And lo it will rain for 40 days and 40 nights...

[Skywatcher]

In light of what is happening in my families life at the moment I have though'blow it' and have bought the guidescope I have coveted for the last year - the whole extra setup cost another £300 but you know I was feeling like that didn't matter at the moment.

What it will mean if I can get it working ( no easy feat I am led to believe) is that I will be able to take exposures of up to 20 minutes or maybe more at a time rather than the 2 I am limited to at the moment. So if the skies ever clear I should really be in business

[Slowhand]

I don`t blame you at all for splashing out Chris.
I came to the opinion that life is too short soon after my Mum passed away a few years ago and after I was taken ill in the more recent past, hence I decided to opt for an early retirement in order to enjoy life before I get too old and decrepit.
After all what is the point of being the richest guy in the cemetery?

Looking forward to seeing the results following your acquisition.

[lozzy]

Good on you, Can't wait to see the results....

[mumof2]

Good for you Chris, and hopefully we'll benefit from it when you share the results with us!

[Tink]

You see? You teach us again, what life really is all about. Enjoy your new guidescope! I hope it brings you many, many hours of enjoyment.

[MystikPiglit]

We'll look forward to even more stunning photos.

[Taja]

Good for you, Chris!

And, if you need to justify it later...

...it's a wonderful educational instrument/opportunity for the entire family!

[Claire]

Well deserved if you ask me! Looking forward to seeing what you can achieve with your new toy.

[Watchinherskip]

Congratulations Chris, should be awesome. Looking forward to seeing your new works. You did great with the limited exposures can't imagine the images possible with that long an exposure.

[Skywatcher]

thanks guys

mmmmmmmmmmmm 2 telescopes ( 3 if you count the one in the background)



As predicted the sky is leaden and is forecast to be for flippin ages

for those technically minded what I will be doing is attatching a modified webcam to the top scope, pointing at a star near the object I am imaging with the bottom scope and ask the laptop to keep the star dead centre by controlling the mount.

Dead simple however there are message boards full of queries about why it doesn't work - something to keep my mind busy anyway