Stickey

This is the trick I've used from the beginning. It's very simple and works. No complicated technical hacks. It was shared with the astro-photographers in our society by Ian Morison of AstronomyDigest website and several books book fame. The only thing to watch out for is when you want to take flats, you've got to switch it off. Otherwise you get 3 times as many flats as you intended and they're at different exposures 😳. Then of course, don't forget to switch it back on again for the next imaging run.

Would you say an upgrade from Affinity v1 to Affinity v2 is worthwhile? I pondered the same question for a good while and in the end, I decided to upgrade when one of the regular deals was on. TBH, I've not really had the chance to test it out properly but my rationale was that the James Ritson astrophotography macros are now being developed for V2 only. it's not too expensive compared with alternatives. There's always GIMP, Images Plus etc

I've sometimes had trouble ensuring the sensor cover of my Sony A5000 stayed clean. The aforementioned swabs really help but sometimes the dirt stays put. I've used a set of jewellers loupes (held in place by winking slightly, like a monacle). I tilt the sensor so the bright daylight reflects on the sensor surface and the tiniest bit of dirt shows up. If one wipe with the swab doesn't shift it, I also use the famous Baader Wonder Fluid and cloth and then wipe with the swab again. That usually shifted the stubborn stuff.

I assumed you've checked out the seller. There have been examples in the past of scammers posting fake pictures of telescopes to try to steal money.

Isn't this the Field of View (FoV), or should I say Angle of View (AoV), trap for the unwary, like me😳? Each telescope/lens and camera combination will have a fixed AoV. That parameter can only be altered by using a focal reducer or by changing either or both of the telescope/lens or camera components. I've fallen over this trap a few times until I learned to check the angular size of my targets when planning my observing session. Now I chose my setup for the targets I'm after, or I change the target list to suit the setup.

It has been reported that the Apple company now advise against using rice to dry out their mobile phones if they get wet. They fear that microscopic dust may get inside the device. Look into the details before trying out the rice idea

I use a number of yearbooks when preparing a monthly newsletter that I produce. I find a paper version easier both to use and to quickly absorb a broad range of information. They also help with broad brush planning when I see a possible clear night in the offing

If you're using a SW EQ/3 Pro then It won't carry the weight of equipment necessary for the sort of Astrophotography that requires "great" guiding. Having said that, I use a basic 50mm finder/ guider with an ASI120MM as a guide camera but I actually use it with my ASIAir Pro for finding objects and tracking them. It also enables me to use the Polar Alignment feature and if I get it good enough, the mount will track quite well without needing guiding. If the finder/guider are properly aligned, then the Goto feature will put the target object slap bang in the centre of view in the main telescope. I can spend all night observing to my heart's content, sketch or use a DSLR to image the target. So, I'd suggest a finder/guider scope rather than a pure guide scope. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. Mike

Hi Kalin, Welcome to SGL and I hope you have lots of clear skies with which to enjoy your new scope. The simple answer is that your 10mm e/p will let you see something, but it won't be quite good enough to really see detail on a planet. Generally speaking you should be looking for magnification of x150 - x200 and the maximum you'll get with the 10mm e/p will be x65. You'll need to double or triple the magnification by either using a x2 or x3 barlow or get a 5mm or a 3.2mm e/p. Good quality models of such e/ps are expensive but give it a go with what you've got and then decide whether it's worth spending more money. Good luck.

Hello from Cheshire, UK

I use an Asiair, which uses plate solving to assist Polar Alignment. Depending on how patient I'm feeling, I can get it <10 arc-secs.

Great start 👍

"Do people meet up and take their own telescopes? Thanks" The big issue in the UK, especially the NW, is the extremely changeable weather. Most of the active Observers set up at home for ad-hoc sessions; some even have permanent mount set-ups so they can be observing quite quickly. It can be a PITB to load up your car and transport your gear to a site, only for the weather to make it a pointless exercise. Having said that, our society has an active Observers Group and we use WhatsApp to quickly coordinate group observing sessions. We usually use a country park near Macclesfield for these events. It's not dark sky but it's better than urban light pollution. If the forecast is looking good, the call goes out on WA and whoever is available turns up with their kit for whatever their observing plan is for that night. We get quite a variety of telescopes and someone recently brought a beautiful SL 10" Dob. It gave excellent views. FYI, both Jodrell Bank and Cheshire East rangers hold family stargazing nights, there's one this coming w/e, but it's probably full. These events are usually supported by local clubs which bring along a variety of telescopes that the public can look through and the clubs are always keen to provide advice to new starters and help them choose the most suitable telescope for their needs. Hope that's helped. Mike

Great image 👍

That's a very inspiring report, Richard. Thank you