_Augustus_

Forget seeing either of those with a 9.25" in the US..... they're typically hard with a much bigger scope.

As long as you don't get oils on the mirror or drag dust along the surface, you're fine. Professional cleaning is a scam by and large. I use gloves when handling thin lenses and SCT corrector plates. That's it.

Dish soap + tap water. Make sure to blot it with a cloth to prevent the water droplets from leaving any mineral deposits on the mirror.

Planet 9.

I wouldn't be surprised if it flies in late 2026........

So: JWST has now surpassed SLS/Orion as the most bloated, delayed, and overpriced NASA program Launch will not happen until 2022 JWST will probably launch on the last Ariane 5 or be moved to a different vehicle

I NEVER WANT TO HOLD AGAIN ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Yes.

Look's like the "artists' impressions" of Bennu.......

Had the 16" out tonight and it clouded over right as it got dark. I've found a 24" Pyrex blank for sale on Cloudy Nights for a very reasonable price, but it's still a bit outside my budget. Going to have to raise the funds for that thing.

Haven't done a whole lot of observing with the 16" lately thanks to weather and being away for a week - I think I've used it once or twice since my last post. For shorter sessions, I use my Celestron C8. The only thing that I can say wasn't either a repeat or really boring observation is that the Blinking Planetary is a green dot similar in appearance to Uranus. I've knocked out a few boring globulars, but they're nothing to rave about - most of them were unresolved or really dim. I'm building a custom 10" f/5.6 for a friend at the moment, and I'm getting ready to rebuild the 6" in time for Stellafane.

All of the serious proposed Saturn variants (Saturn I, Saturn IB, Saturn C-2, Saturn C-3, Saturn V, Saturn INT-21, Saturn V with Shuttle/Titan IV boosters, Saturn C-8) and the Hughes Jarvis would be a neat poster......

Bridenstine willing to cancel SLS once commercial alternatives are available http://spacenews.com/bridenstine-emphasizes-partnerships-with-industry-to-achieve-nasa-goals/ So, at this rate, before it flies.........

Reprocessed that last pic:

Registax Wow, not bad!

Have used this scope a couple more times sporadically over the past month, though not lately due to poor conditions/near-full Moon. Jupiter is really good and shows detail inside the Great Red Spot. Ganymede has an albedo feature or two. M81 shows a spiral arm. M82 is similar to the photographs with lots of mottling/filaments. M51 does show its spiral arms under slightly darker skies/under great conditions at home. Absolutely spectacular. Hamburger Galaxy under slightly darker skies is decent with lots of dust lanes. Theophilus on the Moon has craterlets.

I'm not sure what's most impressive: The fact that you got this shot with a 6" The fact that you got this shot with a T5 The fact that you can use a C6 on a SmartEQ pro Nice work!

It's boring and rather low in the sky.......

Jupiter tonight

What equipment are you using? Moon the other night with my new Orange Tube C8 (1981 version, on a CG-5 mount). Afocal shot with a Windows Phone and 17mm Plossl. Stacked video. Compared to my old Meade 2080:

Russia says they'll do a lot of things. They don't do many of them.

Not for me.... I'm good.....

SLS core stage unlikely to be ready by JUNE 2020! https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/05/schedule-first-sls-core-stage-sliding/ I'm beginning to actually believe BFR will reach orbit before SLS does.

Taken with this:

STP-2 delayed until October https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-09/spacex-s-second-falcon-heavy-rocket-spectacle-slips-to-october?utm_source=google&utm_medium=bd&cmpId=google sniffle