AstroMuni

@AryaanHegde take a look at this site. https://binocularsky.com/newsletter_archive.php

The newsletter are for last year but the objects will be the relevant for each month.

15 hours ago, MarkOw said:

amazing, thankyou, so the answers is to forget the fancy 3d printer and use a knife and cardboard instead!

I cut mine out of the plastic cover page of a Tesco notebook as I wanted it to be a bit more durable than cardboard 🙂 

1 hour ago, MarkOw said:

2. There seem to be different patterns available, some with more slits (harder to print accurately) and some with fewer slits (easier to print but does this make them less precise on focusing?)

This should help https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/224593-better-alternative-to-bahtinov-focusing-mask/

On 24/05/2024 at 22:51, Ags said:

I'm wondering where the space ice came from? 

And they say the ice build up is likely to happen again, so really wonder where its getting this 'ice' from

Note: The guide scope does not have to line up with the main scope is my understanding. Its after all trying to figure out the drift of a set of stars and send corrective impulses to the mount. The finder scope does need to align 🙂

3 hours ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

Not keen on this though because your setup looks prone to rotation around the single screw ?

I too had that concern when I started off, but found that it doesnt rotate at at all. This is a tried and trusted attachment for cameras and the locking 'nut' underneath ensures that its held tightly. I didnt have any issues with this arrangement though I used to dismantle the OTA from the mount every night to carry it back inside.

17 hours ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

Also, I have two spare dovetails, one of which might stretch between the two screws on the top of the tube rings. I only have one such screw right now, and also not sure how I'd mount the finder scope on that  dovetail and keep it parallel to main scope,

Does your tube ring have a screw for attaching a camera? On my previous OTA I used to attach my guidescope to that, as its easier to keep the balance

14 minutes ago, Pat Curran said:

While waiting to see if I get approval from the boss to buy the 533MC

Have you checked the 2nd hand market?

6 hours ago, Nickscope said:

I have a Celestron astro fi 6 sct and I was wondering if I could use cpwi for alignment and for controlling it. 

Hi, the manual (https://celestron-site-support-files.s3.amazonaws.com/support_files/CPWI Software Manual_ENG_F.pdf)

suggests that the Astro Fi mount is supported, so give it a go 🙂 

1 hour ago, Pat Curran said:

I don't have NINA in front of me, but AFAIR, you can search for multiple objects within a constellation, but am unsure if you can search for individual stars.

You could use a tool like Telescopius.com to get a list of objects in a particular constellation and then work your way through them.

Thats cool. Wonder how ChatGPT interpreted the phrase "visible after dark" 🙂 

Wowsers 😍

Forgot to mention - you could also try using your phone camera to capture pretty decent images. Just get an adapter to hold it steady against the eyepiece or if you have steady hands you can just hold it there. And remember, dont use the eyepiece when you connect the camera/ webcam.

On 11/05/2024 at 01:17, kellysaturn said:

I’ve just edited these pictures by taking the brightness down and the contrast up, so nothing too professional, but I was wondering if there would be anyone kind enough to help me label what I’ve taken pictures of? Specific stars, constellations, etc.

Besides all the constellations mentioned by others, it appears that you may have captured the Aurora as well 🙂

You seem to have been somewhat successful with the bresser, so if I were you, I would go back to that for a start. There are a few software that make life easier eg. Firecapture or SharpCap. These help keep the object centred in the field of view and can take short videos of the moon. The image will shimmer but dont worry, its the next piece of software which will do the magic of stabilising it and making a clearer image. You could try PIPP, Autostakkert & Registax. Plenty of youtube videos are around explaining how to do this. Good luck. Here is one

On 10/05/2024 at 17:40, ollypenrice said:

I don't follow this. Visual images in budget refractors tend to be better in slower optics and this kind of telescope is possibly the worst of all options for imaging, with pretty well everything wrong. Poor colour correction, a lot of field distortion, a sag-prone focuser, etc.

I was under the impression that OP was using for visual only. If you are saying that slower scopes would be better even for that then I need to do more reading up
🙂

On 08/05/2024 at 21:42, Astrosurf said:

Plus I often catch the bolts when I'm carrying it. I'm quite clumsy.

Attaching a shower cap or similar might help. I have a cloth bag on my 130pds.

14 hours ago, Buqibu said:

Hmm, would that be an upgrade from my current scope? I'm assuming that mount is better than mine but the achro OTA at that focal ratio has me a bit worried

At f4.9 its a faster scope compared to what you have (f6.5 ?) so images will be a lot better. You could add the included barlow to slow it down. Ofcourse if your budget allows you could go for the ST120 at f5 and around 4kg. IMO you should spend money on a better mount as that will make your viewing experience a lot better. If one of the carbon fibre tripods fits into your budget then they are easy to carry on flights as well.

18 hours ago, Buqibu said:

Budget at max would be around 450-500 euro.

So you are looking for a scope for visual use (not photography), right?

Have you considered something like this https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-102-az3.html

EDIT:

OR

You could purchase just the OTA and an AZ4 mount which is available on offer at the moment for £99 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/sky-watcher-az4-alt-az-astronomy-mount-with-aluminium-tripod.html.  This combo might just tip you over the 10kg though

13 hours ago, Astrosurf said:

If I loosen the bolts off a bit I’m worried the mirror will move.

There should be screws on the other side (the silvered side) to hold the clips. The bolts in your image seem to be the Adjusting/Locking screws

On 06/05/2024 at 22:15, TiffsAndAstro said:

Also not so much colour left.

The trick to bring out colour in stars is use Asinh stretches. Photometric colour calibration also helps.

1 hour ago, Iandmr said:

It is, of course, very hard to weigh up whether the improvement moving to a triplet is worth the extra cost and especially when this would be my first step into the hobby

You have done a lot of research and you should be able to enjoy with either of those scopes. Just out of interest was there a reason you ruled out reflectors?

1 hour ago, engstrom said:

I’m reluctant to bag that one on Amazon

I dont think I was clear enough in my previous post... I wasnt suggesting you buy the dual pack; 🙂 Its just odd that they dont have stock of single pack but are willing to sell dual pack !

Also the SVBONY site I was talking about is https://www.svbony.com/sv226-filter-drawer/#W9184A-F9127A

6 minutes ago, engstrom said:

Ironically that’s where I started off. I ordered a 226 but the delivery date kept being pushed back until it’s now marked as unavailable via Amazon. It seemed to be out of stock everywhere unfortunately.

Amazon seem to be selling a 2 pack version though 😉 so you could try ordering directly via SVBONY site

On 30/04/2024 at 22:20, engstrom said:

I thought I did have the correct bf from the sensor but I’d forgotten I needed to add an adapter between the camera and the extenders. 

Its indeed a tricky business to attach 2" filters to the camera. Several of them come with the ability to attach a 1.25" filter but no provision for a 2".

As you are introducing the IR cut filter after the reducer (ie filter, reducer, camera), the previous arrangement that you had for bf should still work. I opted for a filter drawer to get around this issue of achieving focus etc. The SVBONY 226 is quite inexpensive and comes with an additional drawer.