Sunshine

Amazing session! you left me buzzing too!

Welcome to SGL! as mentioned above, Turn Left at Orion is a fantastic book, besides that one there's another beginners bible I started out with called "Nightwatch"

by Terrence Dickinson, either book will be invaluable.

NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe: TerenceDickinson: 8580001042893: Amazon.com: Books

Welcome, no shortage of imagers here to chat with about everything from dithering to plate solutions, plate solvers...solving ok I'm not an imager but enjoy SGL!

Beautiful group of fuzzies capture! the way those galaxies are arranged combined with their elongation reminds me of gravitational lensing

You may have used that scope for a lifetime without knowing of such chips, as mentioned above, I fear you may have voided the warranty, I am curious about why you were compelled to remove the secondary

considering it is brand new?.

It is a beautiful image!

My two cents, thanks, you can buy a whole slew of refractors which at any one point in time will show you an image just as nice as any comparable sized Tak next to it. When I say Tak specifically I actually mean premium scopes like APM LZOS, astrophysics, etc, these are premium names and they’re all towering examples of scopes. Why do we pay for these names? materials, methods, reliability, pedigree. All the same reasons one pays for any premium product, any, you’ll never wonder if you got a “good one” with names like these, they’re just what they should be, top performing scopes and it’s what you’ll get every time. 
 

sure there are less expensive names which perform fantastic and, you may not see the difference at the eyepiece at any one point in time, but where these scopes separate themselves is over time, temperatures, being used over years upon years, the premium scope do what they should do in plus 30 and minus 30. 

So, one doesn’t have to pay for a premium scope to see a beautiful image, but peace of mind that you have the best and it will always be the best does cost a premium price.

That is a fine replica of a Coronado 70mm Solarmax III

If online was the solution then you don't really have to go to a football game, an art gallery, a cinema,  a concert, no need to see the Roman Coliseum, Eiffel tower, or Big Ben in person. It will be far less expensive to just stay home as the world is at our fingertips.

On 23/04/2021 at 17:02, CCD-Freak said:

I have been enjoying being a pensioner and as we say "every day is Saturday".  Being able to go out to the observatory site for extended stays is great.  My wife is happy I found the place and she doesn't mind when I am gone for a few days.  She may even go out with me on occasion when I get a cabin (cottage) built out there. 

We have some nice sunsets out there too.

This sounds like a dream, enjoy every minute of it.

Nice work!!

12 hours ago, blameTECHIE said:

My immediate thought was Sloth from The Goonies (think it must be the 'ears')

"HEY YOU GUUUYYYS!!"

It seems more like a brontosaurus head.

Brontosaurus head Nebula!

Foetus Nebula it is!

That is a beautiful image, absorbing!

Love those moon shots, big as life!

1 hour ago, WestCoastCannuck said:

Thanks Sunshine!  hope you are getting some out there in T.O.!  I miss hanging out there on occasion when I lived back home.  (Guelph)

Thanks Jeff!!

Nice! I use T.O. because it is the nearest major city as no one would recognize the small town just 30min outside Toronto (Stouffville) where I live.

beautiful image!

Those are very smooth images, exposure could not be any better, beautiful detail.

Ordered these on AliExpress after one of our members posted images of their Tak with same rings. They’re aluminum and I think they look smashing, I’ll be sure to post images when they arrive in a couple of weeks. Just thought I would give anyone a heads up in case they need some rings.

9 hours ago, CCD-Freak said:

I was at my new Star Ranch Observatory site.   It is indeed the middle of nowhere and 200 miles from home.  Being a pensioner i can go out in my caravan and stay for as long as the sky is clear.  I just got water and electric installed so I can now begin construction of piers and observatory structures and eventually a cabin.  According to the 2015 data my site is Bortle-1-2 at SQM 21.99.   I figured that if I had to drive a long way to be free of the Dallas / Ft Worth light pollution bubble I might as well go for as dark as I could get.  It took over three years of searching to find it.  My friend Robert has Paducah Skies Observatory next door.   https://www.cleardarksky.com/c/PSSRObsTXkey.html

As a bonus there is a West Texas Mesonet research weather station on the property that we can access.   It is the PADU station on the map.  http://rain.ttu.edu/mesonet/obsframe.html

I feel extremely lucky to have this land under such dark sky. 🙂  here are some images from my first two trips to the site.

Star Ranch Observatory, everything about that seems so right.

3 hours ago, Piero said:

My new 16" dobson cooling down 🙂

That is one fine looking light bucket!

Sounds like a killer session! and a great image to boot!

Fantastic images!

On 13/04/2021 at 20:38, Commanderfish said:

They are really nicely made and finished rings and light too. I don't know.the diameter for the TSA I'm afraid.

I ordered the 114mm rings on Aliexpress, they're on the way!