Pixies

Looking good! Wish my secondary was that spot-on to start with!

The M13 and M57 were the first things I observed when I got my new scope. The Ring nebula is great - it looks so incongruous when seen in a scope (IMHO).

If it's cloudy, now's the time to learn. And if the locking screws are loose, then it will probably need a quick tune up. Plenty of expertise on here. I've found the following 2 resources were excellent: https://garyseronik.com/a-beginners-guide-to-collimation/ http://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/ And I hope it goes without saying.. Keep fingers away from the secondary mirror surface. I always wondered with these open heritage designs, how easy it would be for someone to mistakenly get a fingerprint on it?

Could it be an exit pupil thing? I guess if your focal ratios have all been similar, the same EP focal length would mean a similar exit pupil. This would affect the sky brightness and, if the exit pupil, wasn't too large, would help with astigmatism?

I see a lot of references to bikes. Is there a correlation between astronomy and bikes? (Visual vs Astrophotography) VS (road vs MTB)? Anyway - back to Dannomiss' last question... You mean the 3 primary mirror collimation locking screws? There appears to be 2 schools of thought. I guess most would say you need to tighten them up once you have collimated the primary with the 3 adjusting screws. However, they can throw out the collimation slightly. The other school says don't bother with them if you are happy collimating the primary at each use. I'm in the first camp (although a newbie). You can see how they alter the collimation if you are a less than very gentle. I treat them as the final stage of collimation - like a fine-tune. However, don't tighten them too much, as they will just take over collimation duties from the main adjusters.

OK - you've persuaded me to see how it goes removing it!

Yep - I've got to find room for that as well!

It's: https://www.altairastro.com/altair-10x60mm-raci-finder-scope-90-deg-erect-image-prism-variable-illuminator-eyepiece-2504-p.asp but from Astro Buy & Sell

Except with my head! Seriously, thanks everyone. I'll just have to try to avoid being my usual clumsy self!

Hi, My new finderscope has arrived and it is considerably larger than the little plastic 6x30 that came with the Bresser dob. Up to now, I've been lifting the scope in and out the back door with finder attached, and keeping it in a quiet corner of a room when not in use - with finder attached. However, I'm now nervous I'm going to whack the finder {on the door | with my head | with a small child} when moving it outside. I'm loath to take it off for storage and realign it each time, though. Does anyone have a cunning solution they use to add some kind of protection to the finder? I'm thinking of trying to fashion something out of the various bits of plastic packing material I have knocking around the house just now.

I have seen that spike on my 8" dob after 30 minutes, but gone at 60.

I've seen that extra diagonal spike when the tube hasn't cooled completely.

How do you find lining it up when you first start? With a straight-through, I keep both eyes open and usually find the starting target that way. I assume with a RACI, you will need to sight the whole tube in the right direction first? I'm just about to replace a rubbish little straight finder with a big illuminated RACI, and have bought a Telrad to accompany it. It's an 8" dob.

Baader Click-Lock on sale in the For Sale section just now. Spooky!

New finder to replace the cheap plasticky one that comes with the Bresser Dob. With this and the new Telrad, nothing will escape my gaze..... mwahahahah! Just need to get them both fitted. What was the Synta/Vixen finder shoe that a few folks here recommended to replace the Bresser shoe?

New finder!

Here is the sticky thread with various SkySafari observing lists: There are many directly available within the app, under the Observing Lists 'online repository'.

I'd say go with Plus. Pro gives you "Astronomy League Supernova and Quasar Database" plus purchase options fro some big databases. The comparison chart is here: https://www.skysafariastronomy.com/ the free one doesn't give you teh POV stuff. Neither does it have the observing lists, which are REALLY useful!

Had some coffee now? 😉

The first time I saw them, I wasn't looking for them and I thought they were some kind of reflection problem with the binoculars. If you are doing it hand-held, they can be hard to make out. If you can get the bins stable on something (tripod especially) you should see them pretty clearly on 10x50s

Ha! I know all about trying to find the section to display the FOV on the screen. It took me ages to find it! You go to 'Observe' -> 'Equipment', then add your scope, bins, EPs, etc. Then 'Observe' -> 'Scope display', and add the FOV indicator from the list you created above. Now you can also use 'Observe' -> 'Scope display' to select which FOV indicators to display on the starfield. Note - you will need to select 'Show even if not connected to telescope'. You can also add Telrad circles, which is very helpful for starhopping (if you have a Telrad, obviously). Here's my display with Telrad circles (red) and the FOV of my 18mm Starguider on a 8" Bresser Dob:

I learnt the sky before having a telescope mainly with binoculars (that and growing up as a kid in an area with reasonably dark skies). But if you can afford a reasonable pair of 10x50 bins, it'll give you a head-start, especially if you suffer from light pollution. When I say reasonable, £50 is more than enough.

Hi Khalid. This place is a wealth of help and information, as I'm sure you are aware, of you've already been browsing through the posts. I bet thE western Sahara has some dark skies!

As an aside... from a Premier drum fan. The Premier Resonator was produced from mid-late 70s to the 80s. The shell is 3-ply birch (with reinforcement rings) and used a thin inner liner (separated from the main shell with a air-gap). Any pre 80s drum shell will likely be 3-ply with reinforcement rings. More modern shells have many more ply without reinforcements and are generally heavier. So if you are looking for lighter shells, then earlier drum kits are what you would be after. Anyway - a Premier Resonator dob. Clem Burke would approve!

As a long-term source of fluid, it's not very good for you! But for the occasional sip, it'll be ok 🤮 https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf