Zermelo

So you will be using goto. As already mentioned, you may find a red dot finder useful during alignment - sometimes the first star can be outside of a reticle eyepiece field, depending on how accurate your setup was. In my case, if that happens, I swap in a 30mm plossl and roughly centre it with that, before switching back to the reticle. I used to use a Telrad as the first stage in target acquisition, but now I find that goto will easily put the scope within the field of an optical finder. I switched from 8x30 to 9x50 to get the extra depth.

No, I didn't see that message when I ordered. I just now checked the order details on my phone eBay app, and it doesn't say that taxes are payable, however it does say "to view the tax invoice associated with this order, visit the order details on desktop". But the order details on the desktop eBay do not seem to mention any tax invoice. I just repeated the order as far as the first payment screen, and I do see the message that (FLO) Steve posted. But if you then click on the "learn more", you just get taken to a generic information page, with nothing specific to your order. Of note in that information page, it says "If additional tax is applicable on your eBay purchase, you'll see this indicated on the listing page and the tax amount will be shown on the checkout page before you pay", neither of which was the case with my order. The info page also says "you can view and download a tax invoice from the Order details page in your Purchase history" which, as I said, doesn't appear to be there. In the section "Items delivered to the UK", it says "prices on eBay.co.uk are shown inclusive of VAT", but there is also a section "Goods shipped to the UK from abroad" (is that different?), which suggests that VAT on items exceeding £135 is not collected by eBay, so I'm none the wiser. I've hardly ever bought stuff of this value from abroad before. Anyway, the estimated delivery date is last week of Jan, so I'll let you all know.

Exquisite.

Perhaps if enough people own up to this, the manufacturers will start making kit with built-in flavours. Strawberry: Mint: Blueberry: Tangerine: Pistachio:

Ah, I've just seen that you have asked about this in a separate thread, which will complicate your responses. Someone there is thinking that your collimation screws are missing, whereas I thought they were just difficult to see in your photo. If they are missing for whatever reason, then I agree with the other comment, try to get some thumbscrews and then you won't need to use a key.

If you slacken off the central screw (anticlockwise) a little, it allows the three others to move in or out (they will likely be hex Allen grub screws, you'll need the correct size key). You will then be able to tweak the three screws to adjust the orientation of the secondary relative to the focuser. It's hard to explain in writing what to do to achieve what result, it's easier to see what's happening when you try it. You can also move the secondary towards or away from the primary, by turning all three screws in the same direction, if the secondary is not opposite the focuser. Finally, you can use your fingers to turn the secondary on its axis, if it's not square to the focuser. When you've finished adjusting, tighten up the central screw again to fix the secondary. There are many collimation guides on the net that describe how to check and adjust collimation. You just need to take note of the part relating to the secondary. Don't touch it if you don't need to, but then again, it's not difficult to correct it if you mess up.

I have the SW 150i, and I expect your StarQuest has the same design. In fact, the secondary can be collimated in the usual way, it is the primary that is fixed - it is adjusted in the factory and then glued into place within its ABS cell. Some observers would not consider a scope with an unadjustable primary, "just in case". SW's view is that you won't need to, so don't worry about it. They have been using this design on some of their smaller scopes for several years now, and I'm not aware of any serious issues. I've had mine over three years, and all I've needed to do is tweak the secondary a couple of times. I've never dropped it, though. If the primary does ever get badly out of collimation, apparently it is possible to undo the cell's securing screws and "crack" the glue seal, adjust the mirror, and re-tighten the screws. Obviously, this should only be attempted if it's really necessary.

I pulled the trigger on the Bresser. I've been waiting for one for a while, and that price was too good to ignore. The truss ES looks good, but my searches didn't uncover as much love for it as for the Bresser. Thanks for the lead, @GasGiant.

As it happens, I've been thinking about a 10" for a while, but not having a house big enough to store one. I recall that the Bresser has been thought well of here, in particular for the size of its altitude bearings? That is very tempting.

That's a very encouraging start. It may be that, in some areas, a strategy of overnight light reduction, rather than a full switch off, is the way to go. Of course, that requires lighting that can be dimmed. With LED replacements that is possible in principle, though I suspect that some units don't have that capability.

Outreach evening at a nearby school. A pity it wasn't Tuesday or Wednesday, but these things are arranged weeks in advance. Unfortunately, the weather followed the forecasts pretty closely: cloud building up after sunset, becoming continuous. The three of us all focused our efforts on Jupiter, waiting for the few sucker holes to usher in the next in line. In the end, a majority of kids (and some parents) got a glimpse. I took the Skymax this time, knowing that we were planet hunting. My Svbony 10mm UFF gave x150 and showed some nice detail when the sky allowed, including the GRS at the start.

The seeing here tonight was better than yesterday. There wasn't much obvious cloud, though transparency seemed down, and the reading on my sky quality meter was significantly worse than I'd expect, close to new moon. I spent quite a while on Jupiter again, and x140 was about the best power for the Mak. There was a fair bit of detail in the equatorial belts, and the GRS was visible later on. Actually, since it was more distinct than I expected, I may have been seeing the darker region in the wake of the spot that others have been reporting on recently. The double cluster at the zenith showed a better background contrast than M34 and M37 further down. M33 was barely visible, but the 17.5mm Morpheus just about showed some hints of structure. M1 was faint, but obvious. With the slightly improved seeing, tighter doubles were accessible but still quite jumpy, including n1 Orionis (1.8") and 32 Orionis (1.4"). But 52 Orionis was again too much for the atmospherics.

Thanks for this discussion, it led to me buying this one:

I've been wanting to get a proper case for my Skymax127, but not wanting it so much that I would spend any serious money. I read this thread with interest, and had a look at the Patrol Base site, which was mentioned there. They had the following case on sale at what seemed to be a very reasonable price: Now that it's arrived, I'm very impressed with its sturdiness. It actually has wheels and an extending handle. I now have some cutting of foam to do: The supplied foam is actually quite soft. I'll see how it goes, but if it's deforming under the weight of the OTA then I'll get some firmer stuff.

Just called it a night here, after a second spell, they've not been the friendliest of conditions. Very cold, of course, and there were some strong gusts that troubled even the short Mak. The seeing was poor (IV out of V), which was the main limitation. It was much better to the East of us, judging by the reports above. Anyway, tighter doubles were out of the question, but Mesarthim, Zeta Piscium and 35 Piscium all looked good at lower mags in the Svbony SV135 zoom, and OCs M35, M36 and M37 were decent in wider EPs. Mid-level clouds started appearing at around 8, coming and going, but eventually covering most of the sky. One first from this evening (and I don't know why not before now) was that I saw a couple of the open clusters in Auriga, naked eye. Not sure which.

Just had a quick look at Jupiter in the Mak before tea. Io was departing the Jovian disc, and managed to see the shadow in the SEB. Conditions are so-so here, and the Mak hasn't had time to cool properly yet. Best view in Morpheus 9mm, so about x167. Any more and it starts to get mushy. Hope to continue for a bit after tea. CO changed its mind at the last minute, from "100% cloudy all evening" to "clear until 19.00".

I also just came across this current thread, which has some links to other resources:

That's the least that I've seen either of these. I have the Svbony 10mm UFF and it's excellent, and much cheaper than other badgings of the same design. At that price, it would make a great upgrade from the stock 10mm EP for new observers. I've not used the 18mm UFF in any incarnation, but I believe the more complicated 8-element design to be again excellent, and very good value at under £50.

Sorry to hear that it's not worked out for you, Lee, but good that you're sticking with the visual. On the positive side, you do have some decent skies in Cornwall (when it's clear!)

I went out for a final attempt, and in some sucker holes I managed to see Ganymede just appearing from behind Jupiter. A frustrating evening, but worth setting up, just for the Jovian dynamics.

As Stu said, it was cloudy for hours here, then on my last check it was suddenly clear, so I managed to get half an hour in before the entire sky has just clouded out. I watched the action at Jupiter, and it was well worth seeing. One moon, Io I think, was quite close to the disc, North of the equator, and I watched as another (Europa?) approached the other limb, to the South, and disappeared behind it. I think Ganymede was probably transiting already and I didn't spot it. Conditions weren't perfect, but the NEB and SEB were showing quite a bit of detail. I was trying out a Svbony SV135 zoom for the first time (Christmas present), and I could take it up to about x150 (10mm in the Mak) without the image degrading. That was convenient to compare it againt my gold standard, the BCO 10mm. I could see no difference.

This is interesting. Even in a 6", I see Neptune as a slightly greenish blue, and Uranus as a slightly bluish green. I wonder if I have been subconsciously biasing my observations? https://www.space.com/uranus-neptune-similar-shades-of-blue-voyager-2-images

The following was posted on a thread here not long ago (not by me) :

Yes, I noticed that too. I don't normally pay much attention to forecasts beyond tomorrow, but this does seem like a genuine change to clear and cold for a few days. Fingers crossed.