Trikeflyer

That’s useful to know. I got my mount only a couple of months ago and didn’t th8nk the firmware woukd be old, that said, I’ll check it now. The ioptron engineer said don’t use sky safari 6 but based on your experience it does work. I’m happy with sky safari 5 for what I do but thanks for the tip on the firmware. Steve

Let us know how you get on Ade. Steve

When I got mine, ioptron told me to avoid sky safari 6 if using WiFi as the az pro won’t work with that version. i haven’t tried it so can’t comment. Works with sky safari 5 fine and I love this mount. I’ve found the alignment to be pretty good and as others have mentioned the levelling is a bit of a chore but practice helps. enjoy the mount I have been really please with the on3 I have. Steve

Great report and it does feel good when you overcome a technical glitch with mount alignment and it makes all the difference when observing in urban skies I think. Glad you got it sorted. Some really nice objects there and you must be buzzing at so many firsts. M76 is tricky I find it really hard from my urban skies, faint and small! Kemble cascade and the owl cluster are two of my favourites. M52 is nice in a scope. I had it in the binoculars last night and it’s pretty faint, the scope opens it up nicely. Thanks for posting. Steve

I have the Morpheus 17.5. Very very nice eyepiece indeed. Great field of view and I wouldn’t be without it now. Go on you know you want to....

There are so many open clusters to view. So many, the list is endless really. All will look great in an 8 inch scope. If you don’t have sky safari or other suitable app, then it’s worth getting this. Also a telrad or alternative rdf is a must in my opinion as this will help you get into the right area of the sky before using a traditional finder, thereby saving you hours of endless time searching for stuff. You will find your own way of finding stuff but a good electronic app and a red dot finder are worth the investment. Also worth signing up to the binocular sky newsletter by Stephen Tonkin (see binocular observing section on this site) as although it’s designed for bins, many of the targets look great in a scope at relatively low mag and it might give your observing some structure. I use GOTO a lot as I can quickly get frustrated with looking for stuff in light polluted skies when it’s difficult to see the stars that allow you to hop to them. Using GOTO means that Also I can be pretty sure that the target in the eyepiece is the thing I’m looking at as opposed to any open cluster in the general area that I think is the one I’m aiming for (that may not be important when the targets are distinctive eg NGC 457 the owl cluster - it’s obvious that you have the right target in this case as it can be easily identified. The trouble for me is that many open clusters can be easily mistaken for others when they are less distinctive. Not everyone will agree with that opinion and neither should they, it’s just my view. Don’t worry about GOTO for now though, it will either be relevant to you when you are ready, or it may never become a tool you feel is valuable. Either way, rdf and electronic star map are very very handy bits of kit in the observing armoury so to speak. Can’t wait to hear how you get on. Steve

Thanks for the heads up. Steve

Sneaky. I thought there’d be a catch - it shouldn’t be allowed but I guess they haven’t really done anything wrong - just devious. I’m sure the scope will give you many hours of enjoyment and I’m looking forward to hearing about them. Steve

Looks like a quality scope. You peeked my interest and so I looked for the scope. Not sure if it’s the same but astroshop eu have it at an even more amazing price? https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/bresser-dobson-telescope-n-254-1270-messier-hexafoc-dob/p,52181?utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=52181&utm_campaign=1908&utm_source=froogle&gclid=CjwKCAjwkqPrBRA3EiwAKdtwk0iYHUXK7pFXopMNsVRl8yWW6ySZ_fn2iY-pSKBLmEDccpxklMyJLBoCVDwQAvD_BwE&utm_content= Looking forward to your first light report. steve

With my 8 inch f6 reflector I have seen galaxies M31, M81/82 from my back garden in suburban light polluted skies. Have tried others and failed miserably (which are easy from dark sky) but not urban skies eg M51 and a host of others. I find Globular clusters are probably the nicest objects in this scope in urban skies M13, M92, M2,3,5 and a host of others. Other objects you will get are some other nebulae eg M57 ring nebula, M27 Dumbell, possibly M17 swan nebula - one of my favourites. M42 of course will look amazing. I have managed the faintest hint of M1 Crab Nebula from my suburban skies but it was only just visible with averted vision. Open clusters will pop in this scope so they are worth looking at, M 11 one of my favourites will look stunning as well as some of the other fainter messiers eg M52, M 56, M72, M103 to name but a few. Enjoy the scope and if ever you can get it to dark sky your mind will be blown. Let us know how you get on and what you manage to find. clear skies Steve

Same here. Got the bins set up, had about 30mins observing then cloud. Started Steve Tomkins Sky At Night Bino tour. Kemble cascade was the highlight - simply stunning. Cassiopeia clusters were nice, M31 was ok, cloud rolled in session done. Nice to be out in the warm weather. Hope those of you that had clearer skies enjoyed yourselves, thanks to those who posted reports so far, I’m looking forward to reading more about your observing sessions last night. Steve

Glad you go5 your mojo back. I think we can all feel a bit out of the groove at some point. Thanks for sharing though. I just love those nebulae. The swan is probably my favourite closely followed by the lagoon and the triffid. I have to smile every time I catch them. Thanks fir sharing Steve

March 21st/22nd 2020 might be an option. Moon sets during the day and its before the clocks go forward. There is a slim chance of reasonable weather! Steve

+1 for this set up. I have the Altair star wave 80ed on a star discovery mount and this goes with me in cabin baggage. I have to put the tripod in the hold but it travels well and I think is a pretty good balance between wide field and high mag. There are many choices in these apertures and they are all pretty good I think. steve

Looks like a nice scope you have there. Yes it would be interesting to see your sketches. Steve

Just purchased the moon atlas for iPad that you mention John, looks pretty good. Thanks for sharing Steve

Hi philip, I think the 127 is a great scope but after you have had a large dob, I think you will find it limiting for deep sky observing compared to larger apertures. If you sell the dob you will possibly lose money. It’s tricky when you get off to a bad start with things so I can see your predicament. If I were you I would definitely not sell the dob unless you are going to re invest in another 8 inch dob which you were very happy with. Is the issue mainly the weight and portability or the go To? If it’s the portability, there are these possibilities ( there may be more) 1. Buy or build a scope buggy 2 Add wheelbarrow type arms to the dob base (see pic attached) If it’s the go to, then we need to know more to advise. Good luck, but don’t sell the dob, at least not yet, you’ll regret it I think. Steve

Michael, I’m Keen to know how the Monarch 7s perform as they are currently my number 1 target binocular for day and night time use. The Leica’s Olly penrice has are amazing though and my choice is between these two. Steve

Sounds amaaaazing. Just thinking that If ever you want rent out your back garden in Ireland for my tent I’d be more than happy to take you up on the offer 😜. We are planning to go to Ireland next year for our holiday.... Steve.

It is the best date for sure. I can’t make that date as I am away in Turkey - it’s my daughters half term and we decided to go away. Enjoy it guys. Clear skies. Steve

And on days of exceptional seeing for Saturn or on the moon you can try 2x Barlow with 9mm slv.

Also good advice from ships and stars. I thought after I posted, you could just get a 2x and 3x Barlow with your 28mm and that might give you more flexibility. Sometimes you can pick up a used 5x powermate which would work well with your 40mm plossl as well. There are loads of options and doubtful that there is one perfect one. In the end anything that gets you into the 6 to 15mm range will give you a much better view than you have now. I have a Morpheus 17.5mm and it is an exceptional performer but for planets you don’t need wide field.

For the moment in the UK the planets are not perfectly placed. That said, you can tease out nice detail if you spend time at the eyepiece. Realistically mags of around x150 will show you a decent amount of detail if th3 sky conditions are good. In your scope that is about 6 to 8mm. My personal opinion is you need to find the balance between clarity and mag. With planets FOV isn’t a factor. If you wear glasses, eye relief might be a factor in your final decision but if I were you I’d go for something around 8mm. The vixen range of slv are really good - I have the 6mm version but that might be pushing the mag unless the seeing is really good, they only do 6mm and 9mm so not quite perfect but either we not be bad. Cheaper options include bst starguider 8mm which I have used and is nice. In 6mm I don’t think you’ll beat the slv. So summarising it depends on your budget but I’d suggest 6-8mm with decent eye relief. You can consider the orthoscopic design but eye relief will be tight and may not suit. I am sure others will offer alternative opinions, so this is just mt take on your situation. Steve

Sounds like you had an night to remember. Nice write up. Thanks for sharing. Just shows that skies are as important as big aperture scopes. Imagine having access to a 12inch Dob out there 😱 Steve

Depending on actual dates I am definitely interested. Steve