Stephenstargazer

@Trentend Balance point difficult with Cats but you can either fit a longer rail or put a small weight on the front of the rail, like 1kg on a clamp. Sometimes a dew shield is enough and that helps reduce stray light too.

@Trentend you can always have the finder bracket on the underside and turn the finder round instead, can give some good positions which works for me with my VC 200. Nice to hear from another Denk user too - the power switch makes the binos very effective compared to e/p swapping and buying pairs. On the clamps: 365 Astronomy do a very economic and effective Vixen double clamp which fits the Rowan tappings (M8 35c/c). Good alternative for for lighter scope side. It has 2 independent brass clamps as opposed to the 2 screw/ 1 clamp designs.

Are you going to dual mount them?

Could it also come from stacking? Check an individual frame and see what the ISS is like? I don't really believe earthshine given the miniscule transmission of a solar filter at ND 5. But that takes nothing away from a great photo! 2nd thought, what part of earthshine would be at H alpha wavelength? I just have a genuine interest in understanding what photos show, and what is artifact.

Very likely, should have thought of that! Mind you with a solar filter that is still surprising. How about refraction?

Any idea why the ISS is not just a black shadow, as in transit of Mercury, Venus ?

Sad news. I am sure you will like the DF. Good strong focuser. If you want a bit more focal length in future the EX Q1.6 works well with it. Whereby hangs a tale (or tail!). When I first mounted my DF I bolted the tube clamp direct to the mount and that is a very safe fixing as the tube can only slip so far, even when loose for balancing. With the Q and binoviewer I needed more travel to get balance and changed to a dovetail bar and clamp. Clamp has 2 screws but I will be adding stop bolts on the bar NOW. The Tak (Vixen) bar has end plates so adding a bolt is easy, they should come like that! Next day: have added cap head stop bolts as picture. (not so easy! what look like c/s screws are plated brass with tops peened over or loctited? so drilled out and tapped for M5). Next step is to make the Tak tube clamp screw semi captive so it cant slip off.

I am waiting for an 'unprecedented' Moon. Presume it will just pop up and not bother with the boring old lunar cycle.😠 its being grumpy that keeps me cheerful ! However the antipodean branch of the family should have had a total eclipse on Wednesday. Awaiting report. That's worth a shout.

Well except a good Fluorite APO! I am lucky to have both so it's a fair observation !! Back to the question, I deifinitely agree that an economic 150mm Maksutov of reasonable quality is hard to beat for the price and ease of mounting. That is what @Goldfinger proposed and I dont see that either that scope or its mount would trouble many backs. As long as he avoids carrying tripod, mount, scope and accessories in one go (which is never necessary, even if occasionally convenient). Likewise seated viewing is a 'no brainer' for comfort. As someone who started with a 140mm Maksutov (OMC) I think his choice should provide years of use and many observable objects from planets to DSOs until he develops a more specific interest. Meanwhile if he pines for wider views (the main Maksutov disadvantage) I suggest getting some binoculars, an asset that does not become redundant for any astronomer, ever.

And the far side is quite different too. Given the timescale since the LGB, the orientation of the moon may well have changed. Vulcanicity has changed many features but is not uniform. Just two proposals but the answer is probably known by planetary scientists!

The man who worked out why most lunar craters are circular, did so after noticing the same pattern with WW1 shell craters. Back then we did not have the wealth of detail of the moon that orbiters and digital cameras have provided. In fact without stereoscopic images deriving any elevation data is very crude, relying on shadow estimates. Aerial stereoscopic photography was developed in WW1 too. PS @wornish that was a very good question to pose. Easy to get carried away looking at 'stuff' and not spending the time to understand it.

I have used skywatcher/clone 9x50 finders and did not like the rather small field of view and dim eyepiece for star hopping. In that respect the 6x30 raci works better! Antares make a 7x50 raci with a good eyepiece and widefield of view that gives a bright image. Expl Scientific seem to make something similar in straight but erect, not tried one. Vixen 7x50 (s/h?) also give a fine view but straight, inverted. Anything near the zenith is hard with a straight finder. Have sold my DOB but would chose the Antares with a Telrad. There are also 10x60 available but they are heavy to balance. Seems like finders are very much personal choice and never perfect!

Rational? What's the fun in that!😀 Sold three scopes, bought two...and a teensy mount and tripod...plus some matching accessories. Sold a few more bits of clutter, got a FLO voucher and some PP balance, now buying a Delite. More to the point my notebook has more observing entries in the past 12 months than any previous year, but you still have to do something when it is cloudy. SGL is a source of information, inspiration, entertainment and temptation. Should it also have a Sanity Clause?🤔

Fungicide? It's a problem on camera kit so there may be a suitable product.

Maybe but Berlebach heads are neither cheap or quick change. You can also buy a tripod with an EQ5 head to use with the Rowan adaptor, and get a little 45mm insert Berlebach make to suit Vixen SP etc. I think the choice depends on how you intend to use each of these mounts. Good luck!

You are right John, but the mount bases seem to be nearer 60 mm which is the original nominal size used by Vixen before Skywatcher plaguerised every thing from Japan!! Strange things have also happened with castings for finder bases over the years so Skywatcher no longer always fits Vixen etc ( I just get a file out in that case!) ☹️

No! The SXG HAL is for Sphynx etc mounts with 45mm spigot. The part to convert this to 60mm is #75169. I tried my HAL tripod with the Rowan and it is marginal. OK with single 100mm refractor but that is a fraction of mount capacity. It is though a lovely light tripod for transport, if you have one already. With 2 adaptors, Rowan and Vixen, it is not economic. ( I also have a Vixen fit pier so the adaptors are useful for that to me)

I too was caught out by this apparition, briefly thought it was a Zeppelin going in to land at nearby EMA! IMHO Starlink is already space junk and will be a major nuisance in years to come. Once China and Russia follow Musk who is going to police our cluttered orbits? (Apologies in advance to any who take a different view)

An M10 screw thread will go into a 3/8 unc tapped hole for light use. A 3/8 unc screw thread will not go into an M10 tapped hole.

Yes but the HAL tripod can be adapted to a 60mm recess with a Vixen part. Not so for Vixen APP and CF tripods with centre pole underneath. The recess is part of proper fixing of mount, it's not good enough to just use a longer bolt. For full capability of AZ 100 you need to think about the joint to tripod or pier. You could waste money on an expensive tripod if the mount is not well connected. (The proper 45mm Vixen fixing is actually a tapered spigot, the bolt is just there to hold it in!) (There is a post a few months back about t-pod ? )

But it's not even made of wood! 😁

@deadlake The Rowan pier puck is for 60mm (eq 5 / old Vixen) and the newer Vixen tripods are 45mm recess so not ideal. It is hard to adapt the Vixen CF, I thought about it too.

I now understand what you mean by 'Handle' and I just thought it was a practical item of manual assistance.......

Beware that Takaholics can find it hard to kick the habit, as you will see in other posts where multiple ownership is common!😀

Victor that looks like foam cut and not 'plucked', (which never looks good in time). I too like cases for ease of transportability but have not reached your standard , yet !