So we’re back from our short caravan break to Kelling Heath in North Norfolk this weekend just gone, where the 2012 Autumn Star Party took place. I enjoyed 3 good nights of clear skies and stargazing, using a combination of my EQ mounted Celestron C6-SGT scope, my Orion XT10i and my 20×80 big binos, while [...] Read more »
At the Kelling Heath Star Party there were many hundreds of telescopes, from little Meade ETX90’s through to giant 24inch Dobsonians, and gorgeous high tech Refractors setup for astro-photography with some very expensive looking cooled CCD cameras and guide scopes.
One of the big Dobs that really caught my eye was Fossil Light, constructed entirely by [...] Read more »
Just recently I got the following email asking me my thoughts on whether to choose a Skyquest XT8i or the XT10i….
Hi, I have had a look at your website which is very informative. I recently sold my skywatcher explorer 200mm f/8 telescope as I do wish to purchase the orion skyquest xt10i. Although not a [...] Read more »
With clear skies gradually returning now that the colder evenings of autumn are upon us I have been enjoying the views of the heavens while walking my trusty dog Ben on the public footpath in fields at the back of our house. For stargazing I suppose I’m lucky that I can be out in the [...] Read more »
I have added a new page to my site describing the modification to the Orion XT10 to replace the original Teflon bearings with a Lazy Susan turntable bearing.
This is one of the primary mods Dobsonian owners are interested to learn about, in their quest to achieve the smoothest possible Azimuth movement. The standard Teflon bearings [...] Read more »
Tonight I finished creating a new page within the Astrophotography section of my site showing the photos I have taken of Saturn (don’t get too excited, they’re nothing great).
They demonstrate afocal astropics of Saturn taken with a simple point-and-shoot camera held up to the eyepiece, and also a couple of webcam images produced from AVI [...] Read more »
Someone emailed me about how well the XT10i fares for astrophotography, and I thought our email conversation might be useful to other people considering the XT10.
Hi James, I am currently looking into re-starting my astro hobby (I used to have a - self built 15cm F/5 newton) and while binoculars are nice, I am looking [...] Read more »
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