ScouseSpaceCadet

These are popular apparently and I like mine but being a fatty puts me off using it... https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-nadira-astronomy-observing-chair.html At the mo' I'm using an extra hefty Vango Samson 2 camping chair. It's a nice height and takes a load... https://www.vango.co.uk/gb/camping-equipment/1132-samson-2-oversized-chair.html Available far cheaper if you shop around.

I can only imagine using this would be like an ST102 on steriods... One of my regretful sales was an ST120 with a semi apo filter. That was a fun scope. Using it for the intended purpose of widefield observation, CA wasn't an issue and with the filter, wasn't so bad on solar system bodies. The Altair scopes seem to be decent quality all around. I like mine. Are they all United Optics made? If you can mount the scope and afford it, buy used and if it's not for you, the resale will bring little to no loss.

I quite enjoyed it. Well done Peter Lewis you may have inspired a few people to point their phones at the sky. 👍

Oh I dunno... The black and white contrasts well... 😉 The Starfield is a very nice looking scope Spock. I hope somebody has one or a variant at Astrocamp I can try. 🧐

The 102ED thankfully survived its mishap intact and tonight I had rather enjoyable hour and a half on Saturn and Jupiter, between 2300 and 0030. Seeing was OK despite the rising full moon. Saturn's Cassini Division just about evident and colour banding on the northern hemisphere. The moons Rhea, Titan and Iapetus strung out eastward. I only clearly observed the north and south equatorial belts on Jupiter, however the NEB did show strong detail, with the wisps and swirls along the upper edge evident. A newly acquired Vixen SLV 5mm provided the best views of both planets at 143x. For fun I popped a BCO 6mm into the GSO 2.5x ED barlow for 297x and was pleasantly surprised Saturn didn't turn to mush! Finally as the cloud arrived I turned the telescope to the full moon and with the 24mm 65° eyepiece watched as our satellite was enveloped by the incoming cloud... The Altair Ascent performed admirably tonight. I was considering trying a true apo but I'll need to look through an example first to be convinced the extra cost is worth it!

The resident 'proper' amateur astronomer, Lord Pete Lawrence takes up the reins so this should be a good one. 👍

Seeing may improve immensely when swathes of people decide to keep their heating off. Just imagine all the usual heat not radiating out into the ether. We may be freezing but mid evening Jupiter will look smashing!

Place me in that capsule and enough wind power would be generated for the whole mission!

To be honest I really do not expect any change in domestic behaviour around here at least. It's doubtful those who will be hit the hardest by spiralling inflation and astronomical energy bills are the ones spewing light into the night most of the time. Although maybe businesses and football stadiums for instance may start switching off lights at night?

Assuming a combined annual subscription cost of £250 p.a. for 5 different magazines, there's no way I could afford that with an ('oop north) average salary, two kids at home, bills, car etc. I'd have to give something up. I guess astronomy is only for the relatively wealthy? Astronomy Now magazine is indeed very good, however my Sky at Night magazine subscription is a ridiculously cheap £16.50 p.a. and I'm a bit thick, so don't mind the 'dumbing down'.

I recall further up the thread, Apollo 1 mentioned... Cutting costs, shoddy work and haste saw three guys posessing, "a sense of adventure, risk, courage, intelligence, ingenuity, purpose and true team work" all die horribly. Apollo 13 was a massive save, but the situation could have been avoided. Let us not forget the Shuttle disasters. I'd rather NASA take their time and get it right.

I had a similar revelation yesterday. Inflation is increasing and higher energy bills are looming, so before prices go up more I worked out if I sell one mount I now hardly use (AZGTI), the Skymax 127 I only really use to observe the moon, and my 4" fpl-51 refractor, I'll have enough for an fpl-53 4", likely lifetime grab 'n go scope I will use regularly on a choice of my remaining two mounts (AZ5 for quick sessions and AVX for longer stints). Just one easy to mount quality refractor & a couple of binoculars are all I need or have the time to use. So... to answer the op's question. The top of my wish list is a Starfield 102 apo. 😀 Followed by a cottage in dark skies, with fast broadband and a fully automated dome obsy with a massive scope we can argue about when I win the lottery!

The 25mm Celestron X-Cel LX was the first mid range eyepiece I bought to replace the stock Skywatcher 25mm. A pre-owned bargain I had for three years, being replaced with a 24mm 65° Altair UFF. I did enjoy the feel, eye relief, relatively light weight and view through the Celestron, however combined with f5-f6 reflectors there was some edge 'seagulling'. The new price has increased by approx. a third since I bought mine, so they're less of a bargain with the likes of Vixen, APM, Svbony, Altair etc offering excellent glass in the same price range and for beginners, the ever popular BST Starguiders still holding their price below £50. Great review, thanks. 👍

You will 'see more' with 10x50 binoculars in rural bortle 2/3 than an 8" reflector in urban bortle 8. 😀 If I could drive 15 minutes to a really dark site and definitely could not transport an 8" dob, then I'd settle for the 6" and an alt az mount. No qualms. The scope you use the most is the best... I started with a tripod mounted 130p went up to 200p dob then back to a tripod mounted 150p and truly cannot say I missed using the 8" dob. The 150P was a nice compromise and I don't remember why I sold it! Although now I own none of those and primarily observe with a 4" refractor. 🙄 Not every scope suits everyone. Choose the kit that fits your lifestyle, fitness (the dob murdered my back), environment (the dob couldn't see over hedges and fences like a tripod mounted scope) and wallet (aperture per buck the 8" dob wins but see the previous text!). Good luck on your astronomy journey.

Jupiter's Io shadow transit observed between 2150 and 2225 when cloud cover stopped play. A humid night with poor seeing and transparency. The planet low and observed between houses. Observing the moon proved very difficult however the Vixen SLV 5mm showed the transit shadow well, following the southern equatorial belt Unfortunately I finally succumbed to that pig sick feeling some of you have experienced, when I decided to complacently lower my tripod legs and leave the scope locked on the mount... Well you guessed it I forgot to duck, stood from bending, hit the dew shield with my back and the whole lot crashed over. The focuser end hit the paved area and the rest on the grass. Luckily the 9x50 finder seems to have taken the brunt, the finder shoe and screws ripped out and the finder eyepiece snapped off landing several feet away. 🙄 I carried on observing after checking everything over and besides the above, everything else seems OK including collimation. A quick peek at Saturn before the clouds covered that too, revealed Cassini. Super glue should fix it. ☹️

https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-ascent-102ed-f7-refractor-telescope-geared-focuser-468-p.asp Unfortunately, very recently the price of the 102 f7 and 80mm f7 have increased by £100. ☹️ At £495 I felt the 102ED was a huge bargain. It's set up now waiting for this evening's Io shadow transit. The 102ED f11 has dropped in price a touch though and reviews have been good.

Very nice. How many small to medium tents will the garden take and not wishing to sound too fussy, is it flat? 🧐😀

A camping lamp in an Astro thread? Get out of here! Now hold on... The first press of the switch is red! Pause a few seconds and the second press switches off. Magic! A Quechua BL100. £9.99 plus post from Decathlon. Complete with batteries.

There's several fantastic images here... I've not been out much this year but found a few moon pics. Lunar V and X taken April 2022. Hand held using a Samsung S6 at the eypiece through a 4" F7 refractor. No processing except a crop:

The rocket is launched eastward over the Atlantic and North Africa so it may be too far south for us?

The Vixen SLV 5mm received today coincided with intermittent cloud so I managed to observe Saturn and Jupiter. Before starting, the cat brought into the garden a small rat to taunt and after chasing the squeeky monster around for a bit with a torch and gravel rake, I carried on! Slightly embarrased because I'd noticed the new neighbours at the back curtain twitching... Anyway... A decent breeze and humidity didnt help the seeing, but I managed a good hour. I've not had the 4" ED refractor out for several months and bearing in mind it's a work night, dispensed with electromechanical wizardry, favouring Wobbly Bob aka the Skywatcher AZ5 mount. Using the Vixen SLV 4mm, 5mm and BCO 6mm, Saturn revealed the Cassini Division and atmospheric banding during fleeting moments of good seeing. Titan was the only obvious moon, with Rhea popping in and out of view. Jupiter was still quite low to the SE and observed between houses so high powers washed out the planet, however the OVL Nirvana-ES 16mm revealed the north & south equatorial belts and fainter north & south temperate belts plus simultaneously the Galiliean moons.

One of the very few books I actually use at the eyepiece.

September and October. Those are the months I manage to get out camping most often. Temperatures don't drop too low for comfort at night and the weather overall is rather mild. Given clear skies, with binoculars alone, I can tick off more deep sky objects in one night compared to the rest of the year back home. Staying at home, on a crisp and clear mid winter's night I'll be out in the back garden.

Great article, thanks. 👍

Courtesy of @Franklin, an excellent condition, very fairly priced and very well wrapped Vixen SLV 5mm. The 4mm I own is a superb planetary eyepiece, so hopefully the 5mm should be as good. 👍