Craney

Yes. it's a beaut. No need to zoom in on this one.

No, I think you are spot on. My "edit" was because I did have a quick look at the reviews...albeit after I had jumped straight in there !!!.....forums...eh??? There are a couple of scopes like this around at the moment and I think some of them are just standard components dressed up to look swish with a bit of programming to take the head scratching out of astronomy and astro-imaging. This one reviews quite well, but at an eye-watering price for what it actually is.

Good for the occasional peek from the balcony in Monaco I feel.... EDIT:....maybe I'm being a bit harsh...... Review here....https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telescopes/stellina-observation-station-review/

Automation has helped alot. Although I don't have a ROR observatory, I have a permanent pillar and the mount is polar aligned ready to go. Set up connection time in about 10mins..... Imaging runs are all pre-programmed once the target is selected ..... hit 'play' and remember to 'goto' home position before a pier collision etc... As long as there are no showers or rain forecast, you can leave it til dawn imaging away and then throw a cover over it first thing whilst getting ready for work. Makes it doable. Although when things do not play ball, then the late nights catch up with you !!!!

All good advice above. Do a de-focused star test to see if there are collimation issues. I used to have a Celestron C-90 and it was pretty resilient in terms of collimation and traveled with me quite a lot without any problems. The following GIF file is from my C8 Edge the other night. I just may have the worse see-ing on the planet !!! This is Jupiter at it's 'zenith' of +13degs over the adjacent house. I'm rather suspecting the neighbour is using a thermo-nuclear device as his central heating boiler.

A person on the " ZWO ASI Cameras " FB page has taken a few images with the Askar ACL200 F/4 flatfield Astro Lens and ASI094MC Pro full-frame camera. I think he likes it.

Excellent shots. Jupiter and Saturn must be scraping the horizon in Norway!!

Yes, the Oiii is much weaker than the Ha. These were taken with the same rig on the same night, same exposure (30mins) .... not a ZWO camera though. Ha left, Oiii right.

Wow.!! that is some panorama. Looks like it's been captured in the Atacama rather than Kent. That 135mm F2 seems to generate it own star-fields !! sean.

Good to know you sorted it. Welcome to SGL. It would have been impressive to have discovered a new planet within your first few posts !!

I would have said Venus.

That looks an amazing site. Guaranteed to have a low horizon.... no houses or hedges !! Great picture as well.

Thanks Adam, Yes an ATIK EFW2.

This old favourite is on the rise in the early hours. I could not resist a go with the 135mm on the Atik 414ex. (LRGB) 40mins L, then 10mins RGB : All in 1 min subs. This lens is a star-generator !!!

Cannot go far wrong with the Samyang 135mm F2 for medium FOV. Depends on if you are using DSLR or CCD/CMOS. I use it with an Atik 414ex Mono to get this sort of FOV. ..and a QHY8 to get wider. Milky Way shots.... again Samyang do a nice selection from 8mm-16mm.

Excellent scope. I regret selling mine on. Frames the Moon well with a DSLR and the optics on my Celestron variant were pretty sharp.

I'd like to say I was making one small step as a baby........but alas no, I was probably running around oblivious to it all....

Great images. Oh boy...I have a lot to learn with planetary imaging. With such low altitudes I don't know if it my poor technique or the actual conditions. I image with a zwo120mc ( C8HD) and have been eyeing the 224/290 and this new kid on the block the 462mc as a possible upgrade. Which of your two do you prefer ?? Sean.

Yeah, looking forward to peoples reviews and images. The big question for me ... in terms of performance and satisfaction, just where does it sit between the PST and the Lunt 50mm ?? Is it worth the step up from the PST or should I future-proof myself and go for the 50mm ??.....hmmmmn..... ( wake up Craney... dreaming again...!!!)

Yes, going rural in Winter has it's own issues. Still, a Planetwave CDK20 would make a fine toboggan down the 1 in 4 .....

Agree, laybys will just give you a constant issue of passing traffic, curious folk, bored police or people needing to take a comfort break. Surprisingly, where I am here , in all the space of N.Yorks, it still takes a bit of searching to find a really good site. I tend to figure a minimum radius that I can travel to in a reasonable time, get set up and do something useful without the weather or 'work' the next day becoming major factors. I look at Google maps/streetview and try to find 'dead-end' tracks with a metalled surface, somewhere high up and with enough space that you can set up and not block access. Reservoirs and viewpoints tend to be good sites, the theory being, nobody will be using them at night, but......there's always somebody!! No easy solution. Take advantage of a cloudy night and drive around. Look at the light pollution and the flatness of the horizon. Better than watching the soaps!! Good luck.

Try the U.K....especially the North !! That's good detail with the 200mm. Did you not fancy the 224mc on Jupiter ?? (faster frame rate etc)...or is there some horribly complex reason why not.

Ha!! ...40+ hours on Oiii....

For some it is the White Whale, for us it is the Blue Squid.....