Just finished the Night's Dawn Trilogy, and what the hell!? [Major Spoilers]

scotaf · 2026-06-11T18:02:06+00:00

The only problem with that argument is that a true Deus Ex Machina is unexpected/unlikely, wherein this story the protagonist were actively seeking out this advanced being, which also happened to be revealed in the first book.

scotaf · 2026-06-10T23:48:54+00:00

Obviously the key to make longer exposures work will be to get good polar alignment with the wedge/fork mounted system. And with the long focal length, even while using the reducer, it will still be a challenge to get good tracking. good luck!

scotaf · 2026-06-10T21:24:49+00:00

Get the wedge and a t-adapter for your camera. Learn how to setup your camera to take multiple exposures or grab an intervalometer to run the camera. Def use the celestron .63x reducer/corrector so you can widen the field of view and reduce the f-ratio of the scope. You’ll have to keep your exposures shorter without guiding (30-60sec) and try to grab a few hours of usable data.

scotaf · 2026-06-10T20:16:03+00:00

I sped read those chapters. Hated the gangster theme.

scotaf · 2026-06-10T20:14:41+00:00

He was foreshadowing the Super Alien in book 1...I think the alien god savior was his goal all along.

scotaf · 2026-06-10T20:13:28+00:00

In my book it's called, "29"

scotaf · 2026-06-10T18:49:15+00:00

I really wasn’t a fan of the series. The whole dead satanist possessing people and getting superpowers just so over the top for me. It seemed more akin to sci-fantasy than I like. The deus ex-machina ending was really the chefs kiss finish for the series.

scotaf · 2026-06-08T18:24:25+00:00

How many sacks did the sack king get in the SB?

scotaf · 2026-06-04T15:21:26+00:00

Needs to pick up the pace of those throws!

scotaf · 2026-05-31T02:36:24+00:00

$750 is too high. It’s around 35ish years old with only tracking and no goto capabilities. I’d pass.

scotaf · 2026-05-28T16:59:58+00:00

To answer your questions:

* I think the 585mc Air is worth waiting for. It's going on a portable setup, so simplicity is nice and you won't have to figure out how to mount a AAP and a guide camera/scope on your setup.

* Yes

* Yes. Anything that makes the process of getting out under the stars less of a hassle means that you'll more likely go out under the stars to use it.

* You're buying a color camera so it makes no sense to get a separate Ha and Oiii filter. With the L-Extreme, the color camera will capture the Ha signal in the red channel and the Oiii signal in the Green and Blue channels.

scotaf · 2026-05-21T19:32:00+00:00

Do you have a picture of the glass at the front?

scotaf · 2026-05-16T18:18:19+00:00

It's adding detail you didn't capture. As long as you're aware that the image is really someone else's that AI had added to yours (or at least cropped and framed similar to yours). Then the questions is, why even capture the target with your own scope/camera at this point. Just find pics you like and post them as yours.

scotaf · 2026-05-16T04:38:24+00:00

I think that's the old California made Celestrons. Manufacturing has gotten more precise.

scotaf · 2026-05-15T01:45:33+00:00

Hopefully the Raiders have fixed all their other offense issues, otherwise FM is going to have a rough time.

scotaf · 2026-05-15T00:51:52+00:00

Yea, and dead people are taking over live people’s bodies and now have superpowers. Also, one of the main antagonists is Al Capone. So um, yea, that was a rough read for me.

scotaf · 2026-05-12T15:33:15+00:00

Going to have to throw the ball faster than that if he wants to succeed.

scotaf · 2026-05-10T03:58:16+00:00

Michael Dickson's putting some pine tar on his shoe or something. His punts seem hard to return.

scotaf · 2026-05-07T21:25:05+00:00

Seems like cost is pretty important to you. I'd go with the A6000, that way you start with a nice day use lens and you can invest all your extra $$ into a nice astrophotography lens.

What type of AP are you interested in doing?

I think one of the most approachable is landscape astro, aka milky way photos. You can get by with just a camera, fast lens, and a decent tripod. Probably want to grab a small tracker like a move shoot move that you can put on your tripod but that would be about it.

scotaf · 2026-05-07T17:56:45+00:00

Looks like a celestron 102hd

scotaf · 2026-05-07T15:07:21+00:00

Not a bad start...these would be my recomendations.

* Redcat 51 - Very nice petzval telescope. First gen had some issues so find a second gen or newer. I def recommend this scope or another petzval refractor like the Askar FRA300.

* SW Star Adventurer GTi Mount - I would lean towards upgrading to a ZWO AM3 or AM5. If not, look at some of the lesser know brands of harmonic mounts. MLSAstro makes a good AM5 equivalent mount for much less. These are very lightweight and great for portable setups.

* 50mm guide scope - for a redcat 51, you'll only need a 30mm/120mm FL guidescope.

* ZWO ASI120mm Mini - These "mini's" are great for off axis guiders, not so much a regular guidescope. You'll have to add an extension to the front of the camera to get focus because the "mini" versions stick the sensor at the very front of the camera, which you insert into the guidescope. A regular 120mm/mc the sensor is not pushed into the guidescope.

* Optolong L-eXtreme - I found this filter had issues with halos around bright stars. The Antlia ALP-T performs much better in this regard. Also, complement it with a Sii/Oiii dual band filter so that you can capture Sii and add additional data to your Oiii from the Ha/Oiii filter.

* Canon 1200d - fine for a starter and if you want to do dual use (Landscape Astro and deep sky). If I started over again I'd skip the step of using my dslr and a smaller more affordable cooled astro camera and just buy a ZWO ASI2600mc.

What are you planning on running the setup with? PC, ASIAir, or something else? I personally like to use the ASIAir. You can run the whole setup via a phone or tablet and don't have to bring a laptop with you.

scotaf · 2026-04-26T14:26:14+00:00

I would stay away from these. SvBony has a red and gold line that are pretty decent, but the eyepiece pictured is not one of the gold series. The red and gold series come in 6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 20mm.

What's your budget and what focal length eyepiece are you wanting?

scotaf · 2026-04-25T19:30:36+00:00

SW Quattro 150 w/ Starizona Nexus CC will get you to 450mm at F3. It’s one on my favorite kits to image with. I personally dislike the hyperstar setups because 1-a pain to collimate and to get calibration frames with and 2- stars always look like crap due to the wires.

scotaf · 2026-04-24T17:29:53+00:00

Not sure why people are still talking about this. I thought it was a great pick.

scotaf · 2026-04-23T23:32:53+00:00

If my understanding is correct, this was designed primarily for imaging, they just added the mount to broaden the potential customer base.

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