Mr Thingy

I'm pretty much the same. My AP rig should be up and running next week when my HEQ5 is expected, then I will be operational for both visual and AP 😁

Off to the Canary Islands instead then 😁

I realised last night that one thing I'm really missing is a good chair. As much as I like all the yoga poses I have to pull off in the garden, a comfortable perch would be nice.

Maybe emigrating to Spain should be on our wishlists? 🤔

Fortunate to have had clear skies all day here near the East Coast. Managed some solar observation over lunchtime (perk of working in my home office), and now just finished a casual early evening session. Started with the ring nebula - always blows my mind seeing a smoke ring in space. Then I bounced around a number of open clusters; Perseus, Taurus, Cepheus. Andromeda was showing really nicely so took a look at that too. Concluded by trying to spot the moons of Uranus but seeing wasn't good enough. Zodiacal light was also on show and my friendly local barn owl was screeching along in the background. A very satisfying session overall.

Fantastic! You really must tell us your persuasion methods 😁. Enjoy planning and building your Obsy. Do you have a design in mind? I imagine many of us have already designed a few in our heads!

Fantastic! I grew up reading a lot of Larson sketches. My username comes from a Larson sketch in fact:

Ah yes, binoviewers. I know very little about the benefits (apart from the obvious) and limitations of them but they do seem interesting. I presume they are good for brighter objects - planets, moon, etc - but less so for faint DSOs. I better add some to my wishlist 😁

That's a beaut. I just looked up the price of the OTA alone 😱. Lucky I was sitting down.

I see that the flame nebula is just making an appearance next to Alnitak. Lovely. Great pic.

I'm going to regret starting this thread - It's giving me more ideas for my wishlist. I now need to add an Obsy, moving house, and some Ha solar kit 😬

I keep thinking about an Obsy but my garden just isn't right for one. I have fairly good views, a little but obscured to the West by my house, but I have to move around the garden depending on which direction I want to view. Do they sell Observatories on wheels? 🤭

Very nice! I'd be sleeping in that pod if I bought one (maybe that would be an OK compromise...? 😆) but they do look very nice.

That's a nice place to be. Best for bank balance too. Hopefully after my list is complete I'll be able to resist the urge to upgrade more. A friend suggested that I moved house to find better skies and views. Maybe I should add to my wishlist.... My wife may know I'm up to something if I spend most of my time in the garden with a compass during any viewing 🤭

You are right. I modified the title accordingly. 😁

I should have stipulated to avoid highly unrealistic wishes 😆

Cloudy days, hence daydreaming about my next purchases. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat and have a wishlist of astro gear you want/plan to buy. I'm interested to see your plans and what your goals are - just don't tell your husband/wife/partner. I'll start with mine (in priority order): - OIII and SII 7NM NB filters, to complete my set of imaging filters - Polar camera - Observing chair - A Dobby (12"+) - Electronic camera rotator - SCT or RC scope for imaging (may need an upgraded mount for this). Goals: completing the tools I want for AP and automating as much as possible. The idea being to make time to observe whilst the AP gear is doing it's thing. Still awaiting my HEQ5 though (ordered 4 months ago, but should be here before Xmas), so I'm yet to get into AP and learn the ropes and work out if it allows me time for observing. I have various observing scopes (refractors), and a CST and a Newtonian in the past, but never owned a Dobby, yet it's probably the scope I should have bought all along to meet my needs. The simplicity and power of them really appeals to me and I'm still fit enough to lug a heavy one around. -Thingy-

1. Most people would probably think that astronomy is very relaxing and sedentary. Little do they know the stress of manically setting up everytime there's a hint of a clear sky. I'm going to nominate it as a sport for the next Olympics - think Colin Jackson jumping hurdles but replace hurdles with cats/dogs/children and add expensive equipment. 2. Most people also probably don't realise astronomy is an extreme sport. e.g. Dodging a heavy 'scope that's swinging on the mount after you release the clutch but forgot to put the counterweight on. 3. Felixstowe. Not only does the port cause skyglow to my East, but now they can't dock ships that contain things I have on back order (I maybe personalising that issue slightly.... 😆).

Thanks. Then I will leave my Ha filter in the EFW and continue using my Continuum filter (or at least dream about it whilst hoping for the clouds to part).

I was wondering if my Ha 7nm filter for imaging DSOs would have any notable effect in observing the sun (in combination with a Herschel wedge or solar filter of course). I believe the solar Ha filters are about 0.5 A, which would be a 140x narrower band pass than my 7nm filter, if I calculated correctly. That probably answers my question but I'm wondering if anyone has tried and seen any effect. There we go... silly question asked 😁

Kind Mr Postman delivered today. A small early Xmas present to myself, hence I pictured under the tree 🎄 0.8 focal reducer and flattener Plus an Astrobasics finder scope (needs a wee bit of filing to fit snuggly in the shoe but that's easy to do) Note the festive FLO sticker!

I've been an observer up until now but just assembling my AP equipment to start on that adventure, so this is an interesting topic to me. I plan to attempt observing whilst my AP routines are underway. No doubt I'll need to get to a point where I'm confident enough to leave the AP gear 'doing it's thing', so it's interesting to see your comment about AP keeping you busy. I hope I can do both but I'll find out soon if that is unrealistic.

That's a really nice image. I found myself poring over it for a few minutes to take in all the details.

That's immensely helpful @vlaiv I appreciate you taking the time. -thingy-

Thanks @vlaiv That helps a lot. My camera has an integrated filter wheel that already takes up 26.5mm, so that rules out the EF-M lenses. I was looking at the adaptor you use and it's good to know that it's 19mm as that would be too much for my kit. So I need to find another mounting option. Seems the camera has a 1/4" threaded hole, so I guess I could mount via that.