Swoop1

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Wow! That is going to be a very heavy roof. How are you going to raise your optics to clear the wall tops for lower height targets?

Me too. I like the red anodizing of the Williams Optics/ ZWO range.

That image is very Space 1999 Martin Landau and Barbera Bain engaged in an encounter with an other world entity with soft lighting and ethereal incidental music bright....

Cracking images Neil- beautiful detail in both. I think I prefer the second for the greater variety of selenography.

Nice atmospheric image Paul.

Having just seen this topic- I wonder if mirror flop could be the cause of target drift on my C6 SCT when doing video runs on planetary targets? How do I check for flop?

The Telegizmo 365 range of covers are designed for 365 days a year protection so yes, they are waterproof. I have a modified 12" Dob cover over my pier and it is always dry when I uncover.

BBC report of same with wider field images- Ringed Neptune captured by James Webb telescope - BBC News

Like a Heath Robinson, string and scraper concrete router?

A very tidy hole! Good luck with the build. Are you using pre mix concrete or mixing yourself?

Ooh, I like this type of thread. I shall have to post my Apollo 11 and 13 mission patches purchased from the Kennedy Space Centre shoppe!

Not had chance to try returning to the handset to see if it is GSS related yet but, there is no/ negligible drift for long portions of a run as the target (Moon, Jupiter/ Saturn etc.) stays nailed in the centre of the FOV but, after a while, the target sets off towards the right side of the screen and disappears.

Ahhh, the dulcet tones of technology. The youth of today are missing out on a lot- dot matrix printers, electric (or even manual) typewriters etc.

I still receive stock from a supplier accompanied by delivery notes and invoices that are the product of a dot matrix printer. I loved the sound of those.

Been there, done that, got the slap mark on the forehead.....

No picture but I received one of the missing pieces for my Lunar Lander from Lego yesterday. Only one piece to come and the Eagle will have wings!

C11's give lovely results.

Read the instructions. Having done that, read the instructions again, just to be sure you read them right first time. Once you have started at your mount with tools, continue to read the instructions with each step. The last thing you then need to do before installing a component is to read the instructions- the right part of the instructions. Guess which muppert was looking at the image of the original fit toothed cog orientation prior to its removal instead of the Rowan toothed wheel? Yes, I installed the Dec axis Rowan wheel reversed as that is what the Skywatcher cog looked like in the picture. It was a tight fit so took some persuading to come off again! At least the RA Axis installation went smoothly 🙄

Good thinking Dave though the image is the pier stripped for action. It normally lives under a Telegizmo 365 cover

I'm not ready practically to go permenant wit power supply to the pier but get fed up digging out the extension lead, unrolling it then reeling it back in at the end of the session so thought about possible alternatives. My solution was to buy 17 meters of 2.5mm arctic 3 core and a two gang outdoor sockt box, wire one end of the cable into the socket box and put a plug on the other end. I screwed the box onto two lengths of batten and drilled a hole in bot pieces. I threaded a big zip tie slavaged from a new bike at the shop and zip tied the box to the pier. The lead is hand looped and hangs from the pier when not in use using a bungee cord. When I can salvage some more mega zip ties I will put a second loop around the batten lower down to make it a bit more solid and also a third around the pier below the box just to secure the cable so it soesn't get yanked out of the box if an accident occurs.

Ordered from FLO last thing Friday, deliverd this mornig. Stellar service as usual. HEQ5PRO Roawn belt mod kit, 4mm puller and all 3 volumes of Luna Cognita

Alignment could be an issue Steve but it doesn't seem to manifest itself in deep sky runs.

Michael, Yes, that is how it appears at the moment. Regards, Matt.

I have shared stories and pictures of our family trips to various parts of South Africa, including spending time as volunteers at a Cheetah rescue sanctuary. The sanctuary has two lion siblings, Chuck and Norris who were little cubs rescued from a canned hunting farm when we first met them (small and non aggressive enough to have them on your lap for feeding and a bit of TLC). As time progressed and they got bigger, they grew from cubs, through the young teenage phase where it was safe to put your arm into the enclosure and scritch THE spot behind their ear or on their rump, into proper, full sized, shaggy maned beasts who would recognise your scent and try to welcome you back by pee spraying at you. As they grew, they developed their vocals from little mewls, to angry wails right through to developing the big cat roar. Going off to sleep whilst listening to nearby practicing was spine tingling. They develop the deep roar by practice. It starts to come when you hear Hnah Hnah Hnah at quite a bass level. As they get older the Hnah gets a more guttural quality and then once they have it, you get the bejesus scared out of you by an early morning loud, primevally sphincter relaxing holler that we all imagine a lion should sound like. I love big cats👍