OctiCups

Yup, I plan on buying a 2nd hand SCT of at least 8” or more for planetary. They come up regularly on eBay etc so I’ll give it a few years and then add one to the arsenal!

Okay, thanks for al the advice; I had anticipated that people might suggest going for a Newtonian as a first scope for AP might be a touch difficult. I’ve been looking at a couple of refractors - the Explore Scientific ED80, a Williams Optics Zenithstar 73 or the SkyWatcher Evostar 80ED. Any thoughts? Ref the imaging camera, I have a Sony a6000 - would that be effective? What other cheaper (ebay auction type) DSLRs would make a good option? Canon EOS 600/750D? And I’m all for 2nd hand purchases! I’ll ditch the EAF in favour of a Bahtinov Mask for now. Thanks for the great guidance so far!

Morning all! Here's a rough precis of my planned setup (for mixed AP - DSO and basic planetary... I'll get a 9.25 SCT in a few years for proper planetary!): - SW 130PDS - SW HEQ5 Pro - ZWO ASI224MC - ZWO Mini Finder Guider & ASI120MM Mini Guidescope Package - ZWO EAF & Hand Controller - Baader MkIII Coma Corrector - Celestron 2 x Barlow - any recommendations? - Planning to automate as much as I can through an Astroberry or laptop. My questions/unknowns: - The 130PDS has a back-focus of 55mm; I believe the 224MC has a back focus of 12.5mm ish? I assume I'll need spacers to achieve the appropriate distance? - Are there any issues with using a Coma Corrector in conjunction with a Barlow? - IR Cut Filters - are they useful for colour cameras? - How important/valuable is an EAF and Guidescope at this (early) stage in learning AP? If you had to pick one now, what would you pick? - Is the ASI224MC the best camera for my needs at this time? Should I be looking at Mono cameras with a filter wheel to begin with? Looking forward to hearing your advice! All the best, Matt

Morning all! Been browsing the forums for a while but have only created an account today now I have a better idea in my head of what setup I want. I've always had an interest in astronomy ever since I was a young kid - I remember seeing Jupiters moons through my fathers refractor birdwatching telescope, and faintly making out the shape of Saturn's rings on really clear nights. I've now got my own kids - two young daughters, the eldest of whom, at 4 years old, can already name the planets in order and tell you facts about them! So now I'm looking at getting into AP to nurture that interest of hers! Looking forward to learning from you all, Thanks, Matt