ScouseSpaceCadet

This year's best buy has to be the Altair 102ED. Bought January this year and a delight to use. Although if the weather continues as it is much longer, I will have forgotten what to do with the scope!

That's actually a great book. Good arm exercise too. Enjoy the read. 👍

Lee I found getting them on required hopeful optimism coupled with bad language. I hope yours fit better!

Tbh I find using filters a pain, however I own two & occasionally use them... A Moon & Skyglow filter is used as a moon filter if I'm having a longer lunar session. It just takes the edge off the brightness without unnatural colouring. The second is a UHC filter that does enhance detail in bright nebula.

I wore a fake moustache & comedy nose and Liverpool A.S. let me in...

Pretty much the same as this year; making the most of any clear (and convenient) night to enjoy what's above me. More camping trips were the new 15x70s will see plenty of use. There's no off season for me. Summer nights at home, I tend to switch to lunar observation. My astro society is opening tentatively so hopefully a trip away with them too and some time on the 12" LX200 at the society observatory would be great. Plus the Mars 2022 opposition is something to look forward to weather permitting...

An excellent free starter course. The average reading time is around 35 hours. I think you might like this book – "Astronomy" by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, Sidney C. Wolff Wolff, OpenStax. Start reading it for free: https://amzn.eu/fYhM40N

No postie today but I must of been quite good this year as Santa left some nice gifts; a Nadira chair, binocular pistol grip, a Neil de Grasse Tyson book, a pic of the moon reflected on water (upside down 🙄) and an illuminated moon globe for my desk: Next year I'll try even harder to be good! Thanks Santa. 😉

All good up to now... Uncannily looking like a Christmas tree decoration! 👍 This project seems to have caught the public's attention. Yesterday my boss put me on the spot during the morning meeting, "Peter you're an astronomer, tell us about this telescope..." After wishing for MS Teams to disconnect, a fifteen strong team of nurses, healthcare assistants and admin staff received a three minute lecture about JWST. Slightly embarrassing. 😬

When observing on grass I tend to use a camping ground sheet... That does make a difference. To be honest I've not thought to try it on my concrete garden observing area... 🙄

Merry Chrimbo FLO from another happy customer. 🤳

Jeremy your Christmas Eve attire is entirely private. TMI!

Same 'ere baz. Clear around 6pm, murky for an hour or so mid evening and locking up just now it's great out. Three forecasts stating cloud all night. 🙄 Unfortunately I had meals to cook and last minute Chrimbo shopping to do so couldn't make the most of the early evening sky. ☹️ The rising moon looked great on the way back from Sainsburys... Forecasting aside, I thought last Autumn was bad, but this autumn/winter really does seem worse than last year.

Just now, out moving the wheelie bin to the bottom of the drive, the sky was unexpectedly clear... My neighbour was skulking in the shadows near his back gate and we stopped to chat. After a couple of minutes he's looking at me curiously as I'm looking over him at the south west sky. "Sorry Dave, a fantastic meteor just appeared over your head!" Very nice it was too, a green streak breaking into two sparkly puffs like a firework.

I use the AZ5. It does the job for those quick sessions. When the weather looks promising and I'm hoping for at least a couple of hours, then the Celestron AVX comes out. Bought used last year for £600. There's probably better options out there, however I'd already owned the AZ5 a couple of years and the AVX was the cheapest sturdy goto and tracking mount I could afford.

Great man-cave. 😀 I'm relegated to the loft along with the camping gear etc. 🙄

Phew! With some practice & an extra inexpensive eyepiece or two, the Heritage will provide memorable lunar, planetary and deep sky views. Well done making your mind up Sarah! 😉 Have a good Christmas. 😁👍🤳

Wait two years or so and Mr Musk's Starship would likely be up to the job. Hopefully that's not required. I would not want to be one of those JWST engineers waiting for everything to work perfectly!

Beat me too it. I just copied that link to paste. 😀 and another.

Sarah with your new budget, the Heritage 130 will be the best bang for buck. I started with a 130mm reflector and what I saw transformed my life. However as with all recommendations, your mileage may vary. There are plenty of videos on Youtube and the link by John is a good read. There is plenty of help available if you need it. It's not perfect but then none of the packages suggested in this thread are. People spend £2k on telescopes and still modify, adjust or upgrade. For instance a particular SGL member has a handle fetish! Please try not to over think too much and good luck with your decision.

Mine has not been used since mid summer. I've been *really* tempted to sell the AZGTi, but the mount is so quick & easy to set up and use. Unfortunately I don't have a suitable scope to use with it though. My procrastination has reached new heights with this, fearing post sale remorse! Great idea for a thread Lee & and nice setups peeps. 👍

Blinkin' wives eh? 😉 Mr Brush's tips above should do the job. One of those plastic wheelie bin sheds should be big enough. A refractor in a case, plus tripod and extras will easily fit in. I do already have one with the lawnmower and several garden tools etc stored. I rarely notice water ingress and only one particularly mean looking spider spotted 😬 Beefing it up with extra insulation/damp proofing etc might do.

Tbh David I have the same problem as the OP. Despite living in a fairly modern 4 bed semi, the house is packed out with two grown mid teen & early twenties children still at home. A corner in the conservatory is reserved for my stuff. New anti snap locks & alarms etc have been installed to reduce anxiety. This thread is of interest because I've been considering another Keter wheelie bin/lawn mower style shed for the gear.

I was fibbing slightly when I said the day dreaming doesn't happen. A 12" dob would be a great addition, but until the local uni attending son decides to fend for himself and the A level student daughter spreads her wings, there just isn't the space in our semi detached. ☹️ I'd love to observe with your 24"!

No holy grail for me and at least until I retire, come into a few bob or win the lottery, telescope dreaming is wasted brain energy. Saying that, I would like an affordable to me quality refractor at around 120mm aperture that can be mounted on my existing AVX mount. After much research the Tecnosky 125/975 F7.8 FPL-53 ED Doublet seems to fit the bill for performance, weight and affordability. So unless I read somewhere it's awful or there is something considered better for approx. the same price, then that scope is my goal over the next year or so.