I'm trying to buy a laser pointer in Sweden for pointing at stars and constellations but they're very strict here. Anything above 1mW needs a permit and the permit needs to be renewed every few years.

Any insights on if a 1mW one is even worth buying?

Hey all, I’ve recently been interested in getting a smart scope alongside my 5 inch Dob which I already have. I saw the Astro 53 Pro came out recently and I couldn’t find many reviews. Just curious if anyone has anything to say about it or the company that makes it (spectrum optics). What intrigued me the most was that it has a larger aperature than the Seestar s30 and Dwarf Mini while having the same Sony IMX662 color sensor. Plus the main allure to me is the fact that you can switch to an eyepiece to do some visual viewing and then switch back to imaging while other smart telescopes in that price range are just imaging.

At 300 it seems attractive to try out smart scopes and I do like the idea of being able to actually look through an eyepiece if I decide to (I assume a similar sight to binoculars but still very cool), plus it’s easily transportable.

But I just want to know if anyone has anything to say about it (good or bad) or any other comments before I decide if I’ll buy it.

Thanks in advance!

My daughter was given this telescope from an elderly aunt who went into assisted living. We tried to set it up, but I suspect it must be missing some pieces. We have never used a telescope before.

Hi, I have a Sky-Watcher 150/750. Saturn looks like two overlapping images, especially at high magnification with 6mm eyepiece. I tried different eyepieces, collimation looks okay, could my primary mirror have astigmatism?

Un vrai nomade autonome

Been looking for a mount for a while so I can properly get in to astrophotography but was a bit hesitant to pull the pin as obviously they are quite expensive. Found this used Avalon Instruments M-Zero full set up with tripod, box and polar scope for 1200 the other day and thought it must have been a mistake as the same shop I bought it from sells just the mount head by itself brand new for 3500. On top of that, the tripod is also 600 and the extras, brand new this thing must cost upwards of 4000.

Took me all day to figure out how it works and how to balance it etc but by the end of it I was able to connect it all up and get it tracking targets without a problem.

Planning just to use it with my astromodified DSLR for now but it should leave plenty of room to grow in to the hobby.

Has anyone had any experience with these mounts or this brand? I know ZWO is the popular choice right now and maybe Skywatcher too, I honestly bought this on a whim without too much research but I'm really happy with the purchase so far. It feels really well made and premium quality. The only thing that's slightly negative is the original software and support seem to be a little outdated. But I got it connected to N.I.N.A without too much trouble so shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I took this image two and a half months ago. It is composed of two photos one that had a high exposure and for titan and low exposure for saturn. my main topic is about titan's orbit, as you see in this photo they were much closer to each other than now. nowadays you can't put them in the same frame while using high magnification, it's unfortunate. and I wonder well titan get further away or it has reached its (Apoapsis)

Hello all, hope everyone’s day is going well,

im currently in the process of finding my first dedicated astro camera since I’ve been using my smartphone ever since I started. I’m still in high-school and I do have a decently paying job and saved up a nice amount of money, but I’m still on a budget. I use a Nexstar 4se with a large variety of eyepiece and a 2x Barlow that I abuse. The camera I have been looking at is the ZWO ASI662MC USB3.0 Color Astronomy Camera. From what I’ve heard it’s a pretty powerful little camera and goes well with planetary viewing. For reference, the picture above is Saturn I got recently with my IPhone Air stacked on Astrostakkert from a 3 minute video. I also have transits of Jupiter’s moons on Jupiter along with its red spot clearly, so I’d say I have some decent beginner experience here. Will this astro camera be a good fit for me? I love viewing planets and always want to get impressive pictures of them, but Im also aware my 4se can limit it a little. Currently im preparing for Mars upcoming opposition to get some of its detail (not expecting much). Will this camera be good for that and also other planets?

Thank you very much.

Data :

129 : 3min Lightframes

50 : Darks

50: : Flats

50 : Darkflats

Telescope : Celestron 8edgehd + Focal Reducer

Mount: : CGX

Camera : Omegon vetech 571c

Processed in Siril and Topaz photos

I’m going to get a skywatcher classic 8“ for my birthday im so excited, but i really love how starsense lets you find objects with your phone, no 8 batteries (those mounts need a lot of power) and i cant find a starsense here in turkey, I think it’d be easy to do this, but has anyone done this, how? does it work? what do you need?

Hello! Purchased my first big boy telescope at an estate sale today! Ive done some minor research on the C80 but what are some things I should check maintenence wise with this beauty?

The long twisty tube fine tuner is a bit sticky, there are a few dents on the tube. No idea how to check the mirrors or anything else so ill take any and all advice on maintenence or possible restoration.

The movement on the mount is very smooth and everything stays in place so that seems good. It spent most of its life in a Midwest basement up until today.

Thank you!

Captured on the 15th of October.

Telescope: Sky-watcher 250P Go-To.
Camera: ZWO ASI678MC.
Capture: I used Sharpcaps livestack feature on this one, which turned out well. About 7 minutes of exposure.
Additional: Used Adobe Express Photos for editing.

Need to attach some tube rings to it for a newtonian. what plate fits in this? couldn’t find anything online. thank you!

Salve a tutti ragazzi
Sono entrato in questo mondo da circa un anno e possiedo un Dobson 200/1200. Ormai sto iniziando a prenderci la mano: riesco a puntare gli oggetti, cercarli e osservarli con soddisfazione, e devo dire che sto amando sempre di più questo hobby!
Adesso, però, vorrei iniziare a cimentarmi anche con la fotografia astronomica.
So che il Dobson non è lo strumento più adatto per fare astrofotografia, ma immagino che ci sia comunque un modo per ottenere qualche bella foto, soprattutto dei pianeti e della Luna.
Avete qualche consiglio da darmi su come iniziare? Quali accessori mi consigliate e quale sarebbe la soluzione migliore senza spendere una fortuna?
Grazie a tutti in anticipo! 🔭🌙

Hi all, I've recently acquired an iEQ45 GTN, finally got to test it recently. Unfortunately I've run into issues with it's tracking, I've connected it to my PC via it's RS232 port and had several problems.

While guiding, the tracking performs fine for a few, short minutes before seemingly swapping to a slower rate of tracking (about half-sidereal) which PHD2 is seemingly constantly trying to correct for with little in the way of success. I've tried to remedy this by setting the tracking speed to 1x sidereal on all connected software (N.I.N.A and the ASCOM hub) and) as well as the handbox; still the issue persists.

On top of this, when using the Slew & Centre tool on N.I.N.A, the mount will slew, platesolve and not perform any corrections, instead it throws out a error claiming that the mount is parked. Eventually slewing back to zero position after messing around trying to unpark it.

Does anyone have any advice for what could be causing these pretty strange issues, is this a hardware / firmware / etc fault and can it be resolved?

Thank you all.

Hi everyone!

I have a 5-inch Sky-Watcher Newtonian telescope on an EQ2 equatorial mount, but unfortunately, I've broken the tripod.

I'm looking for an alternative tripod that's compatible with my existing EQ2 mount, or a place where I can buy a replacement in India.

I'm also open to other solutions, such as a DIY wooden mount or converting the telescope into a Dobsonian.

If anyone has experience with this or knows where I can find a compatible tripod, especially in India, I'd really appreciate your suggestions!

Thanks in advance! 🔭

I had a little firstscope that got me hooked. I also got better eyepieces: Lacerta UWA 82° 10mm and Lacerta Premium Flatfield 25mm. Got a 90° mirror diagonal because it comes with a prism along with star pointer (swapped out streight 6x30). AZ3R mount is pretty smooth and stable for smaller scopes. Managed to get a great view of the moon and Saturn last night.

Single 60sec shot with Canon 60D on barndoor tracker 17mm lens f2.3 processed with pixInsight, Photoshop CS5
This is my Telescope a Orion 8” inch f3.9 Astrograph newtonian on a avx mount with a 60mm guide scope with a orion starshoot autoguider.