ScouseSpaceCadet

That's a decent complimentary array of kit. I had a Skymax 102 for eighteen months, sold it on and realised I missed the gap in my kit. Now I have the 127 and just one thirty minute session convinced me I'd made the correct choice. Superb instruments for the money, especially if you get a good one used. Get the Skymax and binoculars to a dark site and you will be surprised how much you can observe. The binoculars are great for extended nebulae and open clusters.

No and no. 🙄 Although I do think if the supernova is a bright daytime object, news outlets will give it column space for clicks/sales, but the novelty will wear off after twenty four hours. What surprises me is even people with great skies don't give a hoot. I remember at Kielder having a conservation with a nice chap who lived there, he barely looked up. Likewise a farmer in the Yorskhire Dales who hadn't a clue. The Milky Way was glorious and she was oblivious...

On occasion I have used the 7mm with a GSO 2.5x ED barlow with the refractor on the moon at 255x for fun and it was surprisingly OK... However owning decent 4-9mm eps I've not bothered trying to barlow the 16mm. It's purely for widefield and a good job it does too. For instance when teamed with the 4" refractor, the Perseus Double Cluster is framed very nicely with very little distortion toward the edge of field. Edit: I meant to add one caveat for the Nirvanas - they seem to be the worst eyepieces in my collection for fogging up easily.

I have the Nirvana 7mm -16mm and see no reason to change them. I did sell on the 4mm due to floaters. The Vixen 4mm SLV is nowhere near as bad for floaters and all round just better except for the narrower fov. The OVL Hyperflex zoom I just failed to get in with, although the person who bought it from me seems happy with it.

Nice collection.. my dad is as we speak keeping himself busy tidying a bookshelf for the loft office. 👍 The book that got the ball rolling for me is Patrick Moore's Astronomy: A Complete Introduction: Teach Yourself. Paperback ISBN 978 1 473 60875 7 eBook ISBN 978 1 473 60876 4 1 First published 1995 and last in 2015, pretty much everything a beginner needs to know and a handy reference book when you are confused by perihelion and aphelion. 😉

Yes, and Franklin before you move, have you been there at night to check there isn't a mile away a massive warehouse depot lighting up the sky with huge floodlights? 😁

Louis D.. there are free tennis courts, but they are few and far between. It's also rare to see them used. Despite tennis supposedly being one of our national sports, it's played by very few compared to rugby, (proper 😉)football etc. Although that is partly due to image rather than just finances. Moving along, if a particular player is very good, it's incredibly difficult to progress, and that is due to finances and facilities. Unlike football, were a talented mucky faced kid off the street can get a foot in the door. Regarding the recent comments about elitism in amateur astronomy, on the whole I disagree. Generally people are very willing to help, advise and mentor although I do appreciate that may not be everyone's experience and in such a wide reaching hobby, unfortunately not everyone is going to be nice. That's life sadly.

Typical jobsworths. 🙄 I know I felt I had to report the street LED in two occasions due to a number of months passing without a reply (although potentially I may have been impatient...) however they didn't even notify me - one evening I looked into the conservatory and it was dark! I hope you get sorted.

A complimentary combination. 👍 I did own an OVL Hyperflex zoom but just could not get on with it when I owned a Skymax 102... Is that a AZEQ5 mount?

Typically the weeks of cloud broke during a 97% moon and 20mph winds however itching to try the Skymax 127, on went a plastic RDF and Skywatcher dielectric 1.25" diagonal dug out of the accessories bag. Teamed with the AZ5, the Skymax cooled down very quickly. A brief session was spent on the patio and I wasn't disappointed. My widest fov ep is an Altair 24mm 65° UFF and the lunar disk was nicely framed. The Skymax will see plenty of use on lunar during the brighter spring & summer nights.

Good luck in those gusts! I can see you now, spread eagled on the roof shouting and shaking a fist at the wind!

The "Pink Flamingo Observatory" does have a certain ring to it... 🤠

I'm primarily a visual observer, not a collector of things or particularly well off, so if I already had a 80mm refractor I intended to keep, I would not opt for a 102mm simply because the difference in aperture would be a nice step up but not a major improvement. If you're happy with the 80ED would you not consider a larger aperture but still relatively compact & fairly lightweight system like a 6"-8" classical cassegrain to compliment your widefield scope?

A couple of years ago I had the same problem with a ST120. At the time a Russian fella was selling 3D printed double finder brackets on Ebay. Since then several others have started selling similar aluminium cast brackets . I can't vouch for the seller, that link is just an example. FLO sell a bracket using a different config: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/astro-essentials-multi-finder-adapter-for-sky-watcher.html

I've not used my AZGTI for many months, however I did use Sky Safari Pro 6 for Android to goto and track. Maybe I'm lucky but I had no issues with the software using the readily available instructions... If you're experiencing difficulty the videos below may help.

Mike I can appreciate your reasoning and that worked for you. We both have made certain sacrifices to afford our kit, however when talking in terms of affordability in the general population, the comparison is difficult to hold up. The 'poorly paid' person in the thread title is highly unlikely to take up golf because of the cost of golf clubs, club membership prices and green fees. Playing golf, much like tennis, is still very much the preserve of those with above average disposable income unless the sport is an all consuming passion and that's literally all they spend on. Actually much like many amateur astronomers no doubt. ...and Greymouser I may know what sketch you're referring to. 😁

Mike, although I'm sure the final paragraph is sound advice, I don't believe, as others have done here, comparing one hobby to another is really helpful or realistic. For instance I have had to put to one side my spending on PC gaming, a hobby I have held on to since the mid eighties in order to afford my kit. If I started enjoying a bonkers night out again then I'd still only have binoculars! Despite the nation's veneer of wealth there are hundreds of thousands of families who would have to save really hard and make choices to avoid a decent 6" reflector, mount and eyepieces. My partner and I enjoy a combined family income well above average. Yet we cannot afford the best in life, so I feel sorry for those less well off who have to make harder choices than not upgrading their PC or only owning a nice four yr old car rather than a new model. As touched on earlier, added to the financial pressures is the light pollution in and around cities. Most of the population lives in those areas and to get the most out of the night sky requires travel to rural areas. Again an added cost. If one adds up the cost of two nights weekend camping approx. hundred miles away from home, including camp fees, food and petrol then you're looking at around £80. Compared to a B&B very cheap, unless you have to really scrimp to afford it.

Compared to times past, for instance the 1970s/80s when entering astronomy was the preserve of the incredibly enthused and innovative DIY skilled person, or the modestly well off, astronomy on paper is less costly to enter as a hobby. Unfortunately the pandemic, rises in equipment prices, the cost of living squeeze and wages not keeping up with inflation are all stacked against those who are less well off. Consider for instance a band 2 NHS healthcare assistant or retail worker will only take home around £1500 per month including shift allowances or sales commision. If they live alone in a flat especially, that first telescope and accessories is quite a wedge. Added to that other costs like travel expenses (a car & camping gear?) to rural areas etc, then astronomy just is not cheap and if they want to progress, upgrade gear and learn more, then the cost of books, internet, potentially astrophotography kit etc begins to stack up. That first step into astronomy in reality only needs to be around £70 - the cost of new reasonable binoculars and a book but for those who want to take the hobby further, who earn less than the (skewed to the south) national average wage, that is going to take some juggling of finances, saving up and trading in over a number of years. Pretty much as it was forty years ago, except now the mass produced equipment is much higher in quality and sophistication. To use myself as an example. I'm not going to fib, my modest collection of new and pre-owned kit; binoculars, ed 4" refractor, 127mm Mak, three small mounts, assorted eyepieces, a dslr, planetary cam, various accessories and camping gear to stay at dark sites probably works out at £2500 or so spent. That's taken three years to build up with some creative financial juggling and spending less in other areas - the gaming PC has not been upgraded for four years, my car is a 4 year old runabout and aided by the pandemic, my very active social life has taken a nosedive. Although maybe I was too old for clubbing ten years ago... 😯 Sadness helped kickstart my gear collection. My partner developed breast cancer and the insurance paid off the mortgage on our very modest semi -detached ten years early. If that tragedy had not occurred then there's no way without indebting myself that I'd have this versatile kit with a £700 per month mortgage to contribute toward. Nevermind the wad we still spend on other bills and services with a 22 yr old uni student and 16 yr old college kid at home. So yes, to reiterate, anyone with a job can get into astronomy easily and likely easier than when I was young, but moving along through the hobby is not so easy without some financial planning, know how and fortuity. Unless you're loaded... 🙄

Via WoB.. listed as Very Good Condition. Whereas the first (excellent) book I bought actually looked unused, these two do have minor signs of use. At £11.58 for the two I've no complaints though. 😀

Two of my faves. Great pics.Thanks for posting. 👍

Looks about the same quality as the £495 Altair Ascent 102ED. In focus C.A. just isn't an issue except on the obvious - Sirius for instance. I've yet to see any fringing on the lunar limb.

I can only echo the thoughts of previous posters. The night sky brings with it a huge fascination and with it many questions to ponder. For instance, where do we come from? Where are we going? Is there life out there? Is there a life of sorts after this one? Astronomy may be the only hobby that straddles science, philosophy & spirituality as although so many questions have been answered, many more remain and often, discoveries lead to new questions. Looking up somehow makes one realise they're miniscule, an infinitesimal piece of something unfathomably grand. There is beauty in the universe and the more one learns, the more beautiful and amazing the objects observed become. I've yet to discover another practical pursuit that stimulates the mind while simultaneously being a hugely relaxing and contemplative experience. Camping at a dark site just taking in the breathtaking view aided by simple binoculars and a comfy chair, really does clear a clouded mind. Often in my urban yard, I will take a break from telescopic observing, relax back in the chair and simply look up at the sky. Even in a city there is peace to be found.

Yes for many of us this winter has been dreadful for observing. It's been pretty much constant cloud at night here for at least three weeks too. I'm looking forward to your eye opening first 'proper' view. If this reaction is anything to go by, you may need sedation! 😁

That's a start but go for gold. Observing the cloud belts and if you're lucky, the Great Red Spot plus other features as you get better really does add to the experience.

Oooh, I'm all aquiver! 😁 Claire, telescopically observing Jupiter for the first time does often seem to have an emotional effect in people. It certainly did for me. Did you manage to observe any particular features?