Demonperformer

Definitely a worthwhile evening. My personal hate is diffraction spikes on stars, which I can only assume you added in processing as it is a refractor. That said, it is your picture and you should never let anyone talk you out of what you like.

Hi, sorry for the delay in following-up on this. Here is the link to the app i mentioned above.

Nice sketches from a simple setup. A good evening's work, I reckon.

As above, that doesn't work - but I do like the way you are thinking! But (if you haven't already got your filters) you can get filters that let through multiple wavelengths. I have a duo filter (Ha & Oiii) that is used with a colour camera and catches Ha on the red channel and Oiii on the other two [it's a bit more complicated than that, but that is basically it], so i can separate out the two signals and they can be recombined with a third filter/colour (I use NeIII). There are also a couple of (so-called!) triple band filters that simply widen one of the bandwidths to let through either Hb with the Oiii signal or Sii with the Ha, so it is not possible to separate them out.

Hi, Glob, and welcome to SGL, and welcome back to the hobby. Enjoy the journey.

Hi, Martyn, and welcome to SGL. A great scope when you get to grips with it. It took me ages to get to grips with PA when I moved to an EQ mount. Your LP sounds even worse than mine! Great call about visiting your local society. Sometimes, someone who can show you what to do can make an otherwise incomprehensible manual suddenly seem clear. Enjoy the journey.

Hi, JulietPapa, and welcome to SGL. If you want a light finder-guider, you may want to take a look at this. A bit more expensive than a standard 6x30 finder, but by the time you have bought an adaptor (if you can find one!) you may find purchasing something built for the job a better option (i.e. less hassle ... and can't we all do with that?). I seem to recall that these have sometimes been offered in a package with the 120 (zwo tend to do a lot of 'offers' like that), so may be worth keeping an eye out for that. Enjoy the journey.

I see where you are coming from. Presumably you already have a suitable red torch, so the bottom line would be you have nothing to lose by trying it. I guess I would advise to tyr it on some bright objects first so you can iron out any glitches. Let us know how you get on. Something you may want to consider is that there is a free app that turns laptop screen (& presumably tablet too) into night vision colours. I got it from SGL & will try to find the link if I can.

I watched a film last night about the search for extrasolar planets [Clara (2018)]. It was quite enjoyable (as 90m of Troian Bellisario usually is), but it got a bit weird towards the end. But I had to do a quick rewind during the credits, though, to make sure I had read them correctly. Listed as the co-executive producer was one Brian Cox ...

Not in detail. But before getting my telrad I always had problems with the rdf that came with the SE scope. So I used to read off the altitude from CdC for an object, use inclinometer to set the scope to that, and then move along in az until it came into view. Usually worked very well as long as I had done a decent job levelling the tripod. Looking at your intention, it looks pretty much like the way a certain Mr W Herschel measured objects. Start with a known star and list the offsets in alt and "time" from it, so i reckon you will get pretty close with a bit of practice. My only concern would be getting the map lined up accurately enough against the sky. Depending on your FOV, objects could very easily end up outside it if the difference in altitude were too great and you map was slightly misaligned. Maybe some form of electronic map would be better? You can get various options that work on a smartphone if you don't have a laptop when observing.

Hi, Mark, and welcome to SGL. Enjoy the journey.

Hi, Dan, and welcome to SGL. Enjoy the journey.

Hi, Cary, and welcome to SGL. As someone who can't draw a square with a ruler, I have great admiration for anyone who sketches at the eyepiece. Look forward to seeing the results. Enjoy the journey.

Hi, Kevin, and welcome to SGL. Enjoy the journey.

Hi, Martin, and welcome to SGL. Enjoy the journey.