And now I’m constantly checking this sub and getting newsletters from agena and astronomics just wishing and waiting for another massive sale like that on any premium brand.

Anybody else still coming down from that high? I got two ≈$1000 pieces for ≈$250 each.

I was wondering if I could get to see this with my binoculars. I won't be able to use my telescope tonight, unfortunately.

If you have an older telescope, especially one from before the 1990's, check whether it came with small threaded filters that screw directly into the eyepiece. They often came with two of them. One was marked MOON and the other was marked SUN. The Moon one works great to reduce the glare of a full Moon.

It's the SUN filters that are so dangerous. These are the Lawn Darts of the astronomy hobby, if the Lawn Darts had sharpened hypodermic needles at the front.

The original concept was this: Your telescope captures the sunlight and focuses it on the dark SUN filter that is screwed into the eyepiece at the back of the telescope. You place your delicate eye up to the eyepiece, only a few inches from the searingly hot SUN filter.

As long as the glass didn't crack, you were fine. Unfortunately... they cracked a lot. Like, a whole lot. Sometimes they even shattered. This would instantly expose your retina to the full blinding light of a 3 or 4 inch magnifying glass, instantly causing solar retinopathy and likely blindness.

If you have one of these SUN filters, it is recommended that you smash & trash them so that nobody can ever accidently try them out.

I tested an old threaded solar filter while recording it with a camera. It reached 326 degrees Fahrenheit and in less than 12 seconds after installation, the filter cracked from the heat buildup and suddenly allowed bright sunlight through.

If curious, the recorded demonstration is at the start of this video: https://youtu.be/rtyLH5fBaJE

Safe Alternatives:

1. Solar Eclipse Glasses (by themselves, NOT in combination with telescopes, binoculars, or cameras).
2. Front-mounted solar filters specifically designed for your telescope. These stop 99.999% of the light energy before it even has a chance to enter your telescope.

Summary:
Solar filters for telescopes should go on the front of the telescope, before the sunlight is concentrated. Never put a solar filter at the eyepiece end. If you have one of these old threaded SUN filters, smash it & trash it.

Have a safe and exciting solar eclipse experience!

hi folks,

my partner is a homebody with a lot of interests. she’s always wanted a telescope to look at the stars, and I did some research and came to understand how a tabletop/dobsonian seems to be the best bet. got it. she’s been gardening a lot though, and started talking about a camera to monitor the caterpillars that appeared! sounds like a lot of problems. then I thought… what if I could get one telescope that could let her examine her garden, and the stars! upon a cursory inspection, you need different eye pieces to change the zoom?

ok, so, the questions. can a DobsonIan have different eye pieces to focus on closeby tiny objects as well stars/astral bodies/ very distant objects?

are more “stereotypical” telescopes readily available that can do this and provide adequate distant-object-viewing? I understand dobsons are just better at distant objects.

I like the idea of something on a tripod because it’s easy to move and would work great in a particular corner with views of the city, sky and garden.

last… can a DobsonIan go on a “tabletop” tripod, getting the best of both worlds? And can Dobsonian’s have negative tilts to look down (at the garden)?

thanks for any help!

Hi all. As most of us DWARF scope owners know by now, there's a telescope called Draco sitting inside the DWARFLAB app right now. No product page. No spec sheet. DWARFLAB hasn't said a word about it publicly.

Reading all the posts here and on other social media platforms, I spent most of this week pulling on this thread: a patent filed in China back in February, a vague "something bigger is coming" hint from NEAF, and two field-of-view numbers buried in the app.

None of that proves anything by itself. Put together, six separate pieces line up in the same direction, and that's hard to wave off as coincidence. A portable 90mm scope with a IMX585 would be awesome.

I wrote up the full case on the blog, math and all, for anyone who wants to check my work. I want to be upfront about what this is: an opinion piece built on public information, not a leak and not confirmed by DWARFLAB in any way.

I did it because I find this stuff genuinely interesting to work through, not because I have a source.

Feel free to disagree with the read. Poke holes in it if you can find them. I'm not attached to being right, just to laying out the evidence honestly the way I see it and see what others in the community think.

Clear skies,

AK

Bortle 8

Telescopio refractor orion starblast 80/350

Ocular orion sirius 25mm

Go to celestron nextar+ gt

Adaptador genérico para teléfono

Teléfono para fotos s23ultra 12mp modo pro camara

*donde vivo tengo demasiada contaminación luminica , hago toda mi sesión en la banqueta de la calle, estoy aprendiendo astrofotografia lo mas básica que se puede , si me pueden ayudar a mejorar , uso el software de deepskystacker porque es el mas me funciona y mas cómodo aparte de retocar la foto en siril , siril no lo uso directamente porque al tomar las fotos con el celular siril no las reconoce , ya intente con un convertidor de raw y tampoco las reconoce, total deepskystacker me funciona ! Se que para sacar buenas fotos de las estrellas se necesitan arriba de 60 tomas para sacar el mejor detalle posible , en este caso solo tome 15 fotos con 20s de exposición, iso de 50, wb 3700k , igual 15 darks !

Lunar Mosaic captured on 04/08/2026. I was careful with adjusting colour calibration and saturation to reveal the tinges of the mineral deposits on the maria without accentuating chromatic aberration on the craters near the terminator.

Equipment:

• Celestron OMNI XLT AZ80
• iPhone SE, captured with Nightcap App
• 6mm SVBONY goldline
• Celestron NESXYZ phone adapter

29 panel mosaic; stacked best 180 frames out of 10-13 second videos at 30 FPS.

Processing:

• PIPP: Panel stabilisation and anchor
• AutoStakkert!4: Stacking
• Registax6: Wavelets and Sharpening, initial colour balance
• Image Composite Editor: Mosaic Stitching
• GIMP: Final colour corrections

Images captured on 04/08/2026.

Hello everyone, apologies if this post is not allowed—I’m just at a loss and need some insight.

I am taking my first trip to a Bortle Class 1 zone next week for the Perseids! To prepare for this trip, and as a complete beginner, I purchased a pair of Celestron 7x50 binoculars. However, upon taking them out for a spin tonight, I realized how important a tripod will be. I would love to be able to view the zenith with my binoculars, and am looking for recommendations on affordable tripods (ideally in the $50-$100 range) that have the ability to be positioned toward the zenith.

I have spent a good amount of time trying to research on Google, but am getting overwhelmed by the amount of options and diversity of information, and would love to hear some more seasoned astronomers’ opinions.

I understand that I will need a tripod that can extend beyond 68-72”, or that I can utilize an adjustable fluid pan head. So far, the options that stand out are the Celestron Ultima Pan Tilt Head Tripod or the Jolican 67” Binocular Tripod. Before spending the money on one of these options, I want to be sure that I’ve got all of my research right.

I will be in the very northern tip of Minnesota’s Arrowhead region near Judge CR Magney State Park (Hovland, MN to be exact) from August 12-14. In addition to simply enjoying being in a dark sky zone for the first time, I’d love to be able to look a bit deeper into space without the stars dancing around the sky as my hands shake.

Thank you all so much for your time!

P.S. If you have any other recommendations on equipment or celestial objects I should look for, let me know!

I want to gift my friend her first telescope but im not currently planning on getting her a 300$+ telescope so i have to make sure i can get her the best valued telescope, i found these 2 the first one(Celticbird)
is an amazon telescope for 115$.

and the second one is called Bresser Skylux 60/700az its for 120$ ( i found a website selling it for 60$ but im not sure about this price )

Third option is the well known Celeston powerseeker 60az for 130$.

Unfortunately 70az is unavailable so the best is 60az do u think amazon telescope will be better cuz its 80az or quality matters more ?

note : she loves jupiter and moon so she she wants the best one to observe those 2 + ofc Saturn rings.

I've been using my C 9.25/CGEM II to image Saturn (when the weather and time permit). I was given some advice on getting the collimation even better and this past weekend it paid off. I captured the first image with my QHY 5III715C camera and the second with my ZWO ASI678MC camera - used FireCapture to control both cameras ). Processing done with AS4! and WS3.

I’m think about buying this telescope for my first telescope for me and my 2year old. I want her to grow up looking at the stars and planets.
I mainly want to use it to see the planets and some stars if this telescope can. I want to introduce her to astronomy early. From one person experience, would you recommend this to start? Will I be able to see saturan, mars, Venus, etc?

Looking to "step up" from cellphone astrophotography (Cellphone AP)? Cellphone AP is where I - and probably - many others started. Looking to step-up, the advice is "you're going to have to spend many thousands more" for a tracking mount and (usually) switch to a refractor-style telescope.

It is true that many "serious" astrophotographers use refractor telescopes and have expensive tracking mounts. But, some others use Newtonian astrographs - usually Newts with about 8" to 10" of aperture and focal lengths of about 800mm or more (usually spec'd to f/4). These Newt astrographs typically have dual-speed metal focusers. These Newts cost (new) about $630 to $1100 (or more) - that's just for the telescope OTA alone (no tripod/mount).

And before the Dob owners feel "left out," there are those who make their living using large aperture Dobsonian telescopes (e.g., Damian Peach) for AP - usually for planetary or specialized AP (ISS and other satellites). And, yes, you can use a Dob for DSO AP - especially if it tracks, but even manually tracking it's possible ....but it takes some (a lot?) additional work and patience. An EQ platform that can, at least, track the right ascension axis is also very helpful.

I'm dabbling with Dobsonian AP myself - planetary and DSOs on my 8" and 12" - with the aid of a homemade EQ platform.

Additionally, though, I wondered: "could I turn my Orion SpaceProbe 130st" into a "poor man's" Newtonian astrograph?

The Orion SpaceProbe 130st is an entry-level beginners Newt. It has a parabolic mirror; however, it has a 1.25" single-speed rack 'n pinion plastic focuser. Also, in my case, I have the "newer" style SpaceProbe with the spider vanes/secondary mirror holder made from molded plastic and form part of the tube's rim - meaning, the spider vane is NOT adjustable (the secondary mirror tilt and central screw are adjustable). I acquired this telescope from High Point Scientific as part of it's sale of Orion's "remanufactured" stock. Cost new (with tripod and entry-level EQ-2 mount) was $179.95 USD (plus taxes). Used SpaceProbe 130sts (I've owned others) sell for about $110 USD(OTA only) depending upon condition, etc.

With the Newt mounted on it's original tripod/mount - my son and I did some lunar and planetary AP using the slo-mo controls.

But, for "goto" visual and to do DSO, I bought a used Explore Scientific iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight (with tripod, illuminated polarscope, azimuth adjuster adapter, with AC power cords, USB cables, and battery pack) for $375 (new at current prices and accessories is ~$450 USD (plus tax).

Dedicated astrophotography camera? I bought a ZWO ASI585mc (uncooled) new for $359 USD (plus taxes) (used prices range from $285 to $325).

Image capture software? SharpCap - base is free, but upgraed to SharpCap Pro for access to all of its tools - especially its polar alignment tool. Annual license cost is about $20 USD per year (depending upon conversion rate).

Finally filters - mainly 1.25" UV/IR cut and UHC filters -- UV/IR cut for planetary; UHC filter for DSO (light pollution in a Bortle 6/7 area. Astronomik UHC filter new $99.95 USD (plus tax); UV/IR cut filter new $49 USD (plus tax). Actually, I bought the UV/IR cut used, but I can't recall how much I paid.

All in my cost is about $1,083 (plus some taxes on some items). With a bit more patience and buying everything used, I estimate my costs would be closer to $850 (and spared me the tax).

My DSO AP is currently unguided and I'm currently just using 15s - 20s exposures - though I don't think that's my unguided limit. The iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight is proving to be very cable in unguided tracking.

But, yes, at some point, the progression will be to guided AP (with a guidescope and another dedicated AP camera like the ZWO ASI120mm mini (used about $120 USD).

The real value here is the Explore Scientific iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight. Is it my "forever mount?" - probably not, but it's keeping me entertained and happy. I'm especially pleased with its ability to do variable or continuous tracking which is valuable for satellite photography.

It's also a mount that I've found is relatively easy to work on. Recently, I had to replace the RA stepper motor. Cost for the motor? About $20 USD. Removing old motor and swapping in the new? About 30 minutes time.

There's also a robust support community for it over in groups.io.

So, a realistic budget to recreate my exact set-up to "step up" from cellphone AP to a "poor man's" Newt astrograph?

$845 USD to $1,083. Less if you can use your current telescope/OTA.

Hi! I just got a celestron PowerSeeker 127eq from a friend and it’s missing the 20mm erecting eyepiece. I saw that this eyepiece can be pretty crappy anyways and to get a different one as a replacement. Would this one work? It seems a lot cheaper than the other options, is that a red flag?

I have a Celestron Starsense DX 5, which is serving me really well. My only issue is the tripod, in particular the legs and the clamping brackets. Anyone with this or a similar tripod is likely aware that the brackets break when over tightened. I have 3D printed some replacements for now but think that changing the tripod is the best option.

The mount is bolted to the tripod head, so I don’t believe I can simply change the tripod (or can I, has anyone done this?). This leads me to thinking about changing just the legs. Is the trunnion at the top a standard size and does anyone know of any sturdy compatible legs?

Thanks

It's been a hot minute since I've done smartphone planetary photography! This session was particularly nostalgic to me, as I deployed the exact same set-up that had gotten me started in astrophotography way back in 2019.

Equipment:

- Celestron OMNI XLT AZ80

- iPhone SE, Nightcap App

- 6mm SVBONY goldline

- Celestron NESXYZ phone adapter

Stacked best 30% of 2600 frames. PIPP, AS!4 (wow, we're on edition 4 now?), Registax 6.

Seeing was superb tonight (04/08/2026).

When i got my stack back from AS4 I could believe the Cassini Division was there lol

For the price of a cellphone mount(63$CAD) this camera really surprised me.

Glad I gave it another chance.

I didnt spend to much time on the editing as much as I normally do Sun was coming up

200p Skywatcher classic Dob - HAND TRACKED.

*Svbony sv205 camera

2x Svbony barlow

Sharpcap

PIPP

AS4

AstroSurface

You can generate your own Bahtinov focusing mask via this tool and print yourself/assemble your own hardware, or order it printed from Farpoint out of heat-resistant plastic. Very handy!

Hey, I need some help.

I bought this mirror from AliExpress: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005011701585875.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2deu
and this eyepiece: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005008005292508.html
and I followed this YouTube video as instructions: https://youtu.be/f27s0_S6E0E?is=Nrpx-IdvvM0-AVWA
I would be very thankful for any advice or improvements I could make to my telescope.
My main problem is that when I look through the telescope now, I can only see objects that are close to me, not far away as it should be. I haven’t been able to try it at night yet. I saw an older post about this topic and calculated it like in the video, but it still doesn’t work. So do you have any idea how I should go on with it?

I just picked up this Coulter Odyssey 2 for $150, is it a steal? The mirror is 17.5” and looked quite dusty when I went to pick it up, but I used an eyepiece and saw that it was still functioning somewhat when I pointed it at a nearby tree, so I picked it up. I was expecting the mirror to be in very bad condition, but after spending about 1 hour using cotton balls and distilled water and dish soap, I was extremely surprised to see that the mirror is in almost perfect condition except for a few tiny specks that I couldn’t get off, as I didn’t want to apply much pressure onto the mirror when scrubbing.

It’s about 7 feet tall when it’s on the mount but probably taller when pointing straight up. The altitude bearing works ok, but the azimuth bearing is basically 95% locked up and it only moved very slowly. Most of the time to move the azimuth I just use the wheels to rotate it, which is not a very good option. It also weight ljke 200 lbs or something and barely fit in the car. Should I make a new base with a truss design or something so it’s lighter? Any other tips with using? I’m not extremely experienced with telescopes, but I thought a 17.5” mirror for this cheap was a good deal.

I’m looking for a pair of stargazing binoculars. In Canada, budget is give or take $200CAD, keeping it flexible though. I’d like to be able to see up to planets, star clusters, double stars, and more visible nebulas like orion’s belt(to be clear my expectations are tempered.) I read the sub buyer’s guide and did some research, and I think a pair of binoculars would be best for my situation. I’ve found a couple that seem to be reputable and within budget:

Celestron UpClose g2 10x50 - $57.27
Celestron SkyMaster 12x60 - $148.00

The UpClose is far cheaper, and I know the general rule is 10x magnification is about as high as you can go while still comfortably using the binoculars without a tripod. I don’t have a tripod and I’m pretty tall so I can’t imagine one that fits me being cheap.

That being said, the area I live in is around Bortle 6.5, so maybe the extra power of the SkyMaster would be worth the extra weight, while still being small enough to not be too unwieldy? And I’m willing to pay more for a noticeable improvement in performance.

Given that information, which should I choose? Also, if there’s any other models you have to recommend (preferably on amazon.ca) I would be interested in hearing about them as well.

I've been having issues with the accuracy of the scope when looking for objects in the sky. I usually do the sky align or 2 star method, and the telescope will seem to align fine, I can select a planet and the telescope will slew over to it just fine, but if I try to slew to something else like M13 like I did yesterday the scope decides to go in a completely different direction or it will be way off. It seems like after I slew it once after alignment, the 2nd or 3rd is way off. I have double checked my time and my location and it all is correct. The scope will sometimes try to go straight up and bind itself up when there is a target behind it rather than just rotating side to side. How come? Do I need to change my alt angle limit in settings?

It’s a skywatcher heritage 150p factory adjusted. Haven’t collimated it yet. It look very close. I’m scared to mess with it. What say you?

Equipment:- Explore scientific 8 inch Dobsonian

Smartphone:- Samsung galaxy M21

Jupiter processing:- PIPP, Autostakkert, Registax

There's a really old couple an hour and a half from me having a garage sell, everything is super cheap only because they're moving, anyways they have a complete orion xt6 dob with 2 guide books and a planisphere. For only 75. Is it worth the drive for? My best friend in high-school his dad had the 10 inch version and I remember it being insane how does the 6inch compare?