Linda

Just a long shutter time. Not too long, or the stars would have become stripes. Airplanes move fast. Just try it out for yourself and start with 10 sec shutter time. For the light, my hb used his headlight, which gave a better light than the camera's flash. I kept my eyes closed to not ruin my night vision.

Indeed, it was an airplane. Perhaps it was the Santa Claus route from London to Rovaniemi , which should be flying over that area. Above the tree in the middle you see a red spot. That is just a camera artifact that sometimes appears. The green light low at the northern horizon, in the right part of the picture is a bit of northern light. :-) Only visible on camera with 10 sec shutter time. With the naked eye it looked like there was a city in that direction, but there is nothing in over there for many, many kms.

Here is a picture that my husband took of me last winter with my Maksutov under a dark sky. Not much scope to see, but it's my only picture of scope in action.

It's a smart concept, building a scope shed on your balcony. It gives more peace of mind than having it in an accessible garden. When I let my scope stay outside at night for an early morning session, I also put it on the balcony upstairs.

Very nice solution. Cheap and effective. I chose to buy the C8, because it is just a little lighter to handle than it's bigger brother. Although the 9,25 has better reviews.

And what is that blue thing? Your lipstick??

Thank you for this review. Often we see reviews that compare what you see through the scope, which is also important. But you describe the quality of the construction, which is equally important.