TerryMcK

As long as the Klingons don't use it for target practice as was seen in one of the later Star Trek movies.

Fantastic

The UK clouds may have cleared by then

I should have mentioned my mount is an HEQ5-Pro with the Rowan belt mod so no grease and moves smoothly - no stiction.

I would go with the redcat as it is a purpose built telescope. It can take 2" filters for instance.

Mine is a fairly lightweight rig - with the cameras, guide scope and ancilliary equipment on probably weighs 10 pounds or 4.5KG- and I have just tried loosening both clutches at the same time. It doesn't move. When I move it anywhere it stays put in any position so guess it is well balanced.

I was doing an OU course in Astronomy back in 1997 and saw a page in one of the course books that showed the passage of the 1999 eclipse - I was bitten by the eclipse bug. As we know it was due to hit Cornwall. So we made arrangements to go see the eclipse and had driven down a couple of nights earlier. On the day I had everything setup, cameras with filters, filters for the kids and adults and made ready for the moment which was around 11AM if I remember correctly. We patiently started to watch and it clouded over! I remember everything going eerily dark and could see sunlight in the far distance. Needless to say, like most other people in Cornwall, we saw nowt. In fact I think it rained where we were. Then it was all over, we had a glass of champagne to "Welcome the sun back" and in the afternoon it was swelteringly hot and we went for a walk on the coastal path. But....we were there.

Yes indeed a Rorex watch or Gribson Len Pool guitar springs to mind - seen both of those in the far east! Michael noticed the achromatic construction and I missed that at first. I personally wouldn't buy that one.

That looks like a good chunky computer having an I7 cpu and USB3 ports. Try to spec it with SSD drive - less moving parts then (probably none as it is fanless). I have never seen a computer with so many hardware com ports on! Most systems do not have one hardware com port nowadays. Check out in the specs what the environmental recommendations are for operation. I'm not sure of your local conditions in Sweden but you may find it is ok.

I’ve got a very fast processing system so yes I see no reason to start from scratch again when adding new data to old for instance, it only takes a few minutes to re calibrate with a dual Xeon each with 16 cores and 64GB available. I realise that such a system isn’t in everyones reach though and what I do is not necessarily what others should do.

I keep the lot. I do however ditch the ones that have airplane trails in or are clouded over. Storage is dirt cheap these days so I have live copies on a server. I also have backups on a nearline disk SAN and offline blueray discs. I work in IT and this is second nature for me.

I have a skywatcher 9x50 Finder scope used in conjunction with a FLO adapter. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-sky-watcher-9x50-finder-to-c-adapter.html This has (I think) an M50 male thread that screws into the finder scope once you remove the existing adapter that carries the eyepiece. The mono ZWO ASI120MM camera then attaches to the adapter. The focal length of the scope is 180mm and to achieve focus I removed the locking ring. This allows the lens to move a little closer to the camera and I get perfect focus. There is about 4mm of thread left at the lens end. I used some PTFE plumbers tape around the threads to stop the lens from moving once set and just left it. Everytime I use it is always in focus and never needs adjusting. FLO do a complete guide scope kit based on this method https://www.firstlightoptics.com/guide-scopes/sky-watcher-9x50-finder-adapter-zwo-asi120mm-bundle.html Your finder scope looks very similar to the Skywatcher one so may indeed be one and the same as I am led to believe they are a generic scope. Mine guides really well and I get perfectly round stars on 5 minute plus exposures and a great PHD2 graph. BTW ditch the finder scope spring loaded bracket that it comes with and mount it in a pair of proper 3 screw rings if you can.

A very good write up Wim. I look forward to seeing more posts on this really interesting thread.

The IDAS D2 works to suppress old style sodium lights (the ones that gave that yellowish/orange light) as well as modern LED lights so whatever you have in the street it will probably be ok.

The IDAS D2 works well with all the light pollution I have including bright LED street lights. Well recommended for OSC or DSLR. Go for the 2” - more expensive but you can still use it if you decide to upgrade to a dedicated astronomy camera.

No absolutely no issues with it. Yes it holds calibration well in Ascompad.

I bought one of these from Amazon EasySMX Wireless Game Controller, 2.4G Wireless Game Controller, Dual Shock, TURBO for Android Phone or Tablet with OTG Function & PS3/PC/TV or TV Box (Black and Red Joystick) [2020 Edition] https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RLQH47P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It is well made and solid.

Great work. The video shows a lot of the detail you have put into it. It reminds me of a recording studio inside with the large glass window looking into the observatory room.

Yes I paid for the £10 a month Creative Cloud Photography plan that give 20GB cloud space - I don't use that part. It was slightly (haha) cheaper for annual - with VAT it was £119.21. A saving of 79p! I might be able to buy a tiny Mars bar with the $$$$ I've saved. CC Photography gives Photoshop and the always useful Bridge (cept both still won't open FIT files), LR, LR Classic, something called XD (dunno what that is), Premiere Rush (no idea what that is either) and Fresco (New Power for the paintbrush)

Fantastic image

I use PHD2 with an ASI120mm coupled to a Skywatcher 9x50 finder scope which is 180mm FL - so if you do decide to go back to PHD2 one of your 200mm scopes will work great. I have used it with both ST4 and just pulse guiding. The latter is the easier way to go as ST4 was always going into recalibration if you pointed the scope somewhere else. So many ways to achieve good guiding nowadays

I like all three. Stunning capture.

+1 for Stellarium. The ASCOM HEQ5/6 drivers I use with it work fine now. No need to use StellariumScope but that works OK too - at least for me. As others have said Cartes du Ceil and SkySafari are also good contenders.

I image with a Triband Filter. It works great even under full moon. Then while the images are coming down I drink rum 😄 Edit: However as others have already said this winter has been dire. I can only remember one clear night so far.

You have done everything correctly. It appears as a tiny dot on the Skywatcher polarscope and is difficult to see but if you have the illuminator at around 50% it is easier. I found it much easier to use an Omegon angled eyepiece for 90° polar finder-scope or similar https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FZ2FTZ3/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_3p_dp_1 That way you are not at an odd angle and it makes viewing polaris so much easier as it has a magnifier - and it fits Skywatcher polar scopes which are 30mm diameter. However I have dispensed with that too and now use a QHY Polemaster. Polar alignment in a couple of minutes (assuming no clouds).