AstroMuni

🙂 Cause thats the bit that goes ouch !

You beat me to it, John 🙂

Skysafari app gives you notifications for popular objects

As you have an older laptop and had issues with Stellarium, take a look at Cartes du Ciel too. Its not that pretty but its also not that CPU hungry. A lot of the folk here use ASCOM drivers as you get a lot more functionality and you can also do the polar alignment with it. Here is a good link https://www.lightvortexastronomy.com/tutorial-setting-up-an-equatorial-mount-on-ascom-with-eqmod-stellarium-and-cartes-du-ciel.html#Section3.2 HTH.

Theoretically you are right, it should be foolproof. But in practice there are challenges - Understanding the mount & how it works (manuals are not the best written either) and the fact that in urban areas we cant necessarily see all parts of the sky (sometimes not even the Pole star). This can be very frustrating during initial alignment when the mount wants to select a star in a corner of the sky and that part is blocked by a tree Ofcourse knowledge of the sky also helps esp when it offers a star for alignment and you havent got a clue which direction its in and to make matters worse, even if it slews to the star, you are unsure if its the right one! There are tools out there like StarSense which can help in this regard, but not everyone has these.

EQMOD is a driver for certain mounts. Other drivers are available under ASCOM for other mounts. Stellarium does offer a direct connection to the mount, the main difference is the way in which the cable from the PC connects to the mount. If using directly thro Stellarium, the cable needs to connect to the handset, which then connects to the mount (i.e PC -> handset -> mount). But if you use an EQdirect cable then you would connect directly to the mount and control using ASCOM drivers.

Ha ha... I use a spectacles cord and that way I can remove the tray altogether

I love it....and only wish I could get things so cheap in the UK 😞

Adding to what Pixies has said - as the model you have chosen is the short version it can be used as a collimation cap. With the longer versions it would obstruct your ability to see all the way to the mirror clips, hence need a separate collimation cap (if it doesnt have the detachable kind)

I use this app quite a lot on Android and love it. Thanks FLO. I have a feature request - that when the cloud coverage is below (say 5%), the colour is shown a deeper blue and black when its 0. Would make it more user friendly 👍

Try objects that are further away. Hope the mount comes soon 🙂

The higher magnification is only useful if you are viewing planets and moon. For most DSOs you just need a large aperature and lower magnification. As an example with my bins I can get lovely views of several Messier objects and thats just 10x and the same aperature as your scope!

@falcrum The focal ratio for the powerseeker 50az is 12, so using a 20mm eyepiece would give an exit pupil of around 1.6mm (=20/12). I would recommend that you buy a decent longer focal length eyepiece (perhaps 30mm) and you should be able to enjoy beautiful views with your scope. This way you will not notice the wobble as much, too. I have a pair of binos 50x10 and they give great views! So I can imagine using my binos with a magnification of 30x would be tough to keep steady 🙂

Take a look at this http://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/

Most scopes are held using a dovetail type of attachment (common ones are Vixen type and Losmandy). So first and foremost check what dovetail is on your scope and then find a mount that can take one. Next is the load capacity that the mount can handle - scope + eyepieces + finder + camera etc.

I would start with the Purpose (viewing vs imaging), and then take the approach of prioritising each of these in terms of importance - scope, mount, convenience of Go-To, wifi. Reading what you have posted already, I would have gone for the decent scope + mount. Whilst considering the mounts look for those that have the ability to add on encoders for RA & DEC axis. So you can add tracking and then Go-To at later stage when budget permits. HTH.

That is definitely a must with the stock 130EQ tripod 👍 One idea that I have used is remove the plastic tray and hanging a used plastic milk bottle filled with water at the centre of the tripod. The plastic tray is not that strong so wouldnt trust it to take any weight 🙂

Just drawing the rays on a piece of paper helps for me 🙂

I thought most software can figure out the location based on your Wifi (assuming you are at home)??

So that would suggest if you rotated it so that the finder is on the top, the focusser would end up on the left hand side, correct? Looks like you may need a stool or platform to reach the finder! Send pics pls. EDIT: I re-read your post. Did you mean that when you are looking at certain parts of the sky the focusser and finder end up in incovenient positions? If so, that is normal in the EQ mount. You just need to rotate the scope to a position that suits you in most positions. And in those inconvenient ones, you can rotate the scope in the rings.

Did you mean you see the image on the flat face which has the reticle like markings?? I think there was a logic behind NOT doing it this way....this would mean the light returning from secondary would go via the barlow (again) and thus blow up the image giving less accuracy.

Over and above what Richochet has mentioned, it helps compensate for any wobble in the focusser. This figure taken from book Astronomy hacks may help explain it better...

What is the model of the scope? If its held in the OTA rings, you should be able to rotate the OTA so that the view finder is in more convenient position.

I dont think there would be a handicap for visual usage as astrophotography puts higher demands on the optics than visual observation. If you are used to Dobs then this one would need a good mount (EQ or AZ). The other option could be that your present dobs mounts maybe capable of taking this scope on.

Waiting for the missus to sanction budget 😉 The HEQ5 pro created a dent on the pocket already, so this ones going to be harder 🙂 But jokes aside, its not a bad scope and does give very decent views. Havent tried astrophotography other than with phone camera. Lots of basics to learn and this scope is a good starting point. The HEQ5 just makes life a bit easier!