Stardaze

A few great ‘firsts’ there 😀 I know what you mean about a 9x50, I too found it tricky to get my eye in but do stick with it, they’re invaluable for drilling into an area for a proper hop to targets. A RACI and RDF work really well together once you get the hang of it, just takes a little perseverance.

I’m a 100 deg convert definitely. The 13E is replacing the APM (Lunt) 13 😀

I now have the 10E and 13E to see which I prefer. Whether they’re too close together remains to be proven. See if the perfect 2mm exit pupil is all that. Having mocked up some of my favourite targets in SkySafari the 10 will be a touch tight I feel for some targets and so I’m not sure how it will go but excited nevertheless. Got a good secondhand deal on the 13E so it’s money invested as they hold their value. The 21E is a step too far for my pocket I think and they rarely turn up secondhand. Really pleased with my new little bag of glass that I have been putting together and looking forward to the season ahead.

No rush here, I do really like my APM 20, there’s just a little astigmatism around the final third that could be improved. Just wonder whether losing a little FOV is worth the gain. The 22 is very well revered by many.

Bought a 13E today myself in my attempt to future proof. Do wonder about a 22 Nagler, seems a sensible option instead of the 21E.

I do wonder whether the tech that goes with imaging is as much of a draw to it from a younger generation, than the actual pursuit itself. That may well be controversial, but I’ve started as an observer myself, yet I do love tech and the irony is that I have a background and very keen interest in photography. Will I ever end up imaging? Well, it’s not on the horizon yet. I have been thoroughly enjoying getting to know and somewhat understand the basics. I can’t see it for some time but the cost of some of the new kit on the market will open it up to the majority.

I’ve been suffering with a persistent abdominal strain for a couple of years which I’ve had again for around 12 weeks. Just started some physio but anything heavier than a a bucket is a problem. I thought my 10’ dob would be ok Friday night but sadly I could feel it all day yesterday. So, has anyone an ingenious solution? I bought a folding trolley last month but the handle mechanism was faulty but it didn’t really seem up to the job anyway, so I returned. I have knocked up a board with castor wheels on, but the wheels are poor really and it’s only useful for wheeling the dob around the house. Once outside, the wheels snag on the patio. Wondered whether anyone has some thing I’ve not considered?

Im useless on little sleep, so really not suited to this pastime 🤣

Great reports and the effort sounded very worthwhile though you’ll feel it today no doubt. Very jealous of your Sagittarius exploits, I need to find a spot for those being so low here. Stayed at family last night and took the 15x70 binos, thoroughly enjoyed showing a couple of family members a selection of the sky and finished on Jupiter and Saturn.

I have the 7 and 5, love them both.

Sounds a very productive night on all fronts. “Not my girlfriend” particularly brought a smile 😃

I managed till around 1 last night. Started with the moon, followed by a lot of targets I chased last year. Seeing was steady but the veil didn’t pop as much as I have seen, which was what I really wanted to capture. A good mix of everything but concentrated on ophichus and Cygnus, so quite happy to get out again.

Well worth the effort. I'm heading out in a sec...

For those of us who can’t stay awake at night! 🙃 It’s been so frustrating these last two nights, finally, good conditions arrive after a dour month, but an early start for work means an hour at most into dark at this time of year. Unfortunately for me, I’m a morning bird with an ‘off’ switch around 10.30, so why an interest in the night sky? It’s nice being out this time of year in shorts and t shirt but the hours are wholly unsociable, there must be more of you like me? Tonight still looks good though, so I’ll definitely be burning the oil tonight with a little caffeine to help 😆

Great report, I need to get out myself to see more of Sagittarius. Just an hour with the binos last couple of nights due to work but they both seemed excellent viewing conditions.

Grabbed an hour, but it’s been so bad, for so long. Haven’t viewed anything properly for well over a month. Contrast that to this time last year, although no darkness, was out an awful lot.

All week the forecast looked clear for last night, then yesterday morning that changed, for cloud due around 1am. Typically that turned up around midnight and so I only managed an hour. Next door had a get together too and with the light in direct vision looking SE, my hope to catch my first glimpse of the veil this year was well and truly scuppered. I haven’t managed to used the dob for a couple of months given a stomach injury and it was my first outing with the Pentax XW 7, so given the conditions I opted for a quick skip around some easy, notable doubles. Started with Polaris as my finder needed a tweak, then captured Izar, Cor Caroli, Albireo and the double double of course. From there I had a quick look at M57 before dropping by M5 and finishing with M13. The cloud was rolling in quickly by now and the party next door didn’t seem to be abating so time for an early bath. I will say that the XW performed superbly. Wasn’t sure whether giving up the FOV was going to be an instant issue but the drift time with the globs was perfectly fine, certainly is very sharp across the field, Vega looked awesome.

I’ll keep an eye for when they have stock again. Works out cheaper than a nebustar still, thanks for the link.

Yes, I have an Astronomik 0III. I might just end up with the Nebustar as that is widely available. Such a small item in the post, who knows, though I do have a family member out in the US.

It’s just the latest one John, so happy to purchase new.

Are there any UK importers of the above? Note a very good price in the US currently, which including import duty works out OK? I might upgrade my Astronomik 0III to the Bandmate too, so could consider direct from the US?

You have to scrape out the rubber from the 4 holes to access the collimation Allen key screws. I bought one a few weeks back and did the same. Still seems to correspond best with my Cheshire perfectly, when barlowed. I only have a £20 Celestron Barlow, so yet to check it in the field. Bought for collimating in the dark and much quicker. The Barlow spreads the dot so that it fills the middle concentric circles.

And that, is something I need to see one day!

Definitely. As a very keen photographer, who has suffered from owning far too many bags (down to 4 currently), understand that bags are very personal things. At £20, it looked a no-brainer. Incidentally, I'm not personally keen on the ruck sack style, purely down to the access of them, but they certainly work for many.

I’ve been ‘inspired’ by @faulksycamera bag idea. Looks to be perfect, now that I’ve added two new recent EP’s. Really only thinking of a couple of filters now this year and possibly an APM UFF 30 to add. Currently the bag consists of an XW 5 & 7, Ethos 10, APM 13 & 20. Plus Astronomic OIII, Baader contrast booster, ND filter, collimation kit, cleaning cloth etc.