New mount has been commissioned

[pyrasanth]

I received my new mount a few days ago & I am in the process of polar aligning. This is a robotic telescope mount and is completely controlled from software running on a locally connected laptop. I thought I would try a quick calibration run which involves placing 30 or so known stars into the centre of a reticle eyepiece. The software then calculates an offset as to where your mount is from a known true position as to where the star is. The software then calculates a pointing model and uses this as a basis to refine pointing accuracy.

On Saturday morning at about 2.00AM I tried a test by looking for Neptune which showed in the software as being up & viewable. I slewed the telescope from the software interface to the location & could not believe what I saw. Neptune was dead center in the eyepiece. I tried the same with Uranus & again dead centre. This amazed me. I have never seen these 2 planets before & indeed I don't think I could have found them without the help of the new mount, it is truly remarkable. When I have finished the polar alignment using these samples I will create a new pointing model using a CCD camera & plate solving. This relies on photographs being resolved against a database of known stars & producing a far more accurate pointing model from many hundereds of stars on multiple photographs in different parts of the sky.

If you can afford the mount then the Paramount MX+ is amazing. I have a couple of pictures for you to look at of the telescope on its new mount.

Clear skies to you all. I will see if I can grab some pictures of Neptune & Urananus.

[oldpink]

that is one serious piece of equipment

Tried for Uranus the other night myself but as per usual that area of sky was clouded over

[pyrasanth]

that is one serious piece of equipment

Tried for Uranus the other night myself but as per usual that area of sky was clouded over

Well at least you knew where to look. I'd never seen these outer gas giants before last Saturday. The view was not exactly overwhelming as the planets are really small disks even at 2800mm focal length. I was more excited about the achievement of the stunning accuracy of the mount considering that both planets were dropped nearly in the center of a 12.5mm eyepiece with a poor field of view being a reticle eyepiece.

[oldpink]

it wasn't intentional
I was looking at a couple of Galaxy's in the eastern sky when I seen Uranus on CdC about 20 deg from where I was pointing
as I was looking for other targets as the cloud was moving in, if I'd noticed it 30 mins earlier I could have maybe have got my first glimpse of it

[PhotoGav]

You really should have put a warning in the thread title... That is some seriously hardcore astro-p0rn that you have posted there... Those pics are ridiculously revealing... and in plain daylight....

Congratulations on the new kit and may I wish you many hours of clear skies and happy slewing!

And I was just thinking that I was happy with what I have kit wise.......

[pyrasanth]

You really should have put a warning in the thread title... That is some seriously hardcore astro-p0rn that you have posted there... Those pics are ridiculously revealing... and in plain daylight....

Congratulations on the new kit and may I wish you many hours of clear skies and happy slewing!

And I was just thinking that I was happy with what I have kit wise.......

There is nothing wrong with your equipment. I just decided to waste loads of cash.......my wife would be very upset if she knew how much it all costs

[PhotoGav]

Invested... Not wasted! There was a thread on here a while back about 'how to tell the Mrs' and the concept of Wife Dollars was discussed. Thankfully the exchange rate is very favourable at the moment at about £150 to £1 Wife Dollar. My new QSI was well under £100 WD!

And yes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with my equipment. However, the wish list is still growing!

[baggywrinkle]

Very nice set up.

Where did you get the mounts for the Telrad?

I have the SCT 9.25 and would like to do something similar.

[pyrasanth]

Very nice set up.

Where did you get the mounts for the Telrad?

I have the SCT 9.25 and would like to do something similar.

The Telrad is not on a mount so to speak. It is just stuck onto an ADM Rail which can be purchased through a number of retailers. I will be removing the Telrad & putting this on a smaller rail on the side of the telescope as I want to be able to use the rail for a guide scope which is its original intention.

[RichTBiscuit]

I'm new to this forum and your post caught my eye Pyrasanth as I'm am looking into upgrading my kit. I've been imaging using a 90mm f/l refractor with a Canon DSLR on an iOptron IEQ45 for a couple of years and have realised the limitations of this set-up. I've been reading about the Paramount MX+ and it sounds like a fantastic mount! Just wondering where you bought yours from?

[Liquid360]

This isn't my thread but I just purchased a new MX+ from OPT.

[daiwelly]

that mount is one serious bit of kit, I want one but will take a bit of explaining to the other half to justify it !!

[Liquid360]

When I ordered my paramount I was told it would take a month or more. Today I received notice that it'll arrive Thursday!! I could not be more excited!!! Even crazier, the weather looks to be crystal clear and cool. I'm scared.... There is ALWAYS a cosmic price to be paid for such things.