M40

Absolutely, but for me a triplet of that size is out of my pocket and twice the weight putting it out of reach for both me and the mount.

Now thats a nice telescope and the one on my wish list for when I run out of targets with my current setup 👌

If you compare the wo gt81 and the zwo 294 on for example m51, then swap the 294 for the 462 it's a completely different fov. The camera will always sell on if it doesn’t prove it's worth.

Always one to be different, your wo gt81 has a similar fov to my 85mm, so how about rather than a new telescope, how about a new camera in the zwo asi462mm. Have a look in the fov calculator and see what you think 🤔

I remember reading somewhere that there is something called drift alignment using PHD2 that will help with this. I did a quick search and quite a few topics popped up. All the best

I must admit to not being stressed over a dust cap. I have a cunning plan to reduce dew during play, awaiting delivery, but at end of play and when at the home position I think it allows a touch of ventilation to minimise any condensation.

When I have a go solar I start from scenery and park it about half way, then I fit the filter and switch to solar. If I try anything at a rush it has a habit of going badly wrong quickly 🤪

I have never used either of the mounts so I can only offer my thoughts. Bit like comparing a new laptop, I tend to look for what is not included. Both need a power pack or supply, unless you intend using the batteries for the star adventurer. The star adventurer uses your phone/laptop with the synscan pro app whereas the eq3 includes a synscan handset. You can add the handset to the star adventurer at a later date but for a few more pennies. I can't find the mount weight of either, hopefully someone else will chip in there, but the shipping weight of the eq3 is significantly more than the star adventurer and as you will need to move it in and out of your home, unless that is not a worry it's something to think on. Which would I choose? I think I would go for the star adventurer with the tripid and the handset purely for the portability of the device. I've added the handset because I use stellarium a lot from the phone when outside, then use the handset to drive to my target, just adds a bit of flexibility. All the best.

Hello JamesGlasgow and welcome to the site. Ask away with any questions, plenty of people here to help. Your son in the picture is showing how advanced he is for his age, I remember at that age one of my boys wanted a sinclair spectrum, didn't like to disappoint 😉 All the best

Even Baader say that vignetting is a problem, but you have to try. Can you remember any dimensions that you used?

Due to the limited time between clouds we have all been suffering from, I am trying to speed up something I have been thinking about, so any help would be much appreciated. I tend to do a touch of visual using Baader eyepieces which have an m43 thread when you remove the eyepiece rubber, this enables an adapter to be used for eyepiece projection. My plan is to bolt a zwo 385mc camera to the eyepiece at the end of visual play. So my question is, what would be a good starting dimension between eyepiece and camera sensor? Looking at the Baader info, they suggest anything between 55mm plus 20 to 40mm for a dslr. I've also seen a calculation using eyepiece to sensor distance and eyepiece focal length to calculate magnification so I suppose that asks the question is the dimension between eyepiece and camera sensor important other than for magnification? Ps, I can hear you all saying just use the zwo camera, but that would be too easy 😉 Thanks for your thoughts

Here you go.... I have tidied the cables up a bit since then 😁

I must admit that the rat cage discussion has always puzzled me. There is the argument that you don't need to level an eq mount so it's not necessary to have the pier perfectly level, but you do need to have a level base for an az mount. So the use of the rat cage enables easy access to the mount fixing and ability to level without having a perfectly level base for the pier. I used 4 x 12mm pieces of stud for my rat cage with no challenges.

Mines made of 100mm box section, about 1M tall with a flange on each end, solid as a rock. Try and find a friendly welder, they will soon knock one of them up for you.

I'm going to +1 to the baader zoom. Not only is it a great piece of glass, but the way a zoom works is perfect for a dob. Start on low power then up the power. If you lose the target, just switch back to the low power and start again. Out of interest, I also bought the associated baader zoom barlow and have yet to use it with the zoom, so dependent on budget, give it a miss.

Has anybody been able to get the "mark" to show on the picture? I've tried it a few times now and it shows on the app but not on the captured image. Have I missed a tick box somewhere?

One minute on M45 from last night. Interesting to compare Giles_B's 44 minute above and this 1 minute.

That M81 is really nice 👌 Out of interest, I tried the polarising filter on Jupiter last night, didn't work, all I got was reflection between the two filters unless I adjusted it to the extent that you could only see a faint grey dot. It might work with a spacer between the two filters but from my point of view, I am calling it a day with planets and the ss50. Best Jupiter I could get using the internal filter

At last, a clear night 😱 first time I've seen the moon clearly since the ss50 landed, so...single shot screen grab. Be nice to compare with the dwarf if there are anybout there.

I made something similar in a collapsible platform for the ss50 using stainless folding brackets. It works but I quickly realised that you need access to the tripod to level it. So I am not sure your arrangement will work unless you can reach the tripod with the swinging arm fully extended. To further your fag packet sketch, here is my fag packet build. When it finally stops raining, the plan is to swop the wood and the wooden platform for a steel plate with edging.

Hello Tezb and welcome to the site from a well into the sixties ex Harlowite. Ask away with any questions, plenty of clever people on here that can help. All the best.

Interesting question and I am pretty sure there will lots of different thoughts on this, but from my perspective, it probably comes down to how wet it is at end of play. For the last two years, I've kept mine in an unheated garage and before that in an unheated summer house, but, if the ota was soaked, I've always let it air dry indoors first. In the garage, I also use an eyepiece desicant cap and then put it away in a suitable plastic box with lid. Seems to work. Food for thought anyway. All the best.

Maybe thats the answer, hit a few of the larger targets with the d2 and then move on to the ss50 later. I am looking forward to seeing a few d2 images, so please do post any you get.

There are a number within this thread plus some more in the eeva report section. As a direct comparison on the crescent nebula, powerlord has a couple of pictures on page 22 and 24 of this thread. All the best.

With your initial list of items, you had the 72ed or the 130pds listed with your camera, so thought I would do a comparison..... The 72ed is a slightly wider fov and is a nice and easy step into astronomy with no collimation required, so I think that would be my choice. I use an heq5 so can't comment on other mounts but the eq5 to my knowledge is a good mount and very similar costs to the eqm35. There is plenty of capacity on the mount using the 72ed, the 80ed is still within the limits, hopefully others will have thoughts on this.