Peter Drew

Looked again just now and it seems to be fading. Noted the falling blobs of plasma mentioned by Stu. I got the impression that it was a solar mass ejection rather than an arched prom(?), was hoping to see it lift off. 🙂

I've fitted my original Porta head to a 2" SW EQ6 tripod. Much more stable, but heavy. I removed the Porta tripod top, drilled and tapped the casting to M10 to accept an attachment screwed shaft and spreader plate. 🙂

What a great idea to reward oneself!, must think of something appropriate. Well done on achieving yours. 🙂

The amazing pillar in Ha from yesterday has extended even further today, very fine filigree detail in the main part. 🙂

I've had a 8se for a few years, love the telescope, great lunar and planetary views and imaging. The downside is that the telescope is maxed out on the mount so has to be operated delicately. DSO views are a lot better than most people give it credit for. IMO forget DSO imaging for now, it's 10% satisfaction and 90% problems and frustration according to imaging posts! A zoom eyepiece will cover your eyepiece requirements until you need to specialise. 🙂

Can you see the bright sliver when you look down the eyepiece holder with your eye central?, if so I suspect that the internal secondary baffle has slipped sideways exposing part of the aluminised secondary spot. 🙂

I have an almost new condition one, they are a very nice binocular. 🙂

Finally got a brief break in the clouds. Plenty of action today, windy but good transparency, spicule detail very crisp at 150x. 🙂

Cloudy here ☹️

The halos are caused by sunlight diffracted by ice crystals suspended in the Ionosphere. 🙂

I built the 9M dome at the Astronomy Centre and a 6.5M dome for a customer. The 6.5M was a converted silo dome probably similar to yours, never again, it is easier to build a better one from scratch!, the material is very thin and your dome has done well to last that long. I would be tempted to come out of "retirement" to take on another if I was confident about my future fitness, I would certainly be pleased to offer advice should your members be interested in a DIY approach. Is it not possible to refurbish the existing dome?, the silo dome kit I used came with spare panels, presumably these are currently available. 🙂

I use a Denkmeier binoviewer exclusively for solar observation, I need to use a 2x Barlow, lens only, screwed into the binoviewer nosepiece to reach focus as being as the telescope is a PST mod there is a specific placing of the etalon that doesn't give enough back focus without. I am very happy with the high magnification, high resolution views. 🙂

A SCT will produce good DSO results with a suitable camera and a F3.3 reducer. I had a lot of success with a 12" SCT.

It depends on what class of object you wish to image with EEVA. Lunar and planetary requires long focus and high resolution, DSO's call for fast focal ratios. A SCT comes close to satisfying both requirements using Barlows or focal reducers. 🙂

Not raining here today. 🙂

Being frightened of collimating a Newtonian is the worst possible excuse for not owning one! Young beginners should easily learn to do this re-employing their smart phone dexterity. The older generation, i.e. retirees, might well benefit from a relatively hassle free refractor. Is the retiree in question interested in astronomy or is the telescope intended for multi-purpose use?, could have a bearing on the recommendations. 🙂

You certainly can!, specially star clusters. You just need some sky charts and a clear sky to get started. Later in the year with darker skies will be best. 🙂

A 6" F8 SW Dobsonian is one of the best all round performance per £ currently available. 🙂

Had a red view version today with my solar scope just before the clouds closed up. 🙂

Both telescopes are good value. The Evostar would be more versatile and would suit the beginners wider interests, the mount should cope with the extra length. 🙂

Braithwaite telescopes were not considered top tier mechanically, a sort of mixture between Fullerscopes utility models and Charles Frank offerings. The optics would have come from a third party and could be good. 🙂

We're working on an anti wind device. 😀

Our local seeing has been ruined by the proximity of wind turbines, it's like having an extra jetstream! On the same night as Mike H has described there was only a hint of the Cassini Division and only a couple of vague cloud belts on Jupiter despite using a SW 150ED, a good C8 and a 16" SCT. ☹️

The C11 is fairly light as far as 11" telescopes go, it's the CPC system that makes it a heavy burden being as it is integral with the OTA. Might be worth considering a separate OTA on a more manageable mount setup. 🙂

Not in that league I'm afraid, I'll be using an ADC. 🙂