ScouseSpaceCadet

For camping trips I pack a Sky-Watcher Skymax 102. A 102mm aperture, 1300mm focal length Maksutov telescope. It's very compact - the telescope, a 6x30 finder and a star diagonal fit into a camera case. You could probably stuff a zoom eyepiece or a couple of plossls in there too. Small and light enough to employ a child as a pack horse. 👍 The only real drawbacks are the narrow field of view compared to a refractor or reflector & the cost due to requiring a mount/tripod would be more than a Heritage. A lightweight mount and tripod can be packed into rucksack. Here is a video review by our very own Lockie of the telescope on a very light weight AZ Pronto mount. Edit: Another option is binoculars. 8x40 binoculars are light enough for a child to hold, easy to pack and are great under rural skies. A nice pair is cheap as chips compared to a telescope too. Around £40-60 for a decent pair.

Sorry. Some readers might not know though. 😀 Anyway, fwiw after several weeks observing, the south pole does seem to have shrunk a little, but that could just be me expecting it. 🙄 Photos would confirm it. Where are those imagers when you need them eh? Typical. 😉

It's Martian summer. The CO2 frost sublimes (turns from solid to gas) and the visible ice cap reduces in size.

You shouldn't need to worry about mirror cleaning for years. After use, leave the covers off and let the telescope dry naturally indoors, open end angled down a little, until everything looks visibly dry before putting the dust cover on and storing the tube. During periods of inactivity, or waiting for it to cool, the same applies. Leave the dust cap in place and the telescope either level or angled open end down a touch. Some dust, floral debris and a touch of bug splatter won't spoil the view. 😉

It's happening, but 2024 was a hard goal before the pandemic, so I'm sceptical we will manage boots on the ground by then, but fully expect at least Artemis II completed. Development of SLS, Orion and the contracted landers is moving along. So much money would be wasted if the project was halted, so the landing and subsequent base will happen *soon*...

Last night seeing was pretty good. The 10mph wind was the only slight hinderance. Around 23:30, noticeably compared to previous nights, Tyrrhena Terra & Syrtis Major Planum really stood out at 180x in the 150p. Really black rather than shimmering albedo features. Looking forward to the next month. Hopefully the weather plays ball. I'm definitely hooked. I've thirteen years to save for a massive retirement yard cannon!

These are frustrating mounts. My first developed the tapping while tracking & the replacement had the very stiff binding issue on azimuth. The third had tapping straight out of the box, which mysteriously disappeared after three sessions! As much as this is a light weight grab & go mount, preparation is just as important as using any other goto equipment. My gotos and tracking have improved by following a strict setup regime: 1. As close to perfectly level tripod as possible. 2. Add the finder and an eyepiece to the OTA, then balance the telescope on the mount. 3. A compass to point the telescope north and ensure the scope is level. Standing back so the compass isn't affected by the metal telescope tube, mount & tripod. Tighten the clutches incrementally, just enough to prevent the mount moving manually. 4. Using north level alignment, follow the rules regarding star choice; 90° apart in azimuth & altitude difference between stars up to approximately 15°. Whether using north level alignment or not, still follow the same rules to 4. If using a narrow field instrument like a Maksutov, use a 6x30 finder rather than a pointer. Start with a wide angle eyepiece, for example a 25mm 60° or 30mm plossl. Before accepting an alignment, swap to a shorter focal length eyepiece. I tend to use a 12mm 60° BST. Recentre in that eyepiece and accept. Repeat with further alignment stars. Likewise for gotos, before confirming acquisition, centre the object in a shorter focal length eyepiece as above. Finish each goto with Right and Up commands.

Buy an L-Bracket...

Keeping with the in crowd; the 2021 Stargazing book, and courtesy of Ebay, a very, very cheap "opened, never used" GSO 2.5x barlow.

A seperate thread on this project and how it works would great Dave. Thanks in advance. 😉😁

The focuser is plastic rubbish but it does the job while keeping weight down and makes balancing easier. Following the Astro Baby instructions regarding lubrication, tightening the two screws shown, then with an eyepiece inserted, incrementally slackening a little until you find the sweet spot for you, will improve focusing and reduce image shift. Swapping eyepieces from lower power to high may require the telescope to be manually adjusted slightly via the app/handset to recentre the object if for instance jumping from 25mm to 10mm. If the increment is smaller, say 6mm to a 5mm eyepiece, then probably not. There are upgraded focusers available, but they're relatively expensive and require the user to carry out some drilling and cutting of metal. I've a nice TS-Optics Crayford style 1.25" focuser on my 150i but the telescope tube was bought at a knock down price, as a cheap light weight solution for teaming with different mounts. The extra weight of a focuser upgrade upsets balancing using the side mounted small dovetail bar, so besides the cost, not recommended unless you're willing to also fit tube rings... My 150i while observing Mars (and Uranus & Neptune) Jupiter shouldn't be washed out so much, depending on seeing conditions, there should be at least a couple of cloud bands to see. Check your secondary mirror collimation. It's really easy using a cheap cheshire collimating eyepiece. They're about £10 on Ebay. Basically insert into the focuser, look through it and make sure the cross hair centre is within the circle at the centre of the primary mirror. If not, adjust the three secondary mirror grub screws slightly until it is. Job done. There's plenty of advice available if you get stuck. The 150i is a decent telescope, you should be able to enjoy a plethora of objects, especially if you're able to view from rural areas. Perservere and enjoy what the universe has to offer.

Handy these forums. Just ordered mine from Amazon too. Ta!

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8889072?clickSR=slp:term:string lights:1:51:1

My 10x50s under Bortle 3 skies yielded magnificent views of several targets of all classes. I suppose it depends what you can carry and how you're getting there. If you're in a van take the biggest aperture you can manage and do some galaxy hunting?

Omg. I'm going out right now to panic buy toilet roll!

There is a bit of a knack to seeing the dot. If you don't already, stand well back from the diagonal/eyepiece end, lower chin to the height of the scope, and most importantly, keep both eyes open.

A great scope to get back into the hobby with too. One day I may be able to afford one! 😉 Nick helped put my tent up when I was about to start throwing things at it and showed me M51 for the first time through his 8" reflector. His pencil astro sketch book is a big 'un, bring coffee if he pulls it out. 😁

Just come in... The AZGTI seems to have stopped tapping and vibrating all by itself. Tested for four nights in a row. Six hours with the 150p mounted and three hours with the 102mm Mak and not a sound. Tracking and gotos not too bad either. Are there Astro Pixies I should know about?! Mars was the same as the last three nights, an obvious southern polar region and albedo features popping in and out. The Mak not providing as much detail as the 150p, but without diffraction spikes, the pole was more distinct. To finish the session, the little Mak picked out Uranus and a very faint Neptune. 😀

Ready for Mars later, some AZGTi fiddling and eyepiece comparisons... Cadet's corner. A small paved area with a path leading to it for those muddy winter nights. Oversize fencing to the west blocking out the LED street light and home made tarp light shield to the north blocking a neighbour's laser beam security lights ..

The 25mm is excellent. Mine was picked up used over a year ago and I've not considered swapping it.

Just to echo Louis Ds thoughts. The 8mm BST gets used quite a bit with both my scopes. Personally, my experience of that ep in several telescopes, and the 6mm SW planetary view, I'd be inclined to go for the 7mm Planetary & 8mm BST or 9mm planetary. My set for both scopes (Skymax 102 & 150/750 Newt) is quite budget, but evolved over time to provide the best quality I can afford and a decent range of mags: 4mm OVL Nirvana 82° 6mm Sky-Watcher Planetary UWA 7mm OVL Nirvana 82° 8mm BST Starguider 12mm BST Starguider 16mm OVL Nirvana 82° 25mm Celestron XCel-LX The 4mm and 6mm are only used with the newtonian normally. They're too much mag for the Mak although on a really good night the 6mm will push the 102 Mak past its limits especially on lunar. Keep an eye out for used. BST especially are common to find used as people trade up.

A 7mm will give you 214x mag. Under UK skies, a realistic magnification. I have the 6mm Skywatcher planetary ep which is used with a 150/750 newtonian. It's provided sharp views of Mars at 100x the last few nights. A good purchase, absolutely no complaints. The 102 Mak and the NIRVANA-ES™ UWA-82° 7mm works really well, providing 185x mag. The 4mm/7mm/16mm Nirvanas replaced my comparable focal length BST eyepieces and the jump in price was worth it. Sharper, better contrast & wider views with less edge abberation.

Thanks for the link. My last one had the RA axis binding issue, but instead of voiding the warranty, I sent it back and the replacement is smooth. However, the three occasions I got out with the current replacement mount and a Skymax 102, what seems to be the declination tapping accompanied by vibration was apparent. Last night I went out and tried the Star Discovery 150p ota, not one tap & no vibration! I tested the tracking using Altair and after 45 minutes, the star was still in the central third of the fov. More than adequate performance but a confusing result. I guess before giving up, it may be worth a look inside, even just regreasing the cog may get rid of the tapping.

Caught up on Iplayer. Chris Lintott could barely contain himself. Like a kid who found a massive box of chocs. 😁

jnb... No, a sample return mission would be crazy. If there really is an incredibly hardy alien microbial lifeform on Venus, I'd like it to stay there! Mr Spock, is tossing a half eaten sandwich out of the airlock in the vicinity of another planet, not a violating the Prime Directive? 😉