ScouseSpaceCadet

I'll give it a try next time out. If there ever is a next time. Bloody weather!

The tripod I use, although an adapter for an existing tripod is obviously cheaper... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-mount-accessories/sky-watcher-38-stainless-steel-tripod.html

I may have found a use for the OVL zoom I never use... I've been using a 24mm 65° then swapping to a 12mm 60°. I assumed the zoom fov at 24mm wasn't wide enough to acquire the target?

Wow. Having missed the opener I was surprised by the Guardian review however the majority here seem to express the same views. I'll watch it on Iplayer later hoping to not be too disappointed. To be fair his last series was underwhelming too although I put that down to the pandemic. I wonder if he's actually passed his peak?

You hit the jackpot there Geoff. 👍 What telescope did you use?

There you have it @wibblefish. Listen to Mike! The AZ4 costs far less and comes with a 1.75" steel tripod. If you're looking to stay within a tight budget and can learn to observe with friction clutches rather than slomos, the AZ4 would be wise. As I said earlier, the AZ5 is not perfect, it just happens to be the alt az mount I kept on after selling on the 130ps. Aa also mentioned earlier, the slomos are a bit short for a f7 scope anyway. Grabbing the azimuth cable in the dark is a little hit and miss.

Higher contrast, better colour rendition, virtually c.a. free, more resolving power & brighter views with the extra aperture and the ability to increase magnification without degrading the view is not, "the same." 😀 Btw I use the extension with the AZ5. It helps when observing higher up.

True story. 😁

I understand as I have a barely average salary public service job, budgeting to get the best one can afford is difficult. Patience and luck comes into play quite a bit as the used market is tricky. The AZ4 might be a better new buy for you. No slomos, favouring friction clutches. At only £30 more than the AZ5 it comes with a steel tripod. Hopefully those with experience of the AZ4 can help further.

You will have clutch slip toward the zenith. Although my AZ5 is over two years old so it might not be so intrusive with a newer unit. I also find the slomos are a tad too short with an f7 scope. There are sturdier mounts out there, however they do cost more. The Skytee2 may be a better option at £429 inc tripod. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/alt-azimuth-astronomy-mounts/skywatcher-skytee-2-alt-azimuth-mount.html

The 102ED is a definite step up from your current telescope. Bear in mind it's best to also budget for a suitable container. https://www.cases-and-enclosures.co.uk/long-silver-aluminium-flight-case-l850xw295xh270mm does the job for me. When not using the pre owned Celestron AVX I bought, the AZ5 & steel tripod is put to use. Far from perfect but in budget. Despite the extra faff of setting up the AVX, I do prefer the GoTo, tracking and rock solid feel the scope has when mounted.

My partner looked quite disturbed when I told her I was looking forward to Cox on Wednesday. Heaven knows why. I've not long finished Universal: A Journey Through the Cosmos. Not being particularly great at maths and theoretical physics I needed a pencil and paper for some of the chapters! Dean that book looks a bit less technical?

I don't wish to be inflammatory as the thread is probably already on a sticky wicket. However, I vehemently disagree that the shipping of bananas is unnecessary.

That post could be an episode of Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing for stars with telescopes. That reads like a smashing week you both had Marvin. 👍

2038+. Travelling to Mars is relatively 'easy'. Landing with squishy humans, surviving and returning less so, plus multiple unmanned logistics missions will be required before humans put their boots on the ground.

There's far too many suggestions making those lights attractive; solar panels, 24 hour tanning, barbeque even. They're probably that bright the neighbours could likely light the inside of their own houses with a single candle!

Don't be too reassured. When next door but one to me installed crazy bright LED PIR lights every time they came on my garden was bathed in light. Whenever they triggered for no apparent reason, it was like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind! Ruining observing. I did knock once but they didn't answer the door. They were definitely in. Maybe my bleeding eye sockets scared them. They have since planted a small tree in the line of sight, so the beam is scattered somewhat and with the edition of my tarp light shield, the light nuisance is pretty much eradicated. I wonder if me standing there angrily using, erm shall I say, rather military language at the lights each time made them plant the tree? " 'ey Billy, look out the window. There's that bloody loon with a sack on his head pointing at our 'ouse, shouting (bad words) lights!'" 😬 Also I had kittens a few weeks back when next door put fittings in for LEDs at the rear of his garden. My fisticuffs fantasies were curtailed when he reasonably installed the lights below the fence line and angled down. There's some spillage through the fence panels but not intrusive. The irony is the LED street light the council shielded is at the end of his garden. 🙄

Well Chris at least burglars will ignore your house and head straight to theirs! 🙄 Get straight to the council. Seems like a light nuisance case. They could at least angle them down.

Great news. A three hour drive I'll be very happy to endure! Fingers crossed. 👍

Reminds me of a thread a while back asking "What is the best accessory you bought..?". My reply, "A tent.". 😀

The 8mm is often regarded as one of the best in the range. I'm not in a rush to sell mine. I have been searching three years now for a suitable 4mm eyepiece and the after owning three different types/brands costing £20-70 the £115 Vixen 4mm SLV immediately hit the spot. The planetary view was so obviously brighter and clearer than the previous units with more detail apparent to. The same with the Altair 24mm UFF. Using that compared to a couple of previous 25mm eyepieces and a 32mm plossl was like I'd used some magic eyedrops. All the other mid range eyepieces I listed earlier in the thread are doing the job fine, but owning a quality high power and low power eyepiece seemed to make sense when balancing budget vs optical quality.

Ignorance is certainly cheaper! To be fair since I've owned a Vixen SLV/LVW and APM clones in the upper mid/lower high end price range I've noticed there is a stark difference in perfomance compared to the sub £100 eyepieces however those cheaper units like BSTs don't spoil the observing experience at all.

The actual minimum system specs for windows 11 are pathetically low: a 2 core 1ghz CPU, 4gb ram, gfx capable of 720p and 64gb storage space. 🙄

Alan I would love the clouds to shift so you and Stu can go at it... Ms Clanger, I normally wouldn't partake in a layer of butter followed by jam and cream, however those northern mountain folk have a reputation. A more gentile and civilised preference would be a layer of jam topped with clotted cream. If cream is absent, a layer of butter followed by jam. It is the way.

During my Cumbria trip in September on a visit to Appleby, we were given scones (pronounced 'sconns' using proper English) with clotted cream, jam AND butter! Needless to say as they covered all bases it was a shame to not use all three. Quite a curious taste. Those country folk obviously decided I needed fattening up even further for Christmas.