Post pictures of your scopes

Cool ! I need to make a couple of those . So it all folds flat ? How did you do the hinge ?

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@Starrancher its 2 independent hinges. One high and one low. It does fold flat. If i were to make another one i would make it so it opens up a bit more, not that it really needs to but 90 degrees would, maybe, have been better. I would probably consider going to a thicker dowel rod, maybe i would even consider using a metal rod.

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It looks so different and cool :smiling_face_with_sunglasses: @Sweet16

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@Nikolai-De-Silva thanks, maybe i will get around to making another one day, but since i tend to stand over sitting there is no hurry to do it. I wish i could say its an original idea but i saw that concept somewhere else and stole it lol.

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This is my scope guyz, a very modest 70mm aperture and though Jupiter and Saturn are sights to behold, Uranus is barely a dot and Neptune is completely invisible😢
It is what I have though and the only useless telescope is the one that hasn’t been used so …

I do manage to catch smudges of the brightest nebulas on very clear nights though😁

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Neptune is a tiny blue dot even in larger scopes . I will never forget the first time I saw it . It was the tail end of a long viewing session where I spent most of the night viewing a bunch of galaxies in Coma Berenices with my 5” refractor . We were about ready to pack it in when I looked at my handbox and there was a “Tonight’s Objects” list and at the top of the list was “Neptune” so I hit the go-to function and bang , there it was in the center of my eyepiece ! It wasn’t really any larger than an average star but it was this gorgeous blue color . Much prettier than Uranus which is more green and it was definitely a dot with obvious disc like edges . I told my viewing partner “Oh wow ! There it is !” He was packing his stuff away already but came over to take a look . I don’t think I ever viewed it again , but it was certainly a cool sight to see . We were at a really decent dark sky site out in Joshua Tree National Park but planets tend to not be bothered by light pollution . It was easy for me because I have go-to but keep looking , you’ll find it .

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@PVarshini Modest or not its your scope and i bet you know how to get the best out of it. I was looking at the picture and i don’t see a diagonal. Are you using it straight thru? As it has been said, once you get past the gas giants the planets get a bit on the small side, even in the 16 inch Neptune all i have seen is a small ball with a couple varying shades of blue. Once i think i might have caught a bit of clouds, but it was there and gone so fast i am not sure what i was actually seeing.

You scope will be great for the brighter deep sky, double stars and open clusters. 140x will be about your max power on any given night.

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@Angel_Manuel_Lopez there is one scope i still want to get, even though i have no real need for it. I would like to add a 8 inch classical cassegrain to the fleet. Primarily because they are not real common and secondly they avoid all the issues that SCTs have.

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Thanks!!
And I do actually have a diagonal, it’s down there on the tray along with the eyepieces.
You’re right about the open clusters! I’ve seen a couple of them and they look awesome

Also, I don’t have a finderscope. The one that came with it dint work whatever I tried, I even took it apart once out of frustration and my observing sessions are completely devoid of finder scope. I still do find most stuff I’m looking for but is it recommended for me to buy another one? Like will it improve my observing substantially?

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@PVarshini what exactly is wrong with the finder you have?

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I’m not really sure. it was a red dot finder but there was never a red dot in the view. I actually don’t have it anymore so yeah

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@PVarshini sometimes a RDF will drive you nuts trying to find the dot. It took me a bit to realize i had to look higher up in the optic and there it was. Every now and again you get a lemon. My mount is a go to mount and i only need one star to align and i am good. Kudos to you for being able to find stuff without a finder.

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doesn’t matter what you have just so long as you get the enjoyment with what you have :ok_hand:

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Yeah of course! Something’s better than nothing :slightly_smiling_face:

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@Nikolai-De-Silva You are so lucky to have such a big telescope!!! :star_struck:

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@Solanoastro I will be honest, THAT IS AWESOME!!!:scream::+1:
Love the telescope, send out some pics of what you find, also can you send a pic of the constellation pisces please? :folded_hands:

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Oh thanks, yeah it’s really huge for me and it really helped me to boost my passion! Hope you get a bigger one in the future :slightly_smiling_face:

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