[Shano592 (Shane)]

Well, the new scope and accessories arrived over the weekend. I must say, I'm glad I didn't go for the 12-inch, as the 10 is inside my ability to lift, but not by a whole lot.

One thing that I am having trouble with ... in the calibration area, the telescope obviously tries to find the South Celestial Pole, being in the Southern Hemisphere. It asks you to centre on Sigma Octantis, which appears to be the closest star to the SCP.

My problem is, that Octans is a very unremarkable constellation, and I couldn't tell Sigma Octantis from any of its sisters.

So, to those who have done it, how do I determine which is Sigma?

BTW, the scope is staggeringly fun. It can align itself (as one option), and last night I had it hitting Jupiter (and 4 moons), the Tarantula Nebula, and 47 Tucanae, right to the centre of the 10mm EP.

Woolies has 8x C-cell Duracells for $13.50. So far I have gotten about 5 hours of runtime out of them. A lot more than everyone has been saying I would.