mark7331

My son told me he keeps hearing me say Wow! when I'm outside with the scopes. It's exciting and even though sometimes things don't go according to plan you still get to see amazing and humbling sights. And it doesn't matter how many times you've bashed your head on the scope - it's all part of the fun

Welcome to SGL Julie. Would love to hear about the southern skies too and just like Trillian I don't think I'll get the chance myself (my dogs won't let me go too far). It'd be good to have some first hand reports though. Clear skies! Mark

Thanks for the comments Olly. The honest answer to the 1x20 question is that I don't totally understand the process and am experimenting. My previous CCD was quite poor - more noise than signal - so I was blown away by the detail the 314 collected. I've just gone back to the images and built a new RGB with less processing and left some of the background noise in and hey presto there's IC 1296 clearly in the background. What a camera. As you point out I think I need more data. Many thanks Mark

Oh no! That happened to me with my 300P - had to wait an extra week. It so frustraiting but you'll forget all about it when you're unpacking your shiny new scope.

Yes it does come on an alt-az but I have an NEQ6 with a modified saddle plate which has allowed me to use pretty much any scope. The 6SE was my first scope and is the one I tend to use when trying new kit or experimenting because it's so small and light - especially when the clouds are lurking...

Hello Mayberts. Welcome to SGL. I hope you enjoy your new scope!

Thanks again everyone and thanks Jase for your kind words - I was a little nervous about posting it but thanks to your comment :-) I've posted in the DSO image section. Clear skies to everyone.

I've had an Atik 314L+ for 2 and a bit weeks and only 1 partly clear night. I took this image of M57 comprised of L 1x20min, RGB 3x5mins and decided to add 1x20min of Ha(7nm) just because the sky was still clear. I imaged using my 6" SCT because my SPX200 wasn't ready. Guided by a (now replaced) 80mm Refractor using LVI SmartGuider. AstroArt for capture and processing.

Simply stunning image.

That is an amazing image. It's now on my "must do" list. Fantastic. Mark

Hi Neil, Welcome to SGL!

Hi Sarah and welcome to SGL. "Astronomy Now" and "The Sky at Night" magazines are both very good - they have maps to show you around the night sky and what you can expect to see this month. You can find both in Smiths. Have fun. Mark

Binoculars are a good idea (and a cup of tea). Armed with both I usually have a look at the universe (planning my next session) but sometimes go online to check if I need any more kit. Just in case... I don't think I'd want to do unattended sessions - half the fun is sitting under the stars and being exhausted the next day.

Hi and welcome to SGL. My first scope was a NexStar 6SE with GPS and it's a great scope - got me hooked the first time I looked through it! I still using it now and even do some imaging with it. It's my old faithfull. That said the guys are right - the aperture is everything. Six months after buying the 6SE I had a 12" Newt and the difference was amazing, so if you can, go for the 8". One extra bit of kit that I found made life easier is an Ambubble levelling bubble (you can get them at FLO at about £20) - it sits between the tripod and the mount so you can balance after you attach the sc

Thank you all for your kind words and warm welcome. It's been said before but astronomers are very nice people. I am planing on reporting my experiences with the new camera to SGL and will compare with my previous imaging attempts. From my one night of clear sky I have an image taken with the 314 of M57. It's comprised of 20min L, 3x5mins each of RGB and 20min of Ha. It's not perfect but my son had a print made of it and gave it to me the other day. I didn't know it was my photo at first and now it's on my study wall. Result: one really happy dad. Then he asked me for a new laptop! O

Hello to everyone at SGL. My name is Mark and I've been hooked since a year last October when I bought my first scope (Celestron NexStar 6SE) and saw Jupiter for the first time. Now on any clear night you know where I'll be. SGL has been the place I've turned to for advice so I thought I should join and take part. I've been building up my set-up and have just bought an Atik 314L+ but guess what? Since it arrived two weeks ago the sky has been cloudy (with the exception of one night). The big problem now is that I can't remember what the days are for...