Andy ES

Just wondering, as we get near to being let out again, how far you all travel to your favourite dark site and how often?

Also how much kit do you take?

I think mine will be about a 30min drive.

interested to hear.

Thanks.

Thanks, I used to be an instrument Engineer in a former life so it looks very doable.

could also save about £175.!

Thanks.

Got out tonight for a while with some nice Mars views, Uranus also in the eyepiece.

Had good practice with 3 star alignments, which just take about 5 minutes, now I’ve got a Telrad, which is a brilliant bit of kit! (It’s kind of made the finder redundant).

Very happy with the Baader Morpheus eyepieces which I got a case from FLO from to store them in.

Learning points from tonight are:

Using the eyepiece case makes life a lot easier when selecting EPs and storing the dust caps.

Sitting down when observing is better.

Turn the Telrad off after the alignment is confirmed! 😁

Cheers

Thanks for all the good advice. I’m definitely going to try this out and will post how I get on.

Cheers

Paul, looking forward to giving this a go (as soon as I get the camera).

I was looking at this Barlow, which seems to have a thread ready for the camera.

is this a good recommendation or would there be a better Barlow to use?

Thanks

Paul, thanks for that.

Would this work if the camera is fitted in the back of the diagonal?

Also is it worth getting a Barlow lens, I presume this is how you get some magnification?

thanks again fo your help

Thanks, I’ve got a 2” click lock visual back on this telescope.

So can you please describe the connection required.

Is it Just a case of locking the 2” rim of the camera into the click lock or better to use the 1 1/4 adaptor that comes with the camera and a click lock reducer (which I've got).

I’m also not really sure about what distances these should be set to or the use of Barlow lenses, is this just a magnification issue.

Thanks again for any advice.

Firstly please excuse my utter ignorance but just thinking out loud that I might want to take some simple planetary or lunar photos in the future I’ve got a couple of questions:

I’ve got a CPC925 (Very happy with it visually) with Badder Morpheus EPs. I read that the ZWO ASI224 is a good planetary camera.

Am I correct in thinking that if I connect a M35 to T adapter to the EP thread that I can then screw the ZWO  camera to the adaptor and EP and then get some reasonable images?

I also see that there are other options for using primary focus with Barlows.

any advice on the best entry route to take gladly accepted.

Thanks.

5 minutes ago, Mognet said:

I said I wouldn't do that too. Then I started with my camera on my tripod, just experimentally. Started thinking about mounts a couple of months ago, so it looks like I'm going over to the dark side! 🤣

The force is strong ! 😂

Clear night last night, lots of moon again. Took this photo with phone. Got to stop doing this or I’ll be into Astro photography next which I said I wouldn’t do ! 😂.

having said that is there a good webcam that is generally used for basic planetary imaging. I’ve seen some discussions on the Celestron Neximage 10. Thanks for any recommendations.

Thanks, do you think any colour filters would be good to use on the moon?

4th time out tonight, tested solar system tracking which worked well on the moon.

Took this picture through the 40mm EP with smart phone. (First time I’ve tried this)

So did get out tonight just observing moon for a while.

New moon filter was very good and gave nice contrast. Managed to take the attached photo through the 40mm EP with my smart phone. Never done that before so quite pleased with the result 😁.

Also tested the solar system alignment which tracked the moon perfectly, a good 4th outing.

As least I’ll be able to test my new moon filter! 😂

I feel your pain.

I’ve had my new scope for 40 nights now and only been able to use it 3 times!

i think Saturday here looks good, but then again a massive bright moon.😬

One thing I forgot to mention is that I was having difficulty reading the scrolling display on the controller.

Answer  - Slow the display scroll speed down in the menu.  👍

Good Stuff!

I’ve also been using Morpheus eyepieces at 6.5, 9 & 12.5mm, I think they are superb with the click lock system.

only got the Baader click lock 2” DiElectric Star Diagonal though 😁

I couldn’t believe how much easier and quicker the alignments are to do now.

Don't know why Celestron don’t ditch the finder and put one of these on their goto scopes or put the savings into supplying  a decent diagonal. Old habits and traditions I suppose.

Got and been using the 2” riser which works like dream and is also the most expensive bit of plastic I will ever buy! 😬

Managed to get outside last night for a couple of hours. This was only the 3rd session possible in 37 nights of owning this Scope!! Clear outside app seems very accurate though.

Anyway I was keen to practice alignments with the GPS fully working and also using the Telrad, which I had set up previously in the daytime. Using the Telrad was a dream and made the process so quick. Did a couple of 3 star alignments which worked both correctly. The Telrad has been a great investment.

Got great views of the Moon and used the new filter for the first time. This was a great improvement and gave a really nice contrast.

Also managed to see Mars and Uranus, which the scope slewed very accurately to and tracked well. I think I had Mars in the eye piece as the new rover landed! Andromeda was also visible, but again a bit too much Moon. I tested the alignment on several named stars which all appeared centrally in the eyepiece. No dew problems again not sure when that will arise.

All in all another good “test flight” of the alignment and tracking, very impressed with the scopes performance and operation. Looking forward to a real work out at the dark sky site.

was able to set up and take down both in about 15mins which doesn’t seem to much of a problem. I also got a small circular dolly for £10 a Aldi to wheel the OTA around to the set up area.

Only frustration is handling the eye pieces and dust covers etc must get a more methodical system sorted out for where to place everything. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Did I mention I love the Telrad ! 😁

Update 335 signatures today just 9665 to go 😬

Just got a CPC925 which is stunning but I upgraded with a 2” Baader visual back and diagonal.

which I think will improve it a bit more. 

I hear that the 925 is also a bit of a legend 

On 22/01/2021 at 18:49, Cosmic Geoff said:

It will not download GPS info if you just turn it on. You have to go into the setup as far as selecting an alignment mode, and then wait, IIRC.

Not been able to do any observing due to weather, Like the rest of us, but today I took the rig outside in the day time and after switching the GPS off and on it burst into life and now links in about fifteen seconds with the site recorded as per google earth so guess it’s working ok.

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

JMI  makes great cases but ££££££££££££ 🙀🙀🙀

https://www.optics-pro.com/carrying-case/jmi-transport-case-for-celestron-cpc-925-and-cpc1100/p,12119

I wouldn’t get away with that one😁

I’ve been looking for a CPC925 carry case that will protect while travelling in the car.

Has anyone got any experience of these types? can’t find too much info on SGL.

Geoptik

Pacific designs

Based or the prices both must be really made by Mercedes Benz 😁

Thanks for any info or experiences