bosun21

Got it 👍.

So you mean there's a pin protruding out the bottom of the mount head that fits into the hole on the top of the tripod?

Looks like a case of bad seeing and atmospheric turbulence to me. I have saw similar images while attempting a star test under such poor conditions only for them to resolve on a subsequent night with decent seeing. I would definitely wait for a better nights seeing before exploring the dodgy mirrors avenue. You said that the mirror clips are loose, but just how loose? They should still be able to hold the primary in position albeit without placing any undue pressure on the mirror surface.

If your tripod doesn't have a pin fitted then those screws wont move anything.

How are you adjusting the azimuth movement during polar alignment if your tripod doesn't have a north pin fitted?

You appear to be off to a flying start. A warm welcome to SGL.

What an absolute beauty of a telescope. I can only dream of owning such a piece of optical craftsmanship.

My next acquisition is an AZ-EQ6 Pro mount. It's a heavy beast but they are rock steady. Just need to get a couple of screws to fit the ADM saddle to its mounting puck. Anyone by any chance know what size they are?. Also a Baader Steeltrack focuser for my 250mm go to dobsonian.

I never go observing without my blackout drape. It makes so much of a difference for DSO's.

I bet that must have really bugged you!

Great little telescope and I also recommend the PTFE tape for the helical focuser. There are numerous videos on YouTube showing how this simple modification is done. I'm afraid Saturn is basically gone from the night sky now until later in the year. M42 however is a nice target to view as the scopes first light.

I would choose a Maksutov over an achromatic refractor especially for the planets. You will also have the added benefit of tracking and go to. I am one who hates CA while observing and a Maksutov will provide near apo performance.

According to the advert this is for the Vixen/EQ5 mount which means that it will be able to be used with the HEQ5 mount head. The securing bolt is M10 on both the EQ5 and HEQ5.

I actually forgot about the remote trigger while ordering mine due to not using a DSLR. To my surprise they sent me two. I put this down to a sincere gesture of across the pond kindness rather than an error 😗.

Do you have a link for it as i can't see it on Amazon

The small dust cap on my 9x50 RACI. I have a ton of spare dust caps but nothing that even comes close to that size.

My friend has the 210 and he allowed me to borrow it for 9 months while he was abroad working on a contract. He asked me to ensure that I placed the fan correctly. He explained that he used to get pollen depositing on the primary over the course of summer evenings. I have actually noticed a similar thing with a classical cassegrain regarding pollen while using a fan for cooling. He had small elasticated paper socks that fitted over the secondary mirror to protect it while cooling.

I have found it better to draw the air up and out of open end of the scope as it prevents the chance of blowing any dust or particulate matter onto the mirror. Both will have the same cooling properties.

Very nice Kostas. Good to see you coming to grasps with the collimation. Using an ADC will help a good deal when the planets return. I just set the ADC starting point with the horizon and overexpose my image then adjust the levers until any fringing of false colour is greatly reduced or eliminated altogether.

First time seeing it was with a friends 7" Intes Maksutov from bortle 5.

It's a bit hit and miss where I live I'm afraid. I am waiting for an item that was shipped Friday afternoon 24hr next day and as yet still hasn't arrived. Regarding items i have bought from FLO with 24hr tracked they generally take an additional 24hr to arrive. It's just something that I have gotten used to over the years.

I just bought the Svbony 685nm IR pass filter from Amazon for £19.99. Works just fine for planetary imaging and is also used by other imagers.

Where do you live? The moon?

I'm in the EQ camp, always driven or full go to. The only scope I have that is Alt/Az is my 250mm dob and that is also go to. I tried buying a Skytee but quickly sold it on as Iike Michael i couldn't be doing with the faff of manually tracking especially in both axis. I cut my astro teeth on EQ mounts which undoubtedly plays a large part in my preference.

Same here.