TerryMcK

I would recommend the Sky-watcher 200P Dob as a first telescope - dead easy to use. As long as you have moderately dark skies, can keep clear of artificial light sources such as bright street lights or neighbours security lights, you will be very pleased with it. If you are in the centre of a city with all its associated light pollution then visual astronomy, regardless of telescope, can be frustrating to say the least.

+1 on Francis' observations on the WO ZS73. It is a superb scope and the dedicated field flattener is not a reducer so you get 430mm focal length. Never had an issue with the focuser nor anything else on it.

I use a gain of 111 (unity) on my 183 with an offset of 8. I didn’t know it could get beyond 270 and 400 is way too high. Amp glow is a “feature” of CMOS cameras and can be easily calibrated out as can hot pixels.

I missed the live presentation due to other commitments but will catch up on the recording. I am a user of APP and still getting to grips with it.

One of the main issues I have with the HEQ5 Pro is the appalling Vixen clamp that marks dovetail bars. So I thought time for an upgrade and bought a Primalucelab Big Dovetail Clamp that does Vixen and Losmandy along with a corresponding puck for the HEQ5.

My IDAS D2 is directional as mentioned in the literature - this is due in small part to the anti reflectance coating. I did try it the wrong way around and got strange results. I don't think the Altair Tribander is though it too has anti reflectance coatings on. The field flattener I have for the ZS73 is indeed the adjustable one the 73A. The thread for the 2" filter is on the rear of the flattener accessible once the tapered collar is removed. Here is the link to the gender changer https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TS-Optics-M48-x-0-75-gender-changer-length-7-5mm-continuous-2-male-M48a-M48a/392024691344?hash=item5b467e1290:g:sYEAAOSw4A5Yo8v2

Some filters are directional and should be placed so the male thread goes towards the sensor and the female thread is to the sky. The field flattener on the ZS73 has its filter threads the “wrong” way around. When screwing the filter in you find that the female threads of the filter are facing the sensor. I had to buy an adapter from Teleskope Express that turned the filter the correct way around. Much better than turning the glass around in the filter frame! The adapter is essentially an M48 threaded tube about 7mm long. An M48 filter allows you to use it on purpose made astronomy cameras in the future too.

I can recommend the Lakeside motors and controllers. They work really well under Astroberry/INDI. There are a wide range of brackets available to fix to whatever scope you have.

I use a dummy battery for both of my DSLRs and have this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0752G69WQ for a 650D. It will fit your 600D and all you need is a mains adapter or powerbank.

Fab work Gav

Another for Kstars/EKOS here. Like Mark says select a target and it finds it itself and is centred every-time within tens of seconds. I am assuming you are using a camera with your scope and not doing it visually. If the latter well the software will not help and you will still have to star align manually. Once you have star aligned though the software (whichever you choose to use) will be pretty accurate.

I have both. Sky At Night on the app is a bit lame and you can read through it in a few minutes - I haven't bought it in paper form for a few years. Astronomy Now is great and a good read whether as PDF or actual paper. So my preference is AN.

If you are not sure what you are pointing at then you can simply upload the picture to http://nova.astrometry.net/upload and it will try to plate solve the image. It works 99% of the time if you have enough stars in the exposure.

It is indeed the andromeda galaxy.

If you uninstall DSS it may leave the settings you have in the Windows registry. Indeed my settings are stored here Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DeepSkyStacker To delete them you have to run regedit (the Registry Editor) Navigate to DeepskyStacker in the registry and right click it. Then select Delete. When you subsequently reinstall the registry settings will be recreated with the default settings.

I've had similar stacked images produced after integrating darks with light leaking in the filter aperture. But nothing as severe as yours. What do the individual subs look like on their own? Try processing the light subs without any calibration frames. Uninstall DSS and reinstall - it takes a very short time and you will return to default settings.

Absolutely. I concur as I adjusted the backlash on my mount and first cold night it made an alarming noise. I had some long nose pliers with me and took out the rubber bungs on the side of the mount and slightly loosened the collar on the front screw with the pliers engaged in the slots - this one on the HEQ5 adjusts backlash on RA. Silence ensued and I've not had a issue since.

The red diagonal line in the view is a satellite trail in the sub.

KStars has a FITs viewer built in that will show you HFR. Again you have to install the entire application but it is a great Planetarium program as well as doing many other things. Windows, Mac and Linux - it is free.

Have a look at http://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/

I have painted green dots on the ground that aren't easily viewable by non astronomers/imagers. I don't think I would image from a wooden deck with the vibrations and potential for rocking.

When I'm not using the Pi4 for actual imaging (when doing a few test scenarios for example) I just plug it into a spare USB socket on a computer. Never had any issues. So I can't see why you can't power it from the Pegasus.

You would also put unnecessary strain onto the mount if you left the counterweight on whilst moving it in and out. My advice (FWIW) would be to move the mount about without counterweights or scope. It is light enough to move that way without mishap.

Looking forward to it.

I like it