bosun21

I just bought the Altair 24mm UFF and for £30 cheaper than the SL I will happily accept the extra 100g. I don't think my AZ-EQ6 will complain much.

Yes it's plastic I believe. The R&P focuser can take more weight than a Crayford however the Crayford is smoother for visual observing in my opinion. R&P focusers are by far the best for astrophotography where there can be a weighty load on the focuser with all the accessories that can be required.

The 585 is a great camera for planetary imaging with the ROI I was capturing at about 180fps. It's good for lunar with the larger sensor allowing a larger surface area of the moon to be imaged. It also has good IR sensitivity for when using an IR pass filter. While the seeing and the Jetstream being constant sources of irritation and hindrance I am now well and truly hooked on planetary imaging and EAA. I started off planetary imaging last year with a 150 Maksutov and the ASI585MC. I was capturing at f12 which is under the recommended f14.5 for my 2.9 pixel size. I captured this image on my second ever attempt coming from being a 100% visual observer. I now added a ASI462MC which is even better in the near IR however the 585 wins in my assessment.

Not an easy choice between the two. I would go for the GSO and forfeit the great altitude bearings on the Bresser. The Crayford focuser on the GSO is dual speed as standard whereas the Bresser requires a mod costing about £100. The finder scope on the Bresser is poor quality imo and is a straight through 6x30. The GSO has a decent quality 8X50 RACI. The GSO also has a cooling fan fitted as standard as well. Saying that the Bresser is £120 more expensive to start with, plus £100 for the focuser upgrade not to mention the 8X50 RACI finder and fan prices it's an easy choice for me. The fact that the Bresser could be mounted on an EQ mount (once you buy a dovetail bar of course) is a plus however very few people actually go ahead and do it.

Can you see the screws and measure them easily with the existing saddle still in place? Post a photo of it.

Measure the distance between the mounting screws on the mount that secures the existing saddle in place. Once you have these then you can look at the ADM and Geoptik saddles that are sold both at FLO and RVO.

You need the 2" extension 👇 https://skywatcher.com/product/2-eyepiece-holder-for-dob-50mm/

Went out with the,180 tonight to do a bit of lunar observing. I was also going to capture a few videos of it and produce a couple of images. Unfortunately the sky didn't play along with my plan. The seeing was really poor here and the surface had the underwater effect at anything above 130x. The rest of the sky was the same with the added detriment of the moon washing everything out. I just had a quick tour of the clusters and a few doubles and called it a night much earlier than I had initially planned.

Out early tonight for a bit of lunar before it's obscured by a neighbours trees.

Having owned both the 127 and 150 Maks and now the owner of a 180 I would say that the difference between the 127 and 150 is difficult to notice visually. The weight difference between the 127 and 150 is substantial however and they wouldn't work well on lightweight mounts like the GTi etc. The 150 would require an EQ5 at a minimum or something like a Skytee II if you want alt/az. Both are great lunar telescopes.

I also saw it the same night as you. It was a very bright blue. I put it down to be a drone of some sort as it changed direction as it neared the horizon. Whereabouts in the UK are you?

A Maksutov. The size would depend on what you class as heavy.

The second photo shows the extension piece correctly fitted. It doesn't go in any further. It looks like a 35mm extension you have there. The 2" Skywatcher extension that comes with the scope is actually 47mm. You are 12mm short if this is the case. Using 1.25" eyepieces also require an extension. The Skywatcher one is the same as the 2" ie 47mm.

The Altair 24mm UFF is 428g without eyecups.

DPD and the postie deliveries today. A 24mm UFF eyepiece, a Baader SkySurfer III and a finder shoe.

What make of dobsonian do you have? The Skywatcher dobsonian should come with two extensions. 1 x 2" and 1x 1.25". Do you have a photo of the extension that you are trying to fit?

Nice images Kostas. I was out at the same time with the intention of imaging the moon as well. However I should have started earlier in the fading light as the moon was just disappearing behind some trees. I need to get my actual skyline put on Stellarium ( once I find out how to do it).

Did you notice any difference between the older 10nm and newer 7.5nm continuum filter Michael?

That's my sequence also. PIP initially to stabilise and eliminate poor frames then AS4 for stacking and percentage of best frames to stack and finally Registax for the wavelets. I have also started using Astro surface which can do it all however I only use it for final sharpening.

Another excellent capture of the ISS. It's not the capturing itself, but the actual tracking that puts me off attempting this. How many frames did you capture Kostas? and how do you intend to try and track it? Your image does give me a lot of incentive though, showing what is possible.

You should only use one helical focuser and that should be on the top for the eyepiece. Remove the reducer completely. You can then fit a T2 - 1.25" eyepiece holder and using the cameras supplied 1 25" nosepiece simply fit to the flip mirror. The nosepiece can also be used for the fitting of an UV/IR cut filter which is required for planetary imaging. Or a IR pass filter if imaging in IR. No off axis guider for planetary imaging. You could also screw the camera directly onto the mirror with a T2 - T2 adapter but I prefer the nosepiece as it allows me to rotate the camera and fit filters.

Time for breakfast I should think.

A warm welcome to SGL👋.

You want to make a cover for the scope from thick card and cut a circle that will fit inside one of the quadrants between the spider veins. Cover the circle with solar film and that is more than enough for your 14" dobsonian.

Could the fact that some nights it's there and others it's not be the optics pinching with temperature changes from night to night?