Kon

That's gorgeous! I can see why you had that owo moment! I love the thin transparent mist-appearance to it! Well done!

Pretty good effort! You seem to have some nebulosity around the Horsehead as well which is nice.

Depends on your viewing skies light pollution and horizon. M42 is nice this time of the year, pleiades, M31 (but not much detail to it), open clusters such as M35, M44 and many many more. If you have dark skies, then nebulas are worth going after such as Eskimo, M1, M1 (Crab nebula), Owl nebula and more. Worth buying Turn Left at Orion. Apps such as Stellarium or sky safari. Happy viewing.

Very nice report and loads of nice targets. I bet they looked awesome from your dark skies! Observing at -33C, OWO! 🥶

I have an 8" SW Dob and i love it. My wife had no clue how big it will be and was quite surprised when fully assembled, but it sits nicely at the corner of the sitting room, and once i started showing her things through it, she completely ignores its presence there. Yes it is big but it does not take space since it sits upright.

I cannot comment on your telescope, but my 25mm EP is fine like you said. My 10mm is also rubbish. I have got a 8mm and 15mm BST (if you are on budget) and they are performing excellent on planets and DSOs. It is probably better take your time, and feel free to ask questions here. Everybody is super helpful , try include a budget for any upgrades, you can do it 'cheaply' with some advise.

@jetstreamthat's the reply i got: thanks for your email.With an 8'' Dob OIII or UHC is a matter of taste. At the end you probably end with both filters. My preference would be a UHC, but if you ask others you will likely get OIII as recomendation for a first filter. Our OIII fiters have 12nm, what we found to be the optimum for visual use under similar skies.Clear skies

I have both the 8mm and 15mm BST and like Heather said, both very good EPs; no issues with focus unless viewing is bad then it is a different story? I had a topic a while ago, where I could not focus my 8mm and 15mm and I though it could be collimation (which was ok when I checked), so i think that night the high mag viewing was not good; my 25mm was fine. A few nights after that incident, clear skies and the 8mm/15mm were both in sharp focus. Worth giving the another go.

Yes once the filter is here, i want to revisit these targets.

I opted for the 1.25" due to the cost; if i decide in the future to get different WF EPs then I could always sell it and upgrade to a 2".

I will give it a try tonight. I love DSOs; very challenging but once you find them very rewarding; my 5year old son is asking me which nebulas have I seen when I observe. He loves M42 (obviously) but he was over the moon with Crab and Eskimo nebulas when I showed him a few weeks ago. By the way, the views from your 24" must be out of this world!

its black! Mine is darker than i though; just a tiny bit of very very light yellow. No reply to my email, but I just ordered the TV OIII from FLO!!! 10 days wait so it will be handy next time the moon disappears. I will have to make a report once i use it.

your views must be amazing! I do not think i have noticed zodiac light but i may need to pay more attention.

My seeing is pretty good on 'transparent nights'. I can see constellations without any problems. Milky way is 'bright' and i can make the distinction where it starts/ends (I mean edges), and I think that's what pussed me in the end to get the telescope. (I have only been in the hobby for 2 months but very fascinated so far).

Thanks. It is looking promising tonight, although a small seeing window. I hope to have something to report soon 🔭

Excellent report and your excitement shows compared to your other frustrating night, but your persevirence paid off! Try have a look at M1 (Crab Nebula) if it is visible from your side and if you have not already done so. It is a gorgeous target.

That's impressive!

Thanks! The area resembled the pic in the link, which i will read tonight. Sorry if i used the wrong name for it. i will go back to it next time and try make a sketch to compare to the link.

i am near swindon area so maybe that's why? it is one my east view that has some light pollution low at the horizon.

no definition by no means; just a smudge the size of a pea.

last night without the moon the sky was bright from the stars and can make out where the milky way is. i can usually see some of the open clusters as a smudge of bright patch without a telescope. the nebulas and galaxies i have seen so far are bright withe sky being quite dark around them. i leave in the middle of nowhere with the closest town being over 10 miles away and smaller villages 5miles or so.. (sorry i though the question was towards me, but it will be good to see @Deadlakedefinition for comparison)

i saw some tiny patch of nebulosity in that area. unless it is called something else? I think it was part of the Christmas Tree nebula/area? could it have been something else?

I fully understand but if it can help with a few targets then i am ok with that. Last night i managed to see the NGC1514 but the nebula looked more like a diffuse haze so if it can pull some more detail that will be great. My skies are bortle 4 so not too bad (I can see part of milky way ok). I also managed to see part of the cone nebula.

@jetstreamI have not heard back from Astronomik but i had a very frustrating night last night on nebulas, so i want to buy a filter soon. Would you go for the: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/televue-filters/tele-vue-bandmate-oiii-filter.html or https://www.firstlightoptics.com/uhc-oiii-visual-filters/astronomik-oiii-filter.html (unless there is another OIII from these companies i missed) The price difference is marginal so happy for either you think it is better; you seemed very happy with your earlier post on TV but @Johnwas happy with his Astronomik.

I have the Astro Essentials Variable Polarising Moon Filter and it does a pretty good job on the moon. I like the fact i can change the amount of light passing.