New Celestron CPC 925 XLT Telescope Arrives - Dave's Story

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the arrival and initial experiences with the Celestron CPC 925 XLT telescope, including setup, usability, and observations made with the telescope. Participants share personal anecdotes related to telescope weight, ease of use, and recommendations for casual astronomy discussions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Dave expresses excitement about his new telescope, noting its unexpected bulkiness and weight compared to earlier models.
  • Another participant mentions that heavier telescopes are common and shares personal challenges with setting up a large telescope due to health issues.
  • Dave compares his new telescope to previous models he has owned, highlighting the substantial fork mount of the CPC 925 XLT.
  • After a cloudy start, Dave successfully aligns the telescope and observes Jupiter and several Messier objects, praising the ease of use and the telescope's capabilities.
  • Dave recommends the Celestron CPC range for their user-friendliness and expresses a humorous acknowledgment of "aperture fever" among astronomers.
  • Dave suggests the creation of a subsection in the astronomy forum for casual observing discussions and photo sharing.
  • Another participant suggests checking out cloudynights.com for a dedicated amateur astronomy community, indicating that PF may not be the best fit for casual discussions.
  • Dave acknowledges the suggestion and expresses interest in exploring the blogging option on PF for sharing his experiences.
  • A participant shares a link to another astronomy forum that features advanced astrophotographers and their work.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the challenges and experiences related to using telescopes, but there are differing opinions on the best platforms for casual astronomy discussions and sharing images.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express limitations in the current forum structure for casual discussions, indicating a potential need for more dedicated spaces for sharing observing activities and images.

davenn
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Yipeee ... my new scope has arrived :)

hopefully tonite It will make "first light" last nite was cloudy

http://www.telescopesdirect.com.au/Celestron-CPC-925-GPS-XLT-Computerised-Telescope?sc=189&category=-289

Golly Gosh its some what bulkier than I expected hahaha, I was hoping to take it to Cairns, Queensland, Australia in November for the total solar eclipse, but that aint going to happen. The main scope unit is 26kg (~ 56lbs) and the tripod another 18kg.
But I have to credit Celestron, it is built strong! compared to the tiny forks of the early Celestrons that came out in the '70's and '80's

Am looking forward to reviving my astro photography activities that have been pretty much in recess since I left New Zealand 12 years ago.

Dave
 
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Davenn, every telescope that is worth the price will be more massive than you expect, and doubly so for the tripod and mount. You have to live to learn with that. I had a mild stoke some years back and my main 'scope has languished in the detached garage as a result. Huge oak tripod, massive mount, and heavy 6" OTA ( APO refractor) make it a bit problematic to set up and tear down in the dark.
 


yeah true but this was really more massive haha
my existing scope is a 8' Newtonian on a Dobsonian mount
I did have a 10" Meade back in NZ, mounted on a German Equatorial
I really hate those things they are so hard to "point and shoot"
so I'm no stranger to larger scopes, but the online photos of this new scope gave no indication as to how big the fork mount is and as I said its very substantial compared to the early celestron scopes like the C8

well there is some blue sky today ... hopefully I will be able to give the scope its first tryout tonite :)

Dave
 


hey Guys ...
well after a really cloudy start to the evening the sky finally cleared and I was able to do a sky alignment with the scope wow really easy to do. and from there its easy to goto any object in its huge database.

Jupiter was impressive and looked it periodically over several hours watching the 4 Galelian (sp?) moons doing their little dance around the planet.
went through a few other well known objects M's 45, 42, 41 and a couple of fainter ones M's 1, 79, 77 till the rising bright moon washed out the sky

People... if you are looking for awesome easy to use scopes to buy, I recommend the Celestron CPC range of scopes. They have a range of mirror sizes that surely there's one that will fit a lot of budgets :) I have no affilliation with them, just impressed with their gear :) Just remember once you get a scope you WILL be afflicted with the astronomers disease called "aperture fever" and you will forever be looking forward to the upgrade to a scope with a bigger mirror hahaha

Dave

Note to mods ... for consideration... there is nowhere on the astronomy forum for people to just casually discuss their observing activities, posting a few pics etc hence all my posts in this particular part of the astronomy forum. Would it be worth creating a subsection for that ?

thanks
Dave
 
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davenn said:
Note to mods ... for consideration... there is nowhere on the astronomy forum for people to just casually discuss their observing activities, posting a few pics etc hence all my posts in this particular part of the astronomy forum. Would it be worth creating a subsection for that ?

thanks
Dave

That might be a good use of your PF blog...
 


Davenn, have you been to cloudynights.com? It's a site dedicated to amateur astronomy with sections for discussing everything in the sky and also to post any pictures. It's a pretty nice site. PF isn't really for these things, although the Fun, Photos, and Games forum in the General section may be appropriate for any pictures you take.
 


Drakkith said:
Davenn, have you been to cloudynights.com? It's a site dedicated to amateur astronomy with sections for discussing everything in the sky and also to post any pictures. It's a pretty nice site. PF isn't really for these things, although the Fun, Photos, and Games forum in the General section may be appropriate for any pictures you take.

cloudynights site don't think I have been there tho the name rings a bell, maybe some one else mentioned it in the dim distant past haha will check it out thanks
ok on that part in the general section :)

DaveC ... haven't looked at the blogging option for PF don't know how that works will have to investigate, thanks for that idea :)

thanks guys
Dave
 


Here is a nice place to check for astronomy.

http://forum.ourdarkskies.com/

There are some very advanced astrophotographers who will post their images here. Greg and Neil have posted most of their work here prior to publishing "Star Vistas". Good bunch of people.