StarGazingSiouxsie

Thanks, yes it is, I am very lucky. I live in a valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains and am treated to some very special views all round.

New and improved version, now with 4 heat strips so that I can have all my eyepieces and filters in one place. You can see the USB female ports in the upper part. The control cables plug into those and each cable has a 3 setting heat sle;ction. The male jack from that cable then plugs into the battery. The Celestron Lithium Power Tanks have 2 USB charging ports each, so it works out well, I just need 2 batteries and they last for at least 4 hours on full heat. I don't know if you can get the heat strips that I linked to in my original post above in the UK but if you can, seriously, get them. They are inexpensive and really well made. I got 4 each with adjustable heat controls for 60 GB Pounds total. Siouxsie

Hi, So this is my solution for keeping my eyepieces an reticles warm and free from misting and fogging. I basically have two generic bags of a kind used for keeping prepared food warm. Heat reflectice inner lining and zip round tops, the usual thing. I then have a strip of cardboard (for rigidity / solid base) covered in foil. Installed over the top of that I have two heater strips. 17" long, 2" wide and each have a 3 way heat control. They have a USB cable for power. I use my Celestron Power Tanks as each tank has 2 USB power ports. These strips wree only $20 each and I can tell you they are really good quality - and I am fussy. I thought I was taking a chance on these but they work great. On 'high' setting they get to over 100F (I tested them with my food thermometer). It just shows you how ridiculously over priced some of the other heater strips are out there that are branded as Dew Strips etc. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJG9B5P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The Power Tanks keep everything powered for at least 3 or 4 hours, ample time for observing. I'll be doing another article soon on my solution for dew & fogging prevention. Four pictues showing eyepiece warmer, Power Tank hook up, table with all my toot on it (second bag has filters in it) and lastly it's meant to be clear again tonight so Cubs & Celeste are up and rearing to go!!! Siouxsie

Hi, I'm here to bug you again with questions! Using an F10 2800FL SCT I cannot obtain an image let alone focus anything. I have only tried in the daytime thus far - as I thought that would be an easier snecario to learn in. I CAN get focus in my F5 Newtonian and I know for sure the camera is working. I am going straight through on the F10 (Cubs) just using a 1.25" visual back to insert the camera nose into the OTA. I've been advised to - Select easy target like the moon - use a 30 - 40mm eyepiece. Focus that. Take out eyepiecxe, install camera. Select 3/4 of max gain and 3/4 of max resolution. Focus slowly while checking laptop screen. Any other tips / advice, please? All is welcomed. There isn't isn't back focus issue using an F10 that I'm missing here - right? Thanks Siouxsie

My 2, Celeste & Cubble, are typically outside and ready to go (bar attachment of batteries on Cubs) at least 3 hours before sunset. I usually then leave them out all night, after tucking them in carefully for bed with their various protective covers. I think I will do an article about this showing what my packing down routine is. Not that my way is better than anyone else's but it's the result of a lot of trial and error and may save someone some, wet, soggy and cold telescopes.

I suspect that levelling the tripod is much more important with EQ mounts where polar axis aligment is central than on altaz mouns like I use. However, I have grown up with the 7Ps rule as now part of my DNA - Proper Planning & Preparation Prevents P*** Poor Performance. I probably take at least 30 minutes getting all my stuff levelled, calibrated and aligned each session because it helps me relax knowing I've prepared as best I can and allows my A Typical brain to relax a little.

I think their, Celestron's, wording is enough to make most people think they have to purchase the more expensive reducer. I know I might sound cynical but they are there to make money. The wording from their manaul says "not compatible" https://celestron-site-support-files.s3.amazonaws.com/support_files/94175 IM.pdf All I can say is that I tested the non Edge focal reducer (model number 94175) in both a non Edge SCT (Cubble) and an Edge SCT (Celeste) and the viewes as far as I could tell were exactly the same. No discernable diostortion or vignetting etc in the Edge optics. Apart from the price difference, the other significant aspectt is that the non Edge reducer is much smaller than the Edge version and this fact will be significant for people with Edge optics with single fork mounts (like me) wherein it means that I can probably use the reducer on Celeste without the optical train fouling the top of the mount where the azimuth clutch is.

Hi Wow!! The seeing was so good tonight, defs one of those magical times!! Jupiter & Saturn were virtually still with near pertfect resolution. I was viewing Saturn at 500X (5mm @ 2800 FL F10 ) and it was a clear crisp image, incredacubble. Jupiter was also very clear. I think tonight I realised there is no chance of me getting into astrophotography. I had my camera ready to take images in near perfect conditions but I could not tear myself away from my eyepiece and the incredible live views. Mars came around my roofline at 10pm and I was able to view him at 400X with a 80a blue filter and generic Moon & Skyglow filter. I could discern maria and subtle geographic features and the southern polar cap. I believe I could have gone to 500X easily but I was enjoying my 400x view too much to change anything!!! Siouxsie

Sounds like a perfect sequence to me. You can add Alignment Reference points if you wish after your intial SS Auto Align. You can then save the alignment + alignment ref points as a new, custom alignment called a User Auto Alignment. You save it by going to MENU>>>STARSENSE>>USERAUTOALIGN>>SAVE You load it by going to ALIGN>>USERAUTOALIGNMENT You can then calibrate on your star and then load the saved User Auto Alignment when you are prompted to relalign I picked up that tip from Michael Swanson, author of several books about our equipment. I am also using a Svbony reticle eyepiece (20mm and 12.5mm) which I find is helping me a lot in centering stars. Great quality, great price. People will tell you that you only need to calibrate the SS camera once, assuming it's not bumped or knocked around, but I have found recalibrating everytimne I set up is helping a lot with goto accuracy and it onlly takes a few minutes. I'm a great believer in solid careful preparation.

Probably due to my A brain and probably just bcus I'm a fusspot, I spend a lot of time makinbg sure my tripods are level. I use the bubble levels built into the mounts as a guide but try to fine tune with a spirit level. I also ensure the OTAs are spirit level true before starting my alignment. The Evolution tripods have the bubble l;evel visible even with the mount installed. On Cubble though, the bubble level on the tripod is obscured once his mount and OTA re on which is a bit of an oversight on Celestron's part IMO.

Hi Mick!! Great that you're a Hammer, too. We must have done something very wrong in a previous life!! hahah That 'Thanks' emoticon I gave to your last post is actually a scale model of the mummified WHUFC FA Cup from 1980!! hahah The last thing they won!! Spooky, I was literally just looking at Telrads when you posted. I think I will get one, they seem very popular. I like that they're not magnifierd and give a true orientated FOV. So you have this issue, too - Star Sense providing reasonably accurate star & DSO gotos but a bit off on the planets?

Thanks. That fact would also account for why doinmg additional plate solving (AKA Star Sense Alignment References) don't make a great deal of difference in areas of the sky were the planets live.

Hi Thanks for your reply. What you say makes sense. I think I overthink a lot of this. My A brain (I'm Neuro A Typical) thinks things like "what if my time zone is incorrect and that other evening when I calibrated my Star Sense camera was the reason it was about 15 degrees out. I recentered (recalibrated) the camera and all is good now but that is actually because the recentering compensated for the off set of your time zone being out" Typically in average seeing conditions I use 12mm - 25mm eyepieces for the gas giants. For some reason my planetary gotos are to the left of the edge of a 12mm eyepiece and right on the edge of an 18mm. I might try and make more use of Star Sense alignbment references to tighten up my gotos in cvertain section of the sky. ( Btw, Good to see a Citeh fan on here. Citeh are my second team, I've always liked them. My first team is West Ham, for my sins. Born & bred in East London but now living in USA. I'm just glad I got to enjoy some games at Upton Park before it was all knocked down )

Hi, Well, the seeing was definitely better than the (seemingly) exact same conditions of a few nights back when the seeing was shocking. It was clear tonight, like the other night, but the difference was the wind was from the NNE instead of the SW and it seemed to make a big difference. The planets had only mild visual turbulence effects instead of looking like they were being held under a running tap. Got some reasonabvle views of Mars through Cubs using a 12mm eyepiece ( 230X @ F10 ) with an 80a blue filter stacked onto a generic Moon & Skyglow filter. I find this combo works really well for Mars. I was able to observe the Southern Polar Cap and good definition of maria and other geographic features. Viewing the Moon was also very good using that combination of filters.

I'm very lucky where iI am, Blue Ridge Mountains, it's meant to be clear tonight and tomorrow. Saying that. it was clear the other eveningf and it was the worst seeing I've ever seen. I thought the Moon being that close to Mars might wash Mars' light out but if you think it's worth a look I'll get Cubble & Celeste out and see what we can see.

Mars will be hugging the Moon all night tonight!!! Should be a lovely spectacle. I don't think it will do much for telescope viewing but through binoculars or naked eye it should be a treat

Hi I am having a few issues with the accuracy of my Star Sense gotos. Nothing major - stars & DSOs are more or less centered but planetary gotos typically appear at the edge of the eyepiece. In my diagnostic effort to improve things I want to start with basics and ensure I have the correct time zonme selected on my Star Sense (SS) hand controller (HC) I live in Virginia USA which runs on Eastern Standard Time if the clocks have not gone forward, and Eastern Daylight Time if the clocks have gone forward. This is also known as Daylight Savings Time (DST) and is in force right now. I currently have my SS HC set to 'Eastern Time -5' with DST set to 'Yes'. I believe that is the correct setting for me but I want to be 100% sure. What's confusing my poor Neuro A Typical brain is UTC. All the interactive astronomny sites I use - EG Stellarium - say that I am in UTC -4. They nevert mention whether Daylight Saving Time is in force or not. My SS HC gives me the option of inputting UTC -4 with or without DST. I have experimented with inputting UTC -4 with DST set to 'Yes' and if I do that the Side Real time clock (as accessed via the NexStar HC, it's not on the SS HC) is out by 1 hour. Like I said, I am virtually certain that I have my time zone input correctly - otherwise why would they even have an option for Eastern Time -5, with or without DST? It's just the UTC issue that's throwing me. So if you live in the EST zone or if you otherwise know for sure what time zone I should be inputting to my SS HC, please let me know, thanks. I feel a bit silly asking all this; but, then again, I'd feel even sillier if I DID have my time zone input incorrectly......... Thanks Siouxsie

Hi, We had our first clear sky here (Virginia USA) in quite a while so I spent the day excitedly preparing Celeste & Cubble for viewing. However, when it came to viewing, the conditions were shockingly bad. Stars looked like squirming fuzzy snowballs and I could not achieve any kind of focus on Jupiter in anything more powerful than a 25mm eyepiece. It was so bad I was sure there was something wrong with Cubble but Celeste was suffering the same problems. Anyway, my question is, is it possible to in any way predict these bad viewing / seeing conditions even when the sky appears cloudless? The wind was a gentle SW and we had high pressure for at least 18 hours preceeding the evening. We have had issues the last few weeks with extreme high altitude remnants of smoke from the California wild fires but I'm not sure these were to blame last night. The images I was getting weren't smudges or fuzzy but more like looking at the objects submerged underwater. So any factors that we can watch out for that might contribute to poor seeing in a cloudless sky?? Thanks!!! Siouxsie

Hi For various reasons, I find a correctly orientated image, (vertically & horizontally) as given by an Amici prism in a diagonal, much easier for me to use with my observing. I absolutely loved the Baader Amici prism with the ClickLock. The build quality is lovely and it gave really great views - except when you try and use it on an object brighter than about magnitude 1.5, whereupon you see the infamous diffraction spike ruining your view. I know this is a fairly common issue with prisms and with Baader Amici prisms in particular but I have also heard of people trying several and then finding one without the diffraction spike issue. Mine was bought from a reputable online only astronomy supplier on the USA west coast who assured me they tested the prism prior to my purchase but they obvioulsy did not. They did give me a refund in the end. I would really love to try and obtain another Baader prism but without the diffraction problem. My question is, have you done the process of trying several prisms before getting a good one? Who did you use? (please feel free to PM me) Did you end going directly to Baader? I would do that ordinarily but I now live in the USA, not Europe. Have you another non Baader correct orientation prism that you could recommend to me ? (Although I have to say once you use a Baader diagonal with a ClickLock there really is no going back to the fiddly adjustment screws!!!) Thanks for any advice, sharing of experiences or recommendations. Siouxsie

Hi, I bought a Celestron focal reducer / corrector lens part #94175 for my non Edge CPC1100. Celestron say - in bold type no less - that this reducer is not compatible with Edge HD optics. The cost of the dedicated reducer for the Edge optics ( #94242 ) is ~ $200 more than the non Edge version Out of curiousity, and to make sure what Celestron say was correct, I tried the non Edge focal reducer part number #94175 on my 8" Edge telescope - and it works just fine. The field of view is expanded as it should be and the clarity to the edge of the view is as clear as when not using the reducer. IE vignetting is minimal / non existent Has anyone else found this to be true with their Edge and non Edge telescopes? This is significant; the price difference is about $200 between the two reducers and, in my case, the non Edge reducer gives me altitude clearance on the bottom of my Evolution mount whereas using a dedicated Edge reducer ( #94242) would not. So if you're in a similar to me, try the non Edge reducer first before spending an extra $200. Siouxsie

Well Mars did appear and I got some lovely views. I was able to clearly make out the southern polar cap, and the major geographic features were clearly visible. I was tretaed to all this in a beautiful spectrum of salmon pink / baby blue / fawn / and white. What worked best = 12mm 1.25 Celestron Excel with 80A Medium Blue filter stacked to a generic Celestron 'Moon and SkyGlow' filter With my 11" SCT at focal length 2800 that eyepiece gave me 233X magnification. I did push it as far as 350X but I lost detail. (Note - conditions were so great tonight that I was able to observe Saturn and Jupiter in good detail at 400X.)

Hi, Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread and shared so many great tips and hints. The observing conditions this evening were absolutely fantastic (see my other thread about what I saw!!) The great conditions made Mars dazzling brilliance easier to manage at the telescope end. I experimented and the best combination I found this evening was: What worked best = 12mm 1.25 Celestron Excel with 80A Medium Blue filter stacked to a generic Celestron 'Moon and SkyGlow' filter I was able to clearly make out the southern polar cap, and the major geographic features were clearly visible. I was tretaed to all this in a beautiful spectrum of salmon pink / baby blue / fawn / and white. With my 11" SCT at focal length 2800 that eyepiece gave me 233X magnification. I did push it as far as 350X but I lost detail. (Note - conditions were so great tonight that I was able to observe Saturn and Jupiter in good detail at 400X.) Siouxsie

Hi Wow! What an increda-bubble night for viewing. Defs the best I have ever witnessed in my short but passionate astronomy journey. Not because it's completely clear but because there is virtually no visible low altitude atmospheric turbulence here ( 38 north 78 west) Absolutely sensational views of Jupiter & Saturn tonight, amazing. I was able to get very clear images - honestly - at 400X (7mm eyepiece at 2800 focal length) I got Saturn using a Tele Vue 5X Power Mate with an 18mm eyepiece. Amazing view - Cassini Division crisp and very clear. Beautiful and inspiring. I'm just typing this out while I wait for Mars to pop out from behind my chimney pot and into Cubble's waiting 32mm eyepiece (my favourite) and then into his 12mm with filter. Thank you to everyone who commented on my recent Mars observing tips thread - I haven't replied yet but I will, I am about to deploy many of the great hints and tips I received, thank you. Hope you're having as good an evening as I am and lapping up these amazing conditions! Siouxsie

@aeneas I would recommend Celestron's CPC1100. I have one and am very please with it. It has built in GPS and is double fork mounted so it is very stable. The tripod is heavy duty but easy enough to move. Moving the OTA (scope part) and the mount (it is permanently mounted in the double forks) is doable but heavy. If you wouldn't need to set up too often and don't need to move more than, say, 20 feet, you should be fine. If you can carry 70lbs 20 feet you'll be fine. I have Star Sense with mine and I would thoroughly recommned this investment - it's worth every penny / cent. I just wanted to clarify one point you mentioned. You said that the 60th Anniversary Edition (which I have too) comes with "built in" Star Sense. It doesn't - it was just supplied with a regular Star Sense camera that installs to the OTA. You may - perhaps? - have been thinking of the Star Sense Explorer range of telescopes that Celestron brought out in 2020 that utilise smart phones and their Sky Portal apps to help guide the positioning of the OTA. Back to the CPCP1100, I think they are great value for money and they have a deserved reputation for reliability and strurdiness. I think if you got one you'd be very happy with it - just make sure you can move 70lbs short distances. Lastly, I would say that if you did consider the CPC1100 that you'd be quite happy with the standard non Edge HD optics. Having the Edge optics is nice but, tbh, you can fit a focal reducer to the CPC standard optics that gives just as good views as the Edge optics, IMHO.

Hello I am trying to find ways to observe more detail on Mars. I am observing him between 35 degrees and 50 degress altitude. He is SOOOO bright that the intensity of the light is washing out any surface detail. I can just about make out the Southern polar cap and can see (just) some surface shapes but it's the brightness of the planet that is (ironically) the issue. I do have some colour filters which I can use over the eyepiece. Any tips for which colour is best, please? I have tried observing with various magnification, ranging from 8mm to 32mm. My focal length is 2800mm and focal ratio F10, (CPC1100) Any tips /advice / help all glady welcomed, thank you. Bonus - tonight I got to see Uranus, looking like a little light blue / green ice ball and a transit of Ganymede's shadow on Jupiter! Very cool. Siouxsie