Peter_D

Hello, Here are a couple of images from this morning. Jupiter was at 40 degrees elevation with above average seeing and transparency. Equipment: 8 inch Meade SCT, Zwo ADC, Zwo asi224mc, Baader UV-IR Cut Filter / Svbony 685nm IR Pass Filter, 2x Barlow. RGB image: 30K images captured, best 10% used. IR image: 10K images, 10% used. Clear skies Peter

A little bit off topic but I was watching a very interesting video on You Tube a while back where the question was posed why not use the Saturn V engines for modern space exploration. The video said that although Nasa still have the blueprints, the know-how, the work-arounds, the bespoke engineering all basically made each Saturn engine unique. It was interesting because it answered a question I had thought about previously.

Hi, Here's an image of Saturn from yesterday - 21:30 local time, when Saturn was at 12 degrees elevation. I used a Celestron 6SE, Zwo asi224mc, Svbony 685nm IR Pass Filter and 2x Barlow. 25K images captured, best 5% processed. Clear skies Peter

Here's an image of tonight's Moon taken with my recently acquired Tasco 8V, Zwo asi224mc and Svbony 685nm Pass Filter all on a Celestron SE Mount. These Tascos were made by Vixen in the 1980s - I've tried my best to collimate it (really fiddly) but I think I'll wait until I get a collimating laser before I touch it again. 22,000 images captured, best 10% used. Clear skies Peter

I just bought a used Vixen made Tasco 8V on a New Polaris Mount. It is actually my second NP as the first was incomplete. I'm particularly happy the mount came with a polarscope as these are quite rare now. The OTA is a Jones-Bird. I've read that these Tascos have a better reputation than later J-B scopes - the additional corrector is attached to the secondary and not the focuser. Daytime views were sharp but I'll have to see how it performs under the stars.

Hello, Here are a couple of images of Jupiter and Mars taken with my 8 inch Meade SCT and Zwo asi224mc this morning (02:30 UTC). Seeing was very good - cool and still air. The moon in the Jupiter image is Io. The Mars image has artifacts but it has some surface detail visible - I think I can see Valles Marineris jutting upwards to the mid left? Clear skies Peter

Cool. I mostly use the recommended UV-IR cut filter and I screw it in the nosepiece at the sensor end and just leave the nose piece on the whole time. The filter at the sensor end stays cleaner I find than if it were at the end of the adapter.

If you do get the adapter, make sure it is threaded to allow for filters. I have a couple of these nosepieces - the Zwo one is threaded but the other one isn't so just something to double check.

Lovely image..I really like how you framed it using the darker Eratosthenes to contrast with the brighter Manilius.

Hello, Here's an image of the eastern Mare Imbrium / Montes Apenninus taken in daylight with a recently acquired Meade Etx-90, Zwo asi224mc and Svbony 685nm pass filter. 10,000 images, best 15% used. Clear skies Peter

Hi, I got up last night and had a go capturing Saturn and Jupiter - still too early for me to see Mars as it's behind the neighbour's house. What was apparent straight away was my seeing was not going to support a barlow so I captured my images without. Meade 8 inch SCT, Zwo asi 224mc, Zwo ADC, Baader UV-IR Cut filter. I'll probably wait a few weeks before trying again - looking forward to capturing Mars again. Clear skies Peter

Hello, Here's an image from old data (20th April). Conditions were very good that evening. Equipment: 8 inch Meade SCT, Zwo asi 224mc, 2x Barlow, Baader UV-IR Cut filter. 1000 frames, best 10% used. Clear skies Peter

I had another look at the alt az and you are correct, the polar axis can be flipped up and the mount can be operated in alt az mode! Did a bit more research with the counter weights - the threaded ones are very hard to find, it seems most people just use a nut and nylon washers and secure a normal CW this way.

The mount came yesterday. Since I bought it, I read up more on it and it's actually a New Polaris Mount - a little disappointed that it cannot be used in Alt-Az mode like the Polaris. I believe it was probably made for Tasco because it doesn't say Vixen on it but has a circle V symbol on the polar scope hole cover. The telescope that it came with must have been pretty light because the counter weight will need to be added to if I want to use anything more than my 90 Mak. Apart from that, I'm very happy that it fits snugly on my Eq5 extension column. Solidly built with a smooth operation. It also came with a nice saddle clamp and slow motion cables.

Hi, I have a Vixen GP mount. The thumbscrew (top photo) for fastening the telescope's prism rail has developed a bit of play in its head so I'd like to replace it (medium term fix is to replace the saddle with the ADM replacement). In the meantime, does anyone sell proper rounded headed thumbscrews? I bought one (bottom photo) that seemed rounded but it had an edge around its tip and chewed into the prism rail. Thanks Peter

Imaging the Moon yesterday evening..

Hello, Here's an image of Copernicus, Eratosthenes and the southern Montes Apenninus from this evening. I never tire of this view! 8 inch Meade SCT, Zwo asi224mc, Svbony 685nm IR Pass Filter. 4000 images, best 15% used. Clear skies Peter

Thanks for all the responses and @Roy Challen for the useful photos. I bought the head yesterday so I'll send an update soon.

@skybadger Thanks for the feedback!

Hi, What are my mounting options if I acquired a Vixen Polaris head (it is currently on the seller's pillar). Would it be compatible with a SW EQ5 / HEQ5 extension which uses a M10 bolt for example? I also have a Vixen GP mount. Any guidance gratefully received. Clear skies Peter

I finally got around to getting the SW EQ5 extension pillar that fits my GP mount - I'll be using the A81M more often now.

@Stu Hi, I wrote evening but looking at the timestamp, it was actually a little later: 22:48 CET / 20:48 UTC

Hello, I was observing the Moon last evening with my Celestron C90 Mak. Along the terminator at the lunar equator, a dark straight line nearly at right angles to the terminator between craters Riccioli and Lohrmann was visible. I set up my 8 inch SCT and oberved the line visually and captured the image below. It seemed to extend across Riccioli but this could have been a trick of the light. I did a bit of research and discovered that this feature is unofficially named 'The Miyamori Valley'. Thanks for looking, Clear skies Peter

Lovely capture. Aristarchus was so prominent yesterday evening - it must be one of the brightest lunar features.

Hello, Here's an image of Tycho. I usually prefer close up images but I have a small 80mm Bresser Cassegrain which gives me a wider fov when using my Zwo asi224mc. There was light cloud present so I used a 685nm IR Pass filter. 10k images, best 30% used. Final image resized to 60% and converted to grayscale. Clear skies Peter