jjohnson3803

I'm just beginning to play around with my iPhone and different aps, so my experience is quite limited. Anyway, I'm going to try using the NightCap app while the phone is at the eyepiece. I think it can be configured to produce quick enough shots of DSOs for framing and focus. Another app I'm going to try is StarryCam. 5-10 second exposures through one barrel of my 15x70 binos yielded some halfway decent wide angle shots. M42 was a small fuzzy bit, but again, I'm just starting to experiment so I can probably do better. I hope. Good luck!

Wow! All handheld? Very impressive!

i don't think I've ever noticed a variety pack here. Good to know they exist!

Nice. I bought a SW 90mm Mak a couple years back for lunar observing and it's served me well. However, there's a 102ED on a truck somewhere coming my way, so the 90mm might be looking for a new home soon. I have limited scope storage space. 😉

If I kept track of clear versus cloudy nights here, I'd probably quit altogether or go full remote with a subscription telescope site. 🙄

A couple of local club members have them and they're supposedly quite popular at outreach events. One is a newer version that can connect to 6 or 8 smart phones via WiFi. I guess people are so conditioned to staring at their phones that this should be expected. Also, we're in heavy light pollution so EAA is about the only way a novice is going to "see anything" aside from a gray fuzzy when observing DSOs. I've not seen one in action - the last open house I was going to attend was clouded out. Maybe later this Spring..

Not to highjack the thread, but does anybody have an approx. weight for the head alone? APM says 5 kg. Thanks.

Tell her you're buying a boat. Astro costs will pale in comparison. 😉

I have a 102mm f7 ED on the way which I intend to put on my SW AZ5 / Manfrotto 475B. I might have additional data soon if the weather cooperates. Wondering if I'm going to be ordering a SkyTee... 🤔

Convenience - a dark site does no good if you can't / won't use it regularly. My closest is only a 45-minute drive and even that can be difficult. Safety / security - Risking life and limb (or kit) tends to make observing less than enjoyable. Even just the perception of danger - real or imagined - can detract from a session.

About 24 inches including the diagonal IIRC and 11 pounds with an 8x50 finder.

I have an encoder equipped TW-1 that I run my ST120 on (about 11 pounds with finder, etc.). I'd say that is about the practical load limit for the scope. And my f5 120 is short compared to f7s and such. Vibrations take a couple seconds to die down when I rap the tube or change focus with the stock R&P focuser. Many people advocate putting a wooden plate on the arm to help damp vibrations. I did and I'm not convinced it helped all that much. I like slo-mo, but I don't care for dangling cable slo-mo controls that seem to fall off at random and that's partly why I use my SkyWatcher AZ5 much more often than my TW-1 - the SW has slo-mo knobs on it. There is at least one person who runs a C-8 on a TW-1 apparently successfully. He wrapped bungie cords around the arm to help stiffen it instead of adding a plate. I tried putting my old C-8 on the TW and it was a near disaster although I didn't try bungee cords. YMMV.

Interesting. I have an f7 102ED on order and I've been wondering how my AZ5 will do with it. Guess I could sell a few things to finance a SkyTee.

Plus the architecture plus the palm trees plus the blue sky. I must have lived somewhere in North Africa in a previous life. 😉

I'm allowed to keep one scope / tripod in the main room, but it stays behind a large-ish wingback chair so it's not that visible.

Late comment: I use my ST120 with a 50mm finder on my SW AZ5 and it's very close to maxed out IMO. My 120 rig weighs about 5kg. FWIW.

I've always considered my binos to be the ultimate grab-n-go kit - pick them up, step outside, and I'm observing. Recently I bought a pair of IF 15x70s. I like the size / FOV, but they're not optimal for handheld observing due to weight, so I normally use a lightweight tripod and fluid mount. I have some limited mobility when looking above 60 degrees so I'm considering a p-gram mount, but I wonder about the "grab-n-go-ability" of them. If I have to drag a bunch of kit outside, I might as well pull out a g-n-g refractor. Observing while reclining sort of works now, but it's not that steady when tilting my tripod back and the tripod legs have a tendency to slip. Thoughts / experiences / suggestions? Thanks!

Point taken, but some forums... ahem, Cloudy Nights, ahem... often contain more chaff than wheat or endless debates that would likely turn off a newcomer. Cynical sidenote: Somebody once wrote, "Integrity don't pay the rent." Probably a local politician here.

Wow, that's pretty good. How did you track it to get 80 4-second captures, just nudge the mount every few seconds?

Someone on another forum posts timelapse meteor shots that he takes under pretty dark skies - rather impressive. I've been considering getting a Wyze to experiment with as an all-sky cam although I am in heavy light pollution; this thread is very useful. With my luck though, I'd wind up with shots of some creepy neighbor checking out the camera. Or Sasquatch. 😁

I'm looking to buy an ED refractor in the 90-100mm range as a probable replacement for my three other scopes. Might be time to rationalize the collection. If that doesn't work out, the back-up plan is to get a Canon T7 and try some wide angle constellation photography. Maybe acquire a camera tracker as well. I'll continue to play with some remote scope photography, although I doubt I'll progress much past the "snapshot" level. I'm reasonably sure I don't want to go down the rabbit hole of AP post-processing. I want to get out to my club's dark sites at least once a month - this year has been very difficult with work, weather, and moon phase. And I'd like to explore some of relatively nearby campsites that are under darker skies. One is closer time-wise than my nearest club site and it's only $15 per night to camp - worth the price even if I get clouded out and only sit around a campfire. Galaxies are pretty much out of the question at home, so I'll keep targeting open clusters, observing objects close to the galactic plane, and try to do more lunar observing. I'm also going to try more double star observing since it's probably tolerable under my home light pollution.

I believe the BAA photo info listed it currently at around m=14.4.

A little levity, although I do empathize with her feelings: Dr. Becky watches the launch

Wait, there's desirable equipment in stock somewhere? Where is this mythical land of which you speak? (In all fairness to FLO and others, I know it's not the vendors' fault and there is some nice kit out there. For me though, everything I'm currently interested in is out of stock, on backorder, coming soon, more on the way, or delivery unknown.)

I'll vote for dark at 7PM and sunrise at 7AM - perpetual equinoxes. Not much chance of me moving closer to the equator though.