also Vixen saddles which I have with all my other scopes too. Pricey but was worth the buy, especially with the 3 clamping parts to it that make it super secure for heavier scopes. https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/primaluce-lab-maxi-dovetail-clamp-vixenlosmandy-plus.html

Might be best to drop FLO an email as to which saddle will fit your Skytee2 mount for the CGE/Losmondy style saddle you need. They show which saddle works for Vixen saddles OK on a Skytee2, but not for CGE/Losmondy style you need for your C8 Edge.

We all been on that roller coaster with astronomy for sure over the years. Hit a patch a couple of years back were I thought I was really done with astronomy with the weather and a few other factors in my life too, which made me sell off some items I regretted selling later on. Only lasted a few months then got a wonderful clear night again that got my mojo back for astronomy again. As I do visual astronomy only mainly I can have quick sessions when possible at worst with the weather, so nabbing an hour (or less sometimes) when clouds part is great to do with my small 80 ED ‘frac on my wooden tripod. No big hankering to own any Taks or similar high priced ‘fracs, and happy with my EP range too, so any more astro purchases will be few and far between now anyway.

That’s quite something! If I had a spare £10,000 back in the day then I may have considered that as an option too from my old bedroom window!

I would say to this that if for health reasons/disabilty/location etc if you can only view through windows then this is better than not viewing any of the nights sky wonders. Views of the moon, and major planets should be doable, along with some DSO’s. If you can view from outside this is much more preferable as you will get much better views in any equipment used. If I remember from when I was in my early teens (many moons ago now!) I used to observe the moon and major planets after sunset from my back bedroom window in my parents house quite successfully for the scope I first had way back then.

Arrived today courtesy of FLO to make viewing with my longer ‘fracs easier when using my Sabre mount a Skywatcher extension pillar does the trick for both the cannons once nicely balanced on the mount.

OK, it’s hard to judge the FOV with the video, but if Venus was higher up just out of view then looks like you got Mercury then. Well done!

Are you sure this is Mercury? As Venus would have also been around at the time I think higher up to the left there is a good chance it is Venus instead you captured. If this was Mercury I would expect Venus to appear in shot too when Mercury is down low. Venus would have been very obvious. There are some stars that appear near the end, but Venus would have been easily the brightest thing in shot. I was observing Mercury, Venus and Mars in twilight last night and could see Mercury through my binos only, however I do have a bungalow blocking my horizon where it would have set.

I knew the Clangers were real! In your face doubting world!