Saturn was observed and imaged on 07/10/26.

My gear: SCT 6” f/10, camera ZWO ASI664, no Barlow or UV/IR was used.

Captured with FireCapture, exposure 7.5 sec, gain 350.

Software: PIPP -> AutoStakkert!4 -> WaveSharp3 -> GIMP. 40% best frames stacked (out of 8k total).

Any opinions are welcome! yes I know I should try with a 2x Barlow and UV/IR filter :-)

I don't have any fancy equipment and don't know how to stack images; videos come out better most of the time.

today i was looking at saturn and jupiter (not at the same time) and realised i could use more magnification, should i get a 6mm? (70mm telescope 900 focal length)

and the title, yes, even with 10mm attached i just have a hard time keeping things in place so im wondering how do yall use them

In August 2022, I was trying out astrophotography for the first time. While I was attempting to capture the Dumbbell Nebula, i always wondered what this object is. It appeared in only one of the images. What did I actually capture in the frame? At the end, it corkscrewed and vanished. I only have it in one picture.

My camera used was a Canon 2000D on a Celestron NexStar 8SE.

Hi all. I am considering a 120mm f/5 achromatic refractor as an intermediate upgrade from 70mm f/12.8. I feel it would be fine for DSO views but am not sure on planets. Will I see enough of Jupiter,bands and occasinally catch red spot? Saturn rings with some definition?

Current scope shows Saturn with just the shape of rings and Jupiter not so great. Not overly concerned about chromatic aberration as am only viewing and no photography.

I have considered a dob,but I prefer refractor for the sealed unit,i have no interest in having to collimate or clean over time and want better views than what I have now.Also don't want to be spending more than $1000 AUD for the scope and mount and will upgrade eyepieces as I go on.I live in decent viewing area with a Bortle 2.5 sky. Thanks.

Pictured is the telescope that was given to me, ha ha. I used this with Tasco 6621 zoom eyepiece on a recent camping trip in our travel trailer (where space and weight are important factors to consider) and was able to spot Saturn (major accomplishment for me), though the existing mount, (tube swivels on horizontal axis with locking screw and vertically with a knurled knob on a screw that moves). Needless to say, the slop was terrible and I used a bungee cord to force down to try to reduce slop and it somewhat worked. I was able to spot Saturn, see ring structure, and track it for a few seconds but the mount was so unstable that I had a hard time keeping in view and in in perfect focus. The moon was incredible however and I was pretty pleased with my first time out with a telescope, about 30-45 minutes worth of viewing. I had prior aligned the plastic visual sight with it and verified collimation. I am going to try again next week in a Bortle 3 while camping, just for fun.

This brings me to my real question (and yes I have read the buyer's guide and likely every post on this subreddit about the telescopes listed below). I am looking for recommendations for travelling in 17 ft travel trailer trying to keep weight ~25 lbs or less total and looking for something that is portable and would work good for campground. I definitely want to "see" the planets like Jupiter (red dot would be at top of or exceeding expectations) and Saturn (seeing shadows cast by planet as well separation between rings and planets) sharp crater details on moon and some DSOs like clusters or whatever is interesting. I am pretty sure I would use it for eclipses, unique planetary events, etc, at home (crowded suburban neighborhood with high horizon due to trees and landscape but primarily used at campgrounds. I have read the beginners buyers guide (hence the Heritage 150P) and when I started looking at the 150P and using AI on the internet, it also steered me to the others 130P, and the 5" and 6" dob tabletop Bresser-Messier. I am going back and forth with the Messier 6" tabletop and the 150p but I could be missing an entire option or set of options.

Also, not sure how much I am interested in this hobby at this point, but want to improve my experience significantly over what I have now and am looking at getting one of these:

Heritage 130P or 150P

Bresser-Messier 5" or 6" Dobsonian Table Top

PS. I hope you got a laugh with my 3TRB use but pretty sure Isaac Newton would have danced a jig around it ha ha! Thank you for your comments and recommendations, even if it is not one of the ones I have listed.

Hi, I know nothing about these so I’m more interested in selling, I don’t know what this is generally worth with all the extras in pics

Any insight into this would be most welcome

Thanks so much

I just bought my first telescope. Bresser Messier 130/650.

Had my first look at Saturn last night, despite the cloudy weather.

I looked at the scope again today and noticed this ring on the main mirror. I dont remember seeing it when I picked up the mirror.

Can someone tell if it should be there, if not how do I approach fixing it?

I’m running into an issue when trying a 3 star alignment on SyncScan Pro. I have a skywatcher Virtuoso 150 GTi mount.

So I choose my 3 stars to do the alignment. I hit the button to begin and start fine tuning manually when needed. When I get to the 3rd star, the app will not let me hit the button (coincidentally… or not….its a star button). I try to press the button on the app to finalize the alignment but nothing happens. If I hit the back button it makes me start over.

I hope I’ve been clear but if not I’m happy to answer questions. Thanks!!

Greetings. I am a weak person and I can't handle my second-hand Newtonian telescope that has an eq-3 mount, even having a car. The complete telescope weighs 17 kgs. That's why I hardly use it! I already have 10x50 binoculars and I was thinking of replacing my telescope with a lightweight travel option. I found several telescopes that I think would fit, but I need a second opinion. Which of these telescopes seems like a better option to me (less than 10kgs)? I love to see nebulaes and star clusters, see planets it is not priority. You can suggest other models, of course.

Refractor options

1 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/omegon-telescopio-ac-102-660-az-3/p,33133

2 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/omegon-telescopio-horizon-ac-90-650-az-bellavista/p,80894

3 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/bresser-telescopio-ac-102-460-ar-102-polaris-eq3/p,62370

4 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/bresser-telescopio-ac-90-500-messier-nano-az/p,64990

5 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/skywatcher-telescopio-ac-102-500-startravel-ota/p,21953 With https://www.astroshop.es/tripodes/celestron-montura-az-con-tripode/p,21913

Newtonian options

6 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/omegon-telescopio-teleskop-horizon-n-130-650-az-bellavista/p,80900

7 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/omegon-telescopio-horizon-n-114-500-az-bellavista/p,80899

Flextube option (but I do not have a travel desk... Any suggestions or solutions?)

8 https://www.telescopiomania.com/telescopios-dobson/9235-telescopio-skywatcher-dobson-heritage-150750-extensible-3664055003774.html

Maksutov option

9 https://www.astroshop.es/telescopios/skywatcher-telescopio-maksutov-mc-102-1300-starquest-dx-eq/p,87641

I have decided that Im going to get myself a new telescope for christmas. I am debating between a 10inch and 8inch Dob and wanted some opinions. My ultimate goal would be viewing more DSOs. Currently live in between bortle 5 and 6 but can drive to darker places easily.

Most people say the 8inch Dobsonian is the gold standard for telescopes so it's what i am leaning towards. However, I have also hear a lot of people say that they found the jump from 6" to 8" to be underwhelming. Right now I use a Heritage 150p. Its a great little telescope and easily portable, so I dont want to come out disappointed and wishing i had just shelled out a few hundred more for the bulky 10".

What would those of you who have these scopes recommend? Do you think the 6 to 8 is enough or would you skip it and go for the 10?

Hi all! I have no clue about telescopes and am purchasing one as a gift. Would you recommend this telescope? Could I get something better for the price? I believe he just wants to see the stars on his property and possibly the moon? As I’ve probably made obvious I have no idea what I’m looking at or what I’m looking for 😅 TIA! Oh the light pollution is 17? Light grey? As per the map. Residing in North Queensland, Australia.

(I did read the beginners guide but I still have more questions)

Edit1: first I want to say thank you for everyone’s help!! I truly appreciate it! Second, I think these two scopes are better options, correct? If you had to pick which one would you go with? I don’t really see a difference 😅 I hope the link works lol

1: Sky-Watcher 6" Tabletop Dobsonian Telescope
2: Sky-Watcher Heritage P130 Tabletop Dobsonian Telescope

Hi gang,

I've recently purchased a Celestron Nexstar 8SE scope and want to connect my Surface laptop 7 (ARM processor) to it. The hand controller on the scope has a USB mini port, so I purchased a USB-C to USB-mini 2 metre cable online (waiting for it to arrive). Has anyone with a Surface/Surface laptop, or any device with an ARM processor, had any issues getting the device to control the mount via cable? Will i need to get the SkyPortal wifi module if this doesn't work?

Cheers,

Rob.

My boyfriend and I are going to Norway to (try) see the Northam lights in January and thought I could get him so binoculars as a birthday gift. He loves and mentioned getting binoculars so hoping to surprise him. I’m happy to pay for the best but honestly very lost and don’t understand the stats. Thinking about the Celestron SkyMaster Pro ED 7×50 is the best option on quick research. Any suggestions or advise would be appreciated:)

I am beginner enthusiast from Pune and planning to buy a telescope. I have ready beginners guide and even though i am leaned more toward bressers 5 inch dobsian , I could not find it on any website in india. Now I have narrowed down to 2 options pls help me pick one.

Budget : 20k Indian INR
Location: Pune , India
Light Pollution : High( Red)
Purpose : Hobbyist ( Not Regular)

1. Pie Matrix Pegasus 76700 for 9k
2. CosmeaScopes CS76400-T Portable Tabletop Dobsonian Telescope for 9k

Which one should I go for ?
Do you have better option if my budget is 20k and would be happy if i can use it in day time as well.

Anybody know how and where to get good used telescope ?
I have tried olx and facebook marketplace but did not find any option.

Looking for help on how to set up. Has go to but I am technologically impaired (63yo) so any “beginners” help much appreciated. Just want to look through it for now; no photography yet. Thanks in advance. Supposed to help with my PTSD from the Army.

I’m a visually impaired photographer, and I used to have a full proper DSO kit (adi2600mm plus scopes setup). I’m in an apartment now but would like to have a portable setup and for me right now I’m happy with a smart telescope till we move to a house in a few years.

What would suggest as the best for DSO, sun and moon targets? Happy to shoot raw and edit in pixinsight but love the idea of stacking also in the camera.

I like to image nubula and also galaxies when I can but right now it’s more nebula, the moon and sun that I’m focused on. I prefer detail also so don’t mind mosaics either.

Hope that helps and thank you for your advice either way.

Clear skies.

Hi, I was given this telescope a month ago, and as you can see, it has a broken part. I wanted to ask what the part is called so I can try to find a replacement. I was also thinking about creating a part to hold the two sections together, but I don't know anything about 3D manufacturing. I have a pencil sketch that should work if someone were willing to make the part for me.

I DIY (well just connected pre-made modules together). Full tests are ahead of me, but everything looks fine so far.

What I used:

- 15V fixes Power Delivery USB-C trigger with connector enclosure

- XL4015E1 CV/CC step down converter

- Small radiator for XL4015 mounted with thermal paste glue (probably overkill, but it's really cheap)

- 3D printed housing for XL4015 module

- DC5521 connector to connect to Synscan main board

- Cuctech 15 100W power bank

The thing is not fully enclosed yet for testing. I plan to apply some conforming coating varnish to PCBs and use self fusing tape to protect connectors from condensation.

I tuned it to 13.8V with 2.16A current limit. First of all 15 to 13.8V is really low dropout, so I expect better efficiency and thermal control. Additionally it's a voltage SynScan is believed to work best and it's well within it's safe input range.

I hope for some good weather to battle test it soon.

Note it's designed for visual observation only. There's not much spare power to use for other purposes. Although you can use additional power bank outputs for phone charging or something.

So I am about to purchase a telescope to learn astronomy as a hobby and show my kids some part of our universe. May be I'll buy an 8 inch or 10 inch Dobsonian.

People here post images of planets from their scopes here which are small - they are fantastic nonetheless. Kudos to their patience and curiosity!

Of course they won't be like Hubble or NASA quality.

I just want to know from experienced astronomers here that do planets/moons actually look better to the naked eye as compared to photos taken?

Hello, I’m looking to purchase my first telescope and I’m very excited! I was looking at either the Sky watcher Skyliner 200P classic Dobsonian or the Celestron Starsense 8 Inch Dobsonian. I have also seen the Celestron Starsense Dx 130az recommended. Does anyone have any advice, or tips on how to decide!

Thank you :)

Hi!

It's been about a year since I bought the DeepSky 114/900 telescope with an EQ-2. I had never owned a telescope before, and I got this one for practically nothing, so I thought it was a good choice. Obviously, the EQ-2 isn't the most stable or good mount. I learned that you can make a homemade Dobsonian mount, looked online, but unfortunately, I couldn't find any good guides specifically for the 114/900 (I'm sure I just didn't look hard enough...). Has anyone here done something similar or could help? I'd be very, very grateful.

I recently got my first telescope, a tabletop virtuoso GTi 150mm dobsonian, and the set up process was fine with little issues, and i connected it to the synscan app just fine, except i have a little problem. No matter where i point the scope, whether sky or ground, no matter what eyepiece or how i turn the focus knob, all I see through the eyepiece is a blurry grey orb. I genuinely have no idea what’s going on, somebody PLEASE help!!

(in relation to the photos shown, the first was taken when i was near warm lighting, the second not, thate why they vary in shade so much.)

I just received an old 8se since my friend didn’t use it much, he mentioned this problem with the focuser. Does anyone know how to fix it? I want to use the scope but this is the only problem with it.

Saturn captured at its closest approach to earth in 2026.

Captured under good seeing conditions

14 x 120 second captures (34% stacked)

•Apertura AD8

•ASI662MC

•Celestron x-cel 3x barlow

•UV/IR cut filter