Dr Strange

Welcome Matt!

Unfortunately you are limited to short subexposures with an alt/az mount because it does not track in a way that is compatible with how the earth rotates in relation to the sky. On the order of about 20 seconds or less. And there will be drift overall because of the way the mount moves right to left and up/down as opposed to along right ascension and if applicable declination like an equatorial mount does. A wedge will rectify this but honestly for many a wedge is a major pain to work with. Many times it is easier, less frustrating, and in the long run more enjoyable to simply get a equatorial (EQ) mount than to fiddle with either alt/az or a wedge. A good entry level model is the Celestron Advanced VX or the Skywatcher HEQ5. Both brands are owned by Synta but for some reason the Skywatcher line tends to perform better. My suggestion is to look at what you would spend for a wedge then apply those funds to a EQ mount. More expensive overall but much less frustration and fiddling with (including getting any backlash out and other things) it to make it work once you have the hang of it. My philosophy regarding AP is that my hobby is to take "pretty pictures". Anything that isn't taking those pictures is not time well spent and takes away from the hobby. Ergo I do the best I can to minimize those other factors within the budget I have. Unless you are a gear head who enjoys fiddling or you are not willing/able to spend more for a mount designed to image with I would suggest you apply the same philosophy.

Welcome to SGL

Welcome Steve

Welcome Dave!

Welcome! That is a hefty budget in terms of getting started. The big questions are do you like the idea of hunting down something and until you get good at it only looking at 2-3 objects a night? Do you just want to look at stuff and have everything else fade into the background? Do you like both? How bad is your light pollution? I am going to assume you have city level light pollution. If the answer is you want to hunt for things I would suggest the Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dobsonian. 130-150mm is considered the entry point for a beginner to really see stuff out there. the 200p is a totally manual setup that requires you to hunt for the objects you want to see. I would suggest a Telrad and a RACI (Right Angle Corrected Image) finderscope upgrade to the scope. This will make it easier to hunt for things. This is also the least expensive option. It will set you back about £570. If the answer is you want everything to fade into the background I would recommend the Celestron Nexstar 8SE telescope with an Explore Scientific 82 degree 14mm and 8.8mm eyepiece. Along with the 25mm eyepiece it comes with you will have a good range of options. However it is going to be the most expensive option at about £1,200. It is fully computerized and will track an object while you look at it in the eyepiece (EP). If the answer is both then I highly recommend the Skywatcher Explorer 130mm newtonian on a AZ-GTi mount. I would add to this a Telrad to replace the red dot finder and a RACI finderscope. It is £470. I like this one a lot. It lets you star hop if you want or use GOTO to have the mount move the telescope for you. Regardless of the option you choose the two things I would add are a comfortable adjustable height chair and the Pocket Sky Atlas (PSA) from Sky and Telescope. The chair is for your eyes not your rear end. You see more if you are seated comfortably. And the PSA is your map of the night sky. If you are star hopping it shows you the stars to use to get to what you want to see and has instructions on how to make a tool to see what you would see in the Telrad and the finder as well as the main telescope as you star hop and hunt. For the GOTO end of things it is a nice map by the season of the year to see what is out there to look at.

I would suggest the following: Skywatcher AZ-GTi mount €237 Skywatcher Wedge €56 Skywatcher 72mm Evostar ED refractor €296 T mount for DSLR to Evostar (sorry not sure which one hopefully someone else can say) Your DSLR. That will get you going in terms of astrophotography (AP) and be backpack portable. It will do very well for you and last you a good long time in terms of things to image. It will also not break the bank. AP is a very expensive part of the hobby and it can run into the tens of thousands of euro's at the high end. A Surface Go will work fine. Go for the higher end one with 8 gigs of ram. It will cost you about €490. In terms of software for image capture BackyardNikon is the gold standard. It will cost you €44. With that setup it is literally is everything you need to capture images. €1,123 is very cheap all things considered. Links below in order that I mentioned them: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi-alt-az-mount-tripod.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer/skywatcher-star-adventurer-equatorial-wedge-white.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/sky-watcher-evostar-72ed-ds-pro-ota.html https://www.otelescope.com/store/product/4-backyardnikon-20-premium-edition-otl-byn-p/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/configure/Surface-Go-2/8PT3S2VJMDR6?crosssellid=fbt-p1c&selectedColor=&preview=&previewModes=

Welcome to SGL! If you like doubles I have three suggestions for you. First is the Astronomical League Double Star program. Second is the Cambridge Double Star Atlas that has over 2,000 interesting doubles. And third is a more technical tome that may appeal to the astrophysicist in you. It is Observing and Measuring Visual Double Stars. It includes chapters on how to conduct astrometry and so on. Links are below in the order I mentioned. https://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/dblstar/dblstar1.html https://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Double-Star-Atlas/dp/0521493439 https://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/dblstar/dblstar1.html

Welcome Patrick!

Welcome aboard Jeff!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

You are welcome. Another option would be the Skywatcher Heritage 130 or the Skywatcher 150p. Both smaller than the 200. And both a significant step up in terms of aperture to your Bino's. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html

Welcome Barry! I do EAA (Electronically Assisted Astronomy) because I am in heavy light pollution. You can go bonkers on it with wheelbarrow's full of cash or you can do it very economically. I tell SWMBO that Astronomy is my only hobby and by funding it, it keeps me out of the pub's so she is OK with it. I went down the middle road. I bought an ZWO ASI 553 Pro color CCD, extenders, filters, filter slide holder, and a laptop. It cost me a total of about $1,800 USD which is middle end in terms of expenses. You can cut that easily in half or more with an ASI 290 and a much less expensive laptop or a combination of the 290 and the ASI Pro if you have a tablet already. That will let you work inside the house. As to a wedge... If you are exposing and stacking for longer than 10 seconds per sub exposure (generally 10-30 second subexposures stacked on top of each other for 1-4 minutes gives you a good image for EAA) it is better to take the £269 you are going to spend on a wedge and invest in an equatorial mount (EQ). The PITA (Pain In The A***) factor you face with a wedge can be quite high and quite frustrating. In fairness some love wedge's. Most, in my experience, started in the hobby when there were no other options than a wedge or couldn't afford an EQ mount so had to make do. A EQ mount like the Celestron Advanced VX for £779 which will work with your StarSense is a great option. It is light weight, easy to setup, easy to polar align with the Celestron ASPA (All Star Polar Alignment) routine, and will work fine with the 9.25 for EAA but important to note is marginal for AP (Astro Photography). I say marginal because you can do AP with that scope and mount combination with a focal reducer (FR) but it can be challenging. 90 second subexposures for AP are possible with good polar alignment (PA).

Forgot to mention, if you really want to up your game investing in a Skywatcher 200p Dobsonian which is a 200mm Dobsonian. A real jump up in aperture. It will really open up those views due to the aperture and is great for star hopping. It is £289 but well worth it! I would also suggest a Telrad for £39, a right angle corrected image (RACI) finderscope which makes it much easier on your neck to star hop, and the Sky and Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas which is a map of the stars that is a great guide to the galaxy and beyond. That setup will blow your mind and really expand your experience. Links to everything I mentioned is below. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-finder-astronomy.html https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p297_TS-Optics-8x50-Finder---with-Bracket---black-colour---90--angled.html https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/the-pocket-sky-atlas/

Don't forget the peanut's! Peanut's are important to restore salts after a matter transference... And welcome to SGL! And I second the recommendation on a lawn chair or Adirondack chair for the balcony. You can prop your arms on the chair arms to steady the Bino's

Cheers. Yes, it is. But it is what it is. Work keeps me where I am. I actually just sold off some equipment and saved up for a Nigh Vision Device (NVD) from Tele Vue. It came with a box of clouds too. THANK YOU Tele Vue! I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I also have an ASI 553 for EAA. I want to see if I can get an Oculus VR goggles to work with my imaging laptop. It won't be 3D but it will be total immersion if I maximize the screen. I plan to sit back, play some relaxing music, and just drift as objects go through a predetermined list. My idea is to setup a script that moves the mount/camera/scope to objects on a timer or with a key press then starts the image capture that way I am not removing the goggles. Hopefully those two things will mitigate the whole Bortle 8/9 situation a bit. I realize this is pretty high speed low drag but I have no other hobbies and I tell SWMBO that it keeps me out of the pubs so that is where my hard earned savings from sack lunches and not having other hobbies goes. Fortunately I have churned through enough gear that I know what I want and have it. No big purchases for me going forward unless something breaks or there is a real game changer in terms of equipment. And it will have to be a big change to warrant it. That is on the mount or equipment side. On the scope side and the EP side I am done. Which is where the big money really goes save for an imaging mount which I have already as well as a camera.

Hello Nicolàs and welcome to SGL! That is a very nice observatory!

Visually, yes you can use it with the 130 no problem. For AP... I wouldn't do it. At most a 80-92mm APO with the DSLR would likely be it without running into issues.

Welcome aboard Steve!

Absolutely yes! I had a 150mm TOA-150 and loved it! It competed with my Mewlon 210 so well that I would use it over the Mewlon even with having to deal with the massive weight of it. a 150mm+ APO really opens up things dramatically. So much so I had a TEC 180mm on order until a medical issue forced me to cancel it. Each 2.54 cm step in a APO refractor from 80mm to 150mm is a big step up in performance. After 150mm the size, cost, and weight of it becomes a big issue and mitigates the value. I was looking at selling all of my other scopes and spending a significant amount of additional money then ending up only owning the 180. The TOA-150 was a really heavy scope. But that was because it was built like a tank and had two FPL-53 elements in it that were widely spaced. However it was brilliant on even globular clusters and very small planetary nebulae. And not the bright ones like M57. I mean the more obscure NGC ones. Since you have a permanent setup using a 150mm class APO is significantly easier. And the value of it is huge in terms of visual use. It really does get close if not dead on equivalent to a 203mm reflector in terms of performance.

Can you sell some of your other scopes that the Tak would replace or compete with and go with an i7 thus making the Tak a possibility? If you aren't using the other scopes regularly and/or the Tak will be the one you use the most then it is logical to sell the others and get the Tak. If the Tak will not be used that much or is in a niche then it doesn't make sense to buy it. The best scope for you is the one you use. And I apply this philosophy very militantly. If I am spending more time looking at a scope I own rather than through it I will sell it with no regrets and without a second thought. To be fair I do have a bias. The scopes that work best for my needs are the Tak lineup because of their superior color correction and lack of CA. I am very sensitive to CA and it really takes away from the experience when I see it in a scope. I also really want to have the best color correction I can get. Tak handles both better than even the Astro Physics and TEC scopes I have owned and used. So if quality of image is important to you then a Tak is at the top of the list in my view.

Russ- You don't mention it so the question comes to mind... How many exposures are you taking and are you stacking them? If it is just one 1 minute 30 then you are not gathering enough data. You need to try taking several exposures then stack them together to build a "master" image. And you need to work with the completed stack image to bring out the details. PixInsight is a program to use to do that though there are others. There are also many tutorials on how to use it as well as a book by Keller teaching you step by step. Other people use Deep Sky Stacker to stack the exposures together then Photoshop. PixInsight is the less expensive option though.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!