Tiny Clanger

I don't know the weight of your specific kit, but I have a 127 mak on an AZ5 , which is at least 6.5kg , and it sits happily on my decades old Manfrotto 55 . If I recall correctly the current alu. 55 has a theoretical limit of 9kg , and while a new one will set you back a fair bit, the things are bombproof and second hand ones are quite common, samples without photo heads sell for £70-£90 , sometimes less. When my beloved old 55 got taken over by the 'scope, I needed to replace it for photographic use, and found a Manfrotto 190xpro for £50, second hand. It has a lower weight limit, but out of curiosity I've tried it with my heritage 150 newt (which is around 3kg) and found it fine. The ratings for the Manfrotto tripods are realistic, but based on the tripod fully extended, centre column and all. I don't raise the centre column to use a 'scope, neither do I extend the thinnest, lowest leg section, and am confident either tripod could take more weight easily. You do miss out on a central brace, which makes astro and video tripods a bit more sturdy, but as you said, the photo tripods do tend to close down to a neater, shorter package. My 190 has now been commandeered by a little ST80 frac, so I need yet another Manfrotto for my DSLR ... Heather

Venus will simply be a bright thing with no detail (but with phases just like the Moon) whatever 'scope or filter you might use : you are seeing the top of a very reflective sea of gas, never what lies below. Planets which a telescope can show some detail are Jupiter, Saturn (gas giants, but with features )and Mars, where you are seeing the rocky surface. I'd suggest reading this very informative post :

I just had a quick look for the specifications of the telescope, and can't see if it uses the fairly standard 1.25" diameter barrel eyepieces ? Some 'scopes like this use smaller ones . Any filters you might buy would screw on a thread inside the bottom of the eyepiece, and such filters are usually made to fit 1.25" eyepieces. So before buying any accessories like filters or more eyepieces, do check the diameter first ! Heather

Fabulous session, 🙂 the one astro accessory we can at long last access for a relatively low price * ... a few miles drive to a darker site 🙂 * I can hear the wail of pain from certain car- free city dwellers from here . Sorry .

It still seems to be included in all recent versions as far as I can see http://stellarium.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Plugins maybe in your new version it needs to be enabled as described on that page ? Heather

A planisphere will be as accurate as such a small and generalised map can be, as long as you bought a planisphere for the correct latitude for the UK, usually 51.5 deg, North on the Phillips ones, altho' I also have a 'Greenwich Star Disc' which says it is for 50to 58 north , I bought it because it is blue printing on a white background and which makes it easy to read . Be sure to use GMT not British Summer Time , and be aware that such a thing cannot take account of your height above sea level, obstructed horizon etc. Setting it accurately, then ensuring you keep the two layers firmly pinched together and perhaps initially holding it up over your head to help orient yourself might help. I find turning the whole thing , both layers still firmly pinched in place , (for children's use , or passing it round several people, I've temporarily taped the layers in place with a bit of masking tape round the north rim) so the horizon direction on the disc overlay (east & west horizons are printed on the Phillips one, all four on the Greenwich disc) matches the direction I'm looking . Yes, Stellarium is more accurate, more detailed and more informative, as are any number off similar programs and 'phone apps , but a planisphere is a simple analogue tool which can teach a lot about the night sky, is portable, waterproof , cheap and requires no power. If we should get a nice big Carrington class event that knocks out the power grid (or has it turned off to avoid damage : this is the astronomy version of the Zombie Apocalypse), those of us with simple paper sky maps and planispheres will be out enjoying those suddenly dark skies

The FLO page for the heritage says "Out of stock due 7-10 working days" , I'd go for it ! I ordered my second 'scope from FLO when it was out of stock but similarly expected soon , I emailed wondering what the setup was, and asking if it was possible to make an educated guess if the number of backorders would be so great there would be no 'scope left for me . I was given the guess , which I had explained I fully appreciated was just speculation, made the order, got the 127 mak shortly after. I was dubious about paying in advance, but it is the way their system works, so it's up to the buyer to choose if it seems reasonable . I'd trust them to do the decent thing. If you were to get a credit note due to price fall, you won't have any trouble finding something to spend it on Heather

Excellent choice (it has to be, I made it too 🙂 ) If you are thinking of ordering from FLO, this might sway you: The system FLO use for out of stock orders is to queue them by the date when the order was placed, so you secure a place in the queue for the it when the delivery comes. Your credit card is debited immediately when you place the order though. Heather

Joyce Mak sounds perfectly fine to me ... i f I ever need an alternative name for witness protection, that would work for me , maybe add a little hint of exotic glamour with Joyce von Mak, or de Mak, or el Mak ... 🙂 Curses ! that's given it away ! Joking aside, a big balcony like that sounds like a brilliant viewing space , assuming it is made of wood (and on what is no doubt very well insulated house) so unlikely to cause major problems with thermal currents. Heather

Interesting, I've considered something similar, and have some glow in the dark tape I could use which would be very effective I think, but have never needed it yet. Keep the EP count to 9 (or fewer) and it's not hard to locate the right one in a 3x3 array ... The glow in the dark tape is very useful on the outside of the black case though, a small piece on the lid near the catches makes sure I don't have the thing upside down !

That I don't know, but if the house is similar to traditional wooden ones I've seen in Austria and Bavaria, the balcony may well be at what we might consider the 'end' of the house as far as traditional UK design goes. Alpine roof design allows whatever drains off it to shed to the side, away from the access / windows etc. Presumably because of snow.. So perhaps the 'A' of the roof line as seen from the balcony allows a sight of Polaris from the end where the obstruction is low ? Pure speculation of course ! Heather

By position 🙂 Each has its allotted hole in the array .

Before the completely predictable Bank Holiday rain set in, I managed to give the seat frame a sand down and a couple of coats of clear varnish (it was that or the blackboard paint left over from making the st80 nice inside , and if I'd used that I'd never have found the chair in the dark ...) . It's not made a huge difference to the appearance of the wood, but I hope it will make the chair a little more durable , given that it is a jumble of softwoods . Then, after a little online begging and some bartering with a friend who has an excellent collection of various craft materials, I got my hands on some dark blue vinyl type material suitable for upholstering the 'scope chair seat , added a couple of layers of closed cell camping mat to give maybe 5cm of padding, and set about shooting it to death with my staple gun . The corners are very amateur , but my backside doesn't care, the bit it interfaces with is nicely padded 🙂 So , update : the chair has now cost me a total of £3.55 and half a dozen tomato seedlings 🙂 Heather

I need to modify the foam (I seem to have accidentally bought a second hand 18mm BST , and it needs a new hole making ... ) but once that's done I'll try to remember to take a pic . As the BSTs are stored standing, it won't look enormously exciting ... just some black dust caps 🙂 Heather

Great that your balcony gives you a view to the south, that's ideal for viewing planets 🙂 If planets are your main intended target, you would not really need go to , the planets with interesting features (Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) are visible to the naked eye , and a simple app or planetarium program like stellarium (there are many others, but that's what I use , it's a free open source download and online too) will show you where to look . There is a dizzyingly enormous range of telescope types and sizes , and a similarly huge choice (good old Joyce 🙂 ) of types of mounts to use them on. Often budget is a major limiting factor, but yours is large enough to leave much within your grasp. Things to think about which may influence your decision include storage : big telescopes take up space indoors, and you couldn't leave one out on your balcony all year round I suspect ! If you are thinking of taking the telescope elsewhere with the moped/trailer, I imagine a heavy setup might be a bit too much for your transport. I'd suggest reading through this free downloadable book https://www.astroshop.eu/advice/telescope/telescope-knowledge/ebook-download/c,9154 which should help . Heather

OK, that sounds far bigger than the one the previous poster wanted to use ! Here's the thread , at the start he did not mention the balcony at all https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/369179-i-am-a-beginner-what-can-i-expect-from-the-skywatcher-telescope-n-150750-explorer-150p-eq3-2/ Heather

Auto correct is sometimes an absolute joy , in this case it has turned 'choice' into Joyce for you. I insist that any telescope you buy be given the nickname 'Joyce' 🙂 There was a thread on here a while back by someone who said he wanted to observe from a balcony, I'll see if I can find it, it may help . For planets I'd suggest a Maksutov or similar, more compact in length than a refractor , which may be a factor on a balcony . Heather

I keep my EPs in a peli-type (but not cost ..) case , plastic, well sealed . It lives indoors with the 'scopes. In use I sometimes take it outside as a whole, but when the weather was particularly chilly and I was standing in snow to observe, I used a small padded waist bag to keep the eyepieces warm between uses. I had no problem with condensation on the eyepieces even in really cold conditions . I don't think EPs need to cool down as a 'scope does ... well, not the modestly sized plossls and BSTs I own anyway ! and keeping them clear of condensation in cold observing conditions actually means keeping them warm and not accidentally breathing on them . 🙂 The point when I am concerned about condensation is when I bring the eyepieces back into the warm house after being outside, so my routine is to treat them in a similar way to the 'scope, i.e. leave them to acclimatise gently with their caps off , and certainly not sealed in the case. I lie them on a bookshelf for at least an hour before they go back in the case, which has some silica gel desiccant pouches tucked inside. Once you've seen a camera lens ruined by fungus you take precautions ...

🙂 the precise one I bought on Amaz. was 'Festnight Black Hard Tool Box Cases 27 x 24.6 x 12.4 cm ' which is exactly like the others I linked to, but doubled in price just after I bought it , so as it is now £31 I'd recommend looking at the more competitively priced offerings ! Heather

I made a deliberate choice of a smaller case , imagining it might not taunt me with empty space which was crying out to be filled with expensive EPs .. 🤣 🤣 Turns out the one I bought can easily hold 9 EPs of a BST starguider kind of size stood upright ... Heather

I've bought a couple of tough plastic cases via amaz. from this range https://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-MAX300S-079-Waterproof-Watertight-Photography/dp/B00PUL61QG/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=MAX+cases&qid=1620215302&sr=8-3 The one I linked to is small, but deep enough to store my BSTs upright, which is what I wanted. A while ago someone suggested a company who have a range of alu & peli clone cases, and sell on the 'net , I've not bought from them, but they have similar cases to the MAX ones , and I rather fancy my next case will be one of theirs in a cheery orange colour ... https://www.cases-and-enclosures.co.uk/hurricane-equipment-cases Heather

Why not try the mak ? Well, as I said above, I'm a bit neurotic about pointing an optical instrument at the Sun, decades of dire warnings have had their intended effect . So I was thinking of a somewhat over cautious approach , try the st80 small aperture mask first, (the solar equivalent of a toddler on a tricycle). If that works OK , and assuming we actually get any daytime clear skies anytime soon to try it out, I will make the ST80 a whole aperture filter,(the equivalent of stabilisers on a bicycle 🙂 ). If I'm happy with that, there should be sufficient Baader film left I think to make a suitable filter for the mak ... proper cycling on two wheels ! I shall report back any conclusions I reach 🙂 Heather

Good point, thank you. The 'scope in question is a cheapie ST80 , and rife with CA when pointed at the Moon , but with slightly less purple halo when used with the reduced diameter cap/mask . Will there be a similar CA fest with the Sun ? I'm not expecting fabulous detail from the little frac. , but would prefer to use it over the 127 mak out of an excess of caution ... I also suspect that the irregular shape of the front of my heritage dob , where the extension rods fix to the front section , make it a poor candidate for a safe solar filter, even with the decent opaque shroud I have on it. Heather

I'm not sure, and won't be until the film arrives , but I'd vaguely thought of sticking in on the central hole of the cap from the inside, (possibly with a sandwich type card ring mount too )and with a lot of duct tape, which I think (I've not checked ) might mean the small cap can be replaced without any risk of harm to the film or mounting . To be absolutely, neurotically sure of the main cap not falling off, I'll probably add some strips of masking tape from it on to the dew shield as well ... Heather

Believe me, I'm suitably neurotic about the risk to eyesight ! The warning does bear repeating often though . Back before buying a telescope, I projected last century's total eclipse visible from the UK through one side of some old binos onto a bit of white card , but I feel I should take proper advantage of the instruments I have now. However, I think I'll most likely use my ST80 and utilise the central hole in the objective cap to fix the filter material , intellectually I know the filter material properly mounted and secured would be fine on my 150mm dob or 127 mak, and the st80 is not really less hazardous , but, as I say, I'm neurotic Another factor is that the only finder I have on the st80 is an RDF , so there's no chance of forgetting to be sure an optical finder is safe too. I hope we all have clear skies on the day ... 🙂 Heather