bosun21

Yes that’s the one I was looking at as well. I have a cheap one from Amazon that works okay, but it’s shaky and a real pain in the proverbial to align properly.

Did you buy it from the US? The ones on Amazon are £90!

I agree with you about it apart from the infinite universe. If it is indeed infinite then what about the multiverse which many astrophysicists talk and theorize about ? This is too much to comprehend in the morning.

Time is not a physical substance. How does that work?

The best nights seeing I have had seem to be when there is a low fog forming. Fog seems to only form when the air is nice and still. Is this only me?

Define time and gravity? Neither have any substance to them. If we are going to go along those lines we can say because you are thinking about it your thoughts are in it.

My way of thinking is that the definition of nothing is a vacuum in which every solitary atomic particle has been removed basically leaving nothing 🤔

Stu take the side covers off your diagonal and check that they aren’t silver metal. When I had this diagonal I had to paint mine mat black. I don’t know if they have now rectified this issue as it caused a lot of reflection issues.

Fantastic captures Mark , a very time consuming labour of love on your part but with outstanding results. Well done 👍

You can buy the EQ5 pro which is go to or you can buy the standard EQ5 and upgrade it with the full go to kit when you are ready.

The EQ5 mount with an RA motor is far cheaper than the HEQ5 and it’s far more steady than the Alt/Az mounts you are looking at.

Despite the obvious love for the alt/az mounts I found my Starfield was great on an EQ5 pro go to mount. It handles the weight easily. I am now on my second Starfield and this time went for the EQ5 with the Enhanced dual motor kit. Again this works great but I’m now looking to upgrade to full go to with the upgrade package.

I just leave my Starfield on my EQ5 mount fully assembled with a plastic dust sheet over it. It’s really quick to set up and the finder is always spot on. I use an Oklop bag if I am traveling with it, although if I’m going to a dark site then I’ll be taking my 12” dobsonian.

For imaging you are better off without a diagonal in the light train. If you must then you should go for a screw on diagonal for rigidity.

It doesn't work like that. It's down to the field stop.

When you reassembled it you should place say a credit card in between the mirror clips and the mirror and tighten the clips until it starts to grip the card. Just tight enough so that you can still pull the card out but feel the friction of the clamp. Otherwise the mirror will move when slewing from a low target to one near the zenith.

I will definitely give my feedback on the next clear night. Hopefully without a bright moon washing the sky out.

A delivery today of a SVbony 3-8mm zoom eyepiece. I decided that I had to try one for myself.

You will have to teach me how to employ this new skill you’ve acquired 😂

An unexpected clear night so back out for a quick session as I have to go out at 10.30pm. Started out with Castor to acquire good focus on the double. Then I dropped down to the Beehive cluster (M44) which I spent a little time with taking it in. I started with a 30mm then changed to the 17.5mm Morpheus. Then down slightly to M67 again using the same pair of eyepieces. Quite pleasing views that weren’t completely washed out due to the moon still being relatively low. I now slewed eastward to M13 and M92. I now used the 9mm Morpheus for both of these globular. The cores were nice and bright but the outer stars were being subdued by the moonlight again. Now to the North and Caroline’s Rose(NGC7789) with the 17.5 & 12.5mm Morpheus. This is a losing battle with the moon in the sky. I decided to finish with Mars and M35. I viewed Mars with a 6.5mm Morpheus barlowed 2.25x for 247x. I pulled the large hood on my jacket over the eyepiece to eliminate every vestige of light and sat down to spend time with Mars. It’s diminishing in size now and this will probably be the last time of viewing it until it comes back around. As my eyes adjusted I could just make out some albedo features. I tried upping the magnification but the seeing just wasn’t up to it tonight. I have to forget about M35 as I have spent too much time on Mars and have to get ready to go out. Any unexpected clear night is surely a bonus, and if you can grab it.

Nice image of Venus and it will only get better as you add the respective filters into the train.

Courtesy of @Stu1smartcookie, Three Baader Classic Orthos delivered by the postie. The 6mm, 10mm and the 18mm. I’ve been meaning to try these on the moon for a while now.

My apologies Peter, I must have not read back far enough. I need to stop that 😂

Peter how does a 0.63x reducer give 965mm focal length? I have always worked it out as 2350 x 0.63 = 1480mm. Am I missing something?

My two cents worth is for you to buy a Stella Lyra 8” dobsonian for your backyard and a 127 Maksutov go to for your trips to the dark sites. Both together they come in under your budget. If you so desire you can get a quality EQ platform made for you as I did. Whilst the Virtuoso is a decent enough scope it requires a light shroud and the focuser is helical which would struggle with a camera or DSLR. It would also need a platform to sit it on which you would also need to carry the 100m from your car.