GordonD

Thanks for posting this - it is all helpful and interesting to hear. Like others here I decided to get something of size whilst I can still manage it, so went for the 300 flex tube 18 months ago. Luckily just before the prices went skyward. But I figured that I would only manage it on wheels so attached lockable castors and move it all in one with the tube collapsed. Of course this will only work if you have flat-ish surface to move it over and it does rattle alarmingly. Glad to hear you are enjoying it. I had a 250mm previously but for me it has been globular clusters that has really shown the difference. You can just look deeper and deeper in to them with higher and higher magnification.. Also showed me the veil for the first time too. A 350 would be even more fun, though.

I think that starscape is breathtaking, even without the excellent foreground. The way all the clusters and nebula show up is wonderful. Thanks for posting it.

Managed to get in over an hour of observing between 10 and 11 yesterday evening as well. The first chance for weeks. Just did some of the winter highlights - the usual suspects in a surprisingly dark and steady sky. E and F in the trapezium were steady and clear. M42 brilliant as ever. Tried for the Pup as the skies were steady but no luck. I have never been able to see it yet - but will keep trying! M35 was very impressive and the 12" shows the nearby NGC2158 as quite a bright patch with some resolution across the face. Spent a little while just sitting back and enjoying the view with Mk 1 eyeballs - felt good just to be back out there again. Wasn't even too cold!

Love this image - well done!

I use a plastic Keter shed. Although it is surprisingly weatherproof in terms of rain, my Dob will certainly suffer over time as it bound to be a much damper atmosphere than indoors. But it is accessible and easier to use and that means it gets used much more than it would if I had to cart it out. Actually it is too big to cart out so I either had a Dob stored outside or no Dob. And it is already cooled down when I get it out. So I sacrificed how long it will last against getting good use out of it. I also store my refractor in there but that is less of a concern as it is in a reasonable quality flight case. Not sure if the Startravel has a case? The mount for that also lives in there and that has survived well so far. I did have to screw the shed to the wall otherwise it would not stay put in a decent wind. So it works but I suspect lots of people would be horrified at the thought of leaving the scope out there - and I understand that, as it is definitely a compromise.

Great - Thank you!

Seeing was pretty poor here too - your description of the trapezium is about right. Clear though, so spent some time on clusters in Auriga and Taurus at fairly low power. The good point was I managed to spot C/2019 L3 ( ATLAS ) in Lynx - so a result! Where do you find the jet stream map?

I noticed the Morpheus prices at FLO are up to £223 today. ☹️

Yes me too!

I wasn't aware you could define a custom park position. I always turn mine on pointing level and North and I haven't seen the issue you are getting. On a good day the GoTo works really well, but other days it is always a few degrees off and I have tried everything to make it reliable with no luck (for a year) so if you do manage to find a way to get it set up reliably I would love to hear it. It always tracks really well once on target though. I don't use the handset, but instead use the Synscan App on both a phone and a tablet. The combination of that with SkySafari is just great. Well when the GoTo is working accurately anyway. Also have an AZ EQ5-GT and that is much more reliable in terms of GoTo. Interested to hear how you get on. Gordon

The start of an expensive green and black habit, I wonder ..... Courtesy of @toshapetriji - Many thanks!

Odd looking bit of Astro kit ... I was looking for a replacement for the 'shower cap' that SkyWatcher supply for the Flextube dobs, as the elastic in mine had become completely loose. I also wanted one for the bottom of the tube to keep out spiders and dust as I store the scope in a shed. I found these round stool covers on Amazon at a tenner for a pack of 4. Arrived today and lo and behold they fit! Well, only just to be honest on a 12" Flextube, but tight is good in this case. Probably OK on a 10" too https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08P785ZK1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Anyway thought it might be a useful idea for someone else in the same boat.

Wow that GIF is amazing work! Well done and thanks for sharing it.

My goodness those latest images are terrific and what a change over just a few years. Very impressive!

Can't see this being mentioned on the forum - sorry f it already has. But my wife just came across this remarkable video of a fireball in Idaho a couple of weeks ago. Astrophotographer Captures Falling Meteor Fireball Over Garden - YouTube I thought it was pretty amazing. Gordon

This looks brilliant! Well done. Really interested to see how it works when finished. You might inspire me to finally get on with one myself after thinking about it for years.

That's a lot of detail. Like them both!

Good luck! Have often wondered how much effort and how long this would take, so would love to hear how you get on. Gordon

Thanks for the report John - always good reading. I think I was out a bit earlier than you and not too far away on the other side of Bristol. I did some of the same targets myself with my 120ED too, up to the point of when you got to Cancer by which time I had to give it up. Trapezium E was steady with occasional glimpses of F as seems to be the norm in this scope. Rigel, sigma Orionis and Beta Monoceros all lovely. Must remember to look up 32 and Eta Orionis - not aware of those. I did get to spend some time exploring the moon's terminator as well. I have much cheaper UHC and I find that on M42 the darkening of the sky it gives make the fainter areas look more definite and 'solid'. Anyway it was great to get out for an hour or two.

I don't think there is any such thing as PC (as in Windows) version of Sky Safari is there? It is available for MacOS but it looks like an iOS purchase is separate - from their FAQ I already bought your iOS version of SkySafari for my iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. Can I get a free copy of (or discount on) the macOS version? No. SkySafari for macOS is a complete rewrite of our iOS app, running on a computer with a different kind of processor, under a separate operating system with a very different user interface. Our Mac and iOS apps are sold through different app stores. Even if we could offer you discount, Apple won't let us. From https://skysafariastronomy.com/support/faq/skysafari_mac.html

I spent quite some time on Thursday and Friday evenings trying to get the pup with my 12" dob in reasonably good skies, but I am afraid I just could not see it. A hint of something perhaps, but never anything certain. Rigel B was clear bright and well separated at the same times. Anyway a good one to keep trying for over the next month or so. Determined to bag this one now! I have deliberately avoided looking up where it should be, to avoid imagination taking over.

Yep want one even more now ...... Thanks for sharing the video!

Thanks for this - a lovely report. I had a brief first look this year at M42 a coupe of days before Christmas with a new 12 inch dob and I too managed to get the F star for the first time! Previously have picked up the E fairly regularly in a SW 120ED, but never had a definite yes on F before. Visibility for the pair does seem to be very dependent on the conditions, doesn't it? Anyway glad someone has had some clear skies!

Great! I just came in from grabbing a brief look between trees with the ED120 at 51x too, before the clouds wiped it away. I reckoned about 10' apart. Little detail of course but at least I got to see it.

Wow that's brave. Look forward to hearing how it works out. Really interested to hear how much of a difference the Orion mirror makes - I have wondered about that upgrade myself before. Gordon