jjohnson3803

(Most) galaxies are right out for me at home as are a lot of less bright emission nebulae, so I've been mainly concentrating on open clusters. Globulars are marginal at best with my scopes. A few months ago I started trying some wider doubles and they're slowly taking up more of my observing time. The objects obliterated by LP here will have to wait until I can get out to a dark site I guess. There are double star lists all over the place, but I'm wondering if the Cambridge atlas would be a good thing to have.

Plastic container tops. Tupperware in the US, not sure of brands in the UK.

I've been in email contact with SW product support, but they sent me info on the wrong bolt so I'll have to send them a picture.

I just stumbled across this thread and the product looks quite interesting. I was considering a Revolution 2 imager since I'd prefer to do EAA without needing to drag out a laptop or tablet, but the number of cables and reportedly obtuse UI really made me hesitate. This looks (potentially) like a good solution.

How about variable star observations? Maybe pick one or two to concentrate effort on? Reports could be sent to BAA or AAVSO.

Related question - Why are many (most?) of these mounts out of stock or more coming or whatever? Reminds me of a restaurant with an extensive menu, but the server tells you only a few are available. Or am I just looking at the wrong vendors?

The comments about noisy motors is interesting. I really don't fancy making much noise at 0300, especially if any neighbors have windows open. I much prefer stealth and solitude.

I'm told the AZ-GTi can be used manually without firing up the go-to, so that would be a huge plus for me.

Many (most?) amateur photos today blow away what professional astronomers could do back when I was getting my undergraduate degree and we used astronomical emulsions on glass plates. 103aO was the bomb, baby! 😉

My G-n-G's are manual, but I did have a push-to for awhile. I'm happy with them, but I am considering getting an AZ-GTi since I live in heavy LP and a GT could be helpful for finding (some) fainter objects. I agree it's a personal choice - what I might find to be a hassle (cables, power supplies, etc.) might not bother others.

Given the amount of light pollution I live in and that my club dark sites are at least an hour away, I'm starting to seriously consider pre-ordering a Seestar. I could buy another achro or maybe an apo, but I already have a 50mm, 72ED, ST80, and ST120. I'm thinking EAA would give me a better return than buying yet another visual scope. Operating temps, humidity, etc. could be a concern, I guess. Can't quite bring myself to pull the trigger yet. OTOH, I think the intro price is good until the end of July, so I have a bit more time to ponder.

Anybody know the size of the setscrew that locks the AZ axis on a SW AZ5? M6 is too big and an M5 is too small. Maybe a 12/24 or 12/28, but I'm surprised it isn't metric. Thanks! Add: I guess it's proper name is the clutch tension screw.

Everything I've read (so far) indicates no threat of an extinction event here. There is some debate that staring at it might cause eye damage, but I think that's a bit far-fetched. It would be spectacular to see, but it's going to ruin the looks of Orion for me once it fades. 🙁

I'm strictly visual except for the occasional wide angle iPhone shot, but I've gone back and forth about getting into more serious imaging. I mean, really, why spend thousands on equipment that may or may nor get used at the whim of the (usually cruddy) weather when I can download free images taken with everything from a 50mm to Hubble? And then spend hours on my laptop trying to process the things. But then I consider sunsets, seashores, wildlife shots, and so on. I could download fantastic pictures of all of those too, but there is something compelling about capturing my own images, whether they're judged to be "good" or "mediocre". Maybe b/c it's a creative act in a sense? EAA is probably going to become a no-brainer here given the ever increasing light pollution, but the new and relatively inexpensive / affordable Seestar and Dwarflabs rigs have me pondering going with one of those. Of course some would say that's not "real" observing. <sigh> Outcome is TBD. 😁

Nonsense and fairy tales. What you need to watch for here is Sasquatch.

I was casually wondering awhile ago who even sells film anymore, much less does commercial processing. I do recall seeing something somewhere on how to build your own hypering chamber for cheap.

As I was drawing up a potential target list of open clusters yesterday, I was flipping pages in my Bright Star Atlas, Norton's, and Jumbo Pocket atlas. Then it suddenly occurred to me that I didn't have to flip anything if I used SS+ on my iPad - zoom in, zoom out, pan around easy-peasy. I love collecting paper atlases, but...

As a longtime SS+ user, I find the time controls on Stellarium more convenient (on my phone at least). I often hit the fast forward button by mistake on SS+ which takes me too far into the future too fast. But I agree picking one over the other is probably more a matter of taste than functionality. I don't use several features of SS+ like social media, orbit, or galaxy functions.

Lately I've been occasionally using an iPad that my wife got several years ago to run SkySafari . I still usually use my phone out of habit, but I have to say the much larger screen is a lot easier to read. Being able to take notes with a stylus could be quite convenient. And the aging battery on the iPad is getting to the point where it needs a charge after a couple of hours.

Not sure what AMZ UK has, but there's this for example: iPad holder

You'd think "too many stars" would be a good thing 😊, but I struggle under really dark skies also. I usually use a combo of Wixey and AZ circle with a little hopping at home. In the wild, it can be hard to find little patterns and such to use on when hopping.

Could you tell me what the length of the OTA is with the focuser racked in, no diagonal on? I've seen some strange (to me) numbers quoted. Thanks!

I recently sold my AT102ED f7 (looks like a Starfield twin). It gave very crisp views and was a nice aperture, but it was too big and bulky for my tastes. Also, it did not do that well on my SkyWatcher AZ5. It was ok, but was a bit beyond the limits of "good" IMO for the wiggles / damping time. Others might have had better experiences with that combo, I don't know. I do love my AT72ED. Maybe a little small in aperture for really faint fuzzies, but it's become my most used scope. And having said that, I think I'm going to sell my ST120 achro and get a ST102 achro for a little bigger cheap grab-n-go than my ST80. If by chance a female companion questions the purchase / sale of multiple scopes, compare them to women's shoes - you need to buy and try *many* styles and designers before you find ones you really love.

Northern Illinois skies are milky white and not from light pollution. With the annual burning of the western US and Canada, the mosquitoes that are coming soon, and the short nights, I'm thinking maybe summer is best spent in a swimming pool with a Cerveza Sol. 🤔

That's a pretty darn good image for your first attempt. I think you should be proud of your accomplishment.