Ags

Yes, thinking a lot about buying a printer. Maybe next year after we move house.

I think the 10" classical Cassegrain would look great in an observatory.

That sounds like borderline illegal product design! You can't factory reset it? After 4 phones it is a dead parrot? I am going to get the EU to ban this ludicrous e-waste (after I have bought one).

Well, I'm sure the optics are fine, but I have my doubts about the focuser and the mount, but most importantly there is a StarSense module attached to the Celestron AZ70. Is StarSense really that great?

Welcome back Louise! It might not be what you are looking for exactly, but I recently invested in an ultra portable setup based on the HEM15 and AsiAir Mini. Both are really impressive and the Air would be my recommendation for armchair imaging. Coupled with a small scope and guidescope and a lightweight tripod, the setup is an easy lift. The Air can do all sky polar aligning so you may not need Polaris.

Interesting.... isn't that however the same as saying "we are developing a new stacking algorithm"?

I hear there are some AMAZING telescopes coming out in anno 2243 😃

Really superb!

I find the volcanic activity fascinating but I feel bad this eruption is close to people's homes. Apparently the errupting may continue for centuries in sporadic outbursts throughout the Reykjavik region. I would like a good clear look at the lava seas on Io...

Yes, the CC8 is EUR 300 cheaper, and importantly I can fit a carry handle to the losmandy bar. The Skymax comes with a finderscope which I don't need and a couple of worthless eyepieces. What be these mods of which you speak?

I have a 90 mm refractor with 500 mm focal length, so the 130 PDS would just be an evolution on that, with a bit more speed, a bit more resolution and bit better stars (in theory).

Yes, it is very important to cap your finderscope too

I just have the feeling the C6 doesn't do anything particularly well. The newt would do DSOs better, and the Skymax/CC8 would do planets better.

Thinking once more of selling my C6, assuming I can get a fair price for it. I'd replace it with a 130PDS, it would work better as for DSO photography, and it would be a nice little widefield visual sweeper on an alt-az mount. The remaining cash would go towards either a Classical Cassegraine 8" or a Skymax 180. The Mak is a bit lighter, easier to balance, with easier collimation and a sealed tube, which might be good as I am moving to a coastal area. The CC8 has a little more aperture and possibly a visual edge...

Ugly? Ugly? I think they are beautiful and well made, particularly in comparison to the earlier LVs and NLVs. Morpheus - now that's what I call ugly (except for the eye lens which is gorgeous).

Or.... StarSense and EQ platform. I'm thinking hard about this option.

NexStar 4SE - ten years was long enough. ST80 - turns out CA does bother me. Skymax 102 - not sure why I sold this one. 150PDS - Not its fault it was undermounted.

Welcome!

Yes, I slightly oversized the mask to account for manufacturing tolerances. I will glue on some felt to make the fit snug. I was considering making the 70 mm mask an insert for the 80 mm, should be doable.

I uploaded the design to the Dutch site I initially found, and the price is pretty competitive there, but less choice of materials. I see it's possible to print in flexible plastics. I have some ideas for end-caps!

This is just the 80 mm mask, printed in ABS as a test. I have a few more projects to work on - a 70 mm mask, various focusing aids, a solar finder. If only I could cut the shipping costs... Looks like ordering a 3D print is as cheap as ordering some photo prints! Only problem with online printing is the need to get the model right first time.

Printed via CraftCloud. The object cost EUR 3.50 - and multiple times that for shipping.

I have bought my scopes to complement each other so going down to one is hard to imagine. I suppose it would be the ZS66, simply because it is the lightest and most fun.

Drawing my thing in tinkercad:

I think you're right, I was thinking of the Megrez 88.