Marc1964

@Don PensackMany thanks for the thoughtful response, appreciated.

I think the collimation of the Mak is fine, but will check. Not entirely certain that it can be collimated easily (old blue Skywatcher Skymax 90). 

I hadn't considered that at 12mm I may be pushing the limit of the scope. It is F13.8 (I think) so I should rethink my choices. 

Given this, I don't have any eyepiece between my 32mm and the 12 mm, so given your comments, I should look at something between 15 - 18mm.

Hi, I have a Celestron Omni Plossl 32mm eyepiece which is pretty good, but was wondering if it could be improved (budget £75). Also have a 12mm BST which I'm not that impressed with in the Mak (works well in my refractor) again any recommendations for an upgrade (9-12mm considered) similar budget? 

First light with a used Skywatcher Mak 90 I bought some time ago but only just set up. Around 1830 managed to get a beautiful view of Jupiter and four moons with a 32mm plossl. Colours were startlingly good. Unfortunately only managed five minutes before it disappeared behind some houses. Next up was the moon. First time funnily that I have spent time looking at it, but figured that the Mak would be a good tool. Was not disappointed. Using a Celestron moon filter, had some lovely sharp views across the border between the light and dark. Don't have a moon map, but enjoyed tonight enough to get one! 

Interesting limitations of the Mak90. Very poor at looking at Pleiades, which was disappointing. Be interesting to see the comparison with a 127. 

21 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

So the postman has been busy again ( got to get in before the next strike ) 

Actually it was the DPD man who made me wait right until the end of the working day before delivering an ADM clamp for my skytee 2 and a nice little Bresser 127 Mak which I have been busy upgrading with a 2"baader clicklock and a decent red dot finder of course the obligatory clouds were present in the box zzzzz

Be interested in your review of the Bresser Mak... 

Hi, thanks for all the contributions. I must admit that I thought the consensus would be for the mirror. I will try the Celestron prism and see how that performs against the supplied SW one. 

A used Skywatcher 90 mm Mak has come into my possession, with what appears to be the standard skywatcher 45° prism diagonal. 

Do I stick with a prism design or go mirror, and why? Any relatively inexpensive recommendations would be welcome! 

Thanks in advance... 

When I first joined the forum looking for advice on what to buy to start me off in this hobby John was one of the first to respond. He was very gracious with his time in giving considered responses to questions and I saw that he would always try to give good consistent advice and support to new members. The forum will be the poorer for his passing. 

My condolences to the people who knew him personally on this forum and also to his family. 

I bought my first scope in 2018, a Skywatcher 90 /900 refractor with the not very good bundled AZ mount. Picked it up off Facebook Marketplace for £60. The older couple I bought it off had only used it twice to look at the moon, which is a real shame because it is not a bad performer at all. Ideal starter, but unwieldy with the AZ mount (AZ2 maybe?). Looking at Saturn and Jupiter for the first time was amazing, but the real eye opener for me were the Pleiades which glowed blue like sapphires. Absolutely beautiful. 

4 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Been too ill to concentrate on reading or anything else. Cough and chest has not been too bad but feel like I had the bejeezes knocked out of me. Dizzyness, aching legs, extreme fatigue, fever, shivers, night sweats, slightly abnormal oxygen and high blood glucose. ☹️ Feeling slightly better today. I'm thankful for three vaccine jabs. Imagining the potential illness effects without that protection makes me shudder.

 

Covid is foul, still fatigued after three months. Get well soon, hope you make a full recovery! 

I'm so pleased to read this. I thought it was just me being more incompetent than normal... 

Weather forecast in East Sussex is not conducive to any sort of viewing this week which is disappointing as I have a week off work.... 

Enjoy reading this thread. Got me wondering if anyone has used the Skywatcher Evoguide 50 ED as a RTF scope (purely visual) and what opinions were about it? 

A late night in the garden last night led to me sighting the beehive cluster for the first time. Exciting for me as it is one of those that I have somehow never found before... Went to Birling Gap tonight which I can confirm has lovely dark skies, but a chilly wind tonight! 

Orion was glorious, the dust was so clear. Best sighting ever. Pleiades were gorgeous in the BST 12 mm, which is undoubtedly my favourite eyepiece. I do want a 6 or 8mm now though... 

Sweeping around Orion was fun, enjoyed Lambda Orionis and the three HD stars below. Then went across to 'Hail Hydra' and tried unsuccessfully to see all the stars along the body. Had a good look at the stars around Mirfak in Perseus which were startlingly clear. Finished up back at the beehive because having found it once I wanted to prove to myself that I could find it again... 

Evening curtailed by youth in cars with headlights on and loud music... Sometimes being on own stargazing is a pain, 15 minutes after they arrived I felt that I had to pack up and go. C'est la vie I suppose... 

Hello... 

After being determined not to get into astrophotography I have the above camera sitting on a cupboard tempting me down the dark, expensive route... 

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either this camera and astrophotography using micro 4/3?

Some constraints /thoughts 

1. I cannot afford an EQ mount this year. That's in next year's budget.

2. I would like to start just by taking pictures of the moon and deep sky. My kit is a 90/900 achromat and a Skywatcher mak90. 

3. No budget this year for dslr! 

4. I need a T2 adapter for the Lumix. Any recommendations of decent well made adapter? 

Anything else I should think of? 

Marc

Tuesday's package from FLO did not just contain cloud and rain, but also a very exciting L-bracket. 

I can tell you are all really excited by this, so here it is in all its glory... 

Not the most glamorous or even interesting delivery but it does mean I can now attach my AZ mount to my Horizon tripod.. 

17 hours ago, SuburbanMak said:

Good haul at the Oxfam shop today…

I have the 'Stargazing for Beginners' and it is a surprisingly good book! Very helpful when I first started hobby, and remains useful today... Well, when the clouds permit of course! 

Like many here just going camping in areas with amazing night skies, Dorset, Isle of Skye, the Highlands, Kielder. Staring at the stars at night with suitable beverage. 

First scope was a bit of an impulse buy about three years ago, a Skywatcher 90 /900 on an AZ mount, with the standard OK 25mm and frankly terrible 10mm lens which I picked up from Facebook Marketplace for £75. 

Best spend ever. First time with Jupiter and Saturn was amazing but the beauty of the pleiades was just something else, even through an inexpensive 32mm Celestron Omni Plossl...

Courtesy of @Tiny Clangerthe postman brought me a used TS AZT6. Well packaged and swiftly delivered, a painless transaction.

I'm looking forward to getting this on my Horizon tripod and seeing what difference it will make over the standard issue photographi head. I'm sure my 90/500 will be a lot happier! 

I bought the BST 12mm from FLO in their recent used/returns offers. Was surprised and impressed by the build quality and the size (my Celestron Omni Plossl 10mm looks and feels very weedy next to it). Only really had one viewing session with it on my 90/500 achro. Good detail on Orion Nebula, and the pleiades as well. 

Looking forward to a linger session in a darker aree to really test it out, but initial thoughts are positive enough to put the 18mm amd the 25mm on my wishlist... 

I like my 32mm Celestron omni Plossl, anyone have any views on whether the BST equivalent would represent a worthwhile update? 

I think you have posted in the wrong forum if you want to be stopped from buying new gear... 🤣🤣🤣

I was going to get one of these, but a local Facebook ad with a Skywatcher 90 Mak for £70 attracted my attention.  Will be looking for a good diagonal now... 

2 hours ago, Nik271 said:

I noticed that there is a lot more variety and price competition for red dot sights for guns: they tend to be more robustly made from metal, weatherproof and with larger optical windows. On the negative side their red dots tend to be brighter than necessary for astronomical use.

I just bought a basic gun red dot sight from amazon and will test it under the stars. If it's any good I will post a review of it. 

Sounds like a good plan! The range is quite boggling but it is interesting to see what people opt for. I'm leaning towards the baader option, but the Rigel still appeals... If I strike lucky with my search fot a used 100/102/110 maksutov then I may get both to experiment with 😂

6 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

With a 32mm Plossl EP you get more than a 3 degree field of view already so you only need a finder that points you in the general direction. I recommend a RDF finder, keeps the rig as light as possible.

Light is good... I usually have to transport stuff to get a reasonably good view thanks to my neighbours penchant for outside lighting and two bright streetlights flanking my garden.. 

Any particular RDF that's reasonably well built? 

FLO sales were too tempting.  BST Starguider. 

@Stuthe scope is a Svbony SV48 90/500 refractor. Nice scope, heavier than I thought it would be!