Hi All,
As some of you already know I have recently became a proud owner of SDM#35 - 22" f/3.6 Dob. After all that rain since the delivery in May and most notably the wettest Border Stargaze in Albury the weather Gods showed some mercy and first deep-sky photons hit the mirror last night. The site is not truly dark but quite usable.
The highlight of the night was the Grus trio which looked spectacular with some excellent detail. Helix with OIII was good as well as Saturn Planetary. Jupiter was nice and crisp with excellent detail and contrast. ServoCat and Argo worked brilliantly too.
But best of all - I can fit the 22", 2 kids and my wife into a family car (with luggage in a roof box). Peter Read measured the boot and designed the scope to fit. We exchanged countless emails and phone calls and the the result is a very sturdy structure that is a pure joy to use.
I'll sure be going to more star parties now and sharing the views
.
I took some photos last night (attached) and here is a link to the day-time photos on SDM website:
http://www.sdmtelescopes.com.au/SDM035.html
Cheers,
Alex