The comet that never quite made it.

Comet Ison was approaching fast.
I had three nights off work, with surely a decent chance of at least one clear view.
Time to dust off our Tal 120 'scope, and set it up in the back garden for some wonderful viewing with my daughter.

I get to last night (Friday 29th November, 2013), the first of my three "viewing" nights, and find

Telescopes and Summer Days

What to do with a telescope in the summer?

The nights are shorter, and the only decent time is in the "middle of the night".
Heading towards the "Longest Day", the time for decent observation is getting shorter and shorter.
The Sun spoils the view of the Moon and the stars.

Digiscoping with a TAL-120 telescope (part 1)

A small panasonic compact camera attached to a digiscoping bracket,
which is mounted on a TAL-120 telescope

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"Digiscoping" is usually taken to mean

The new 'scope arrives ...

  The new telescope arrived as scheduled on the Monday.
Unboxing shots:

In the shipping box, after I have removed the "pier" stand.

The various "bits and bobs" included with the TAL-120 telescope.
The "adapter" is really a short T-mount extension ring, and would be used with SLRs with a relatively short flange-to-focal-plane distance. Not used with my Sony dSLR, but could be useful if you have a Canon or suchlike.
The "Cross-hairs Reticle" screws into one of the eyepieces and is used during setting up for aligning the main telescope tube with the smaller finderscope (which has its own built-in reticle).
The "Barrel"

How far did I get without a telescope?

Partial Solar eclipse, Southern England, 4th January 2011
Sony a300 dSLR, with "cheapy" Hanimex 300mm lens

Buying a TAL telescope in the USA ... or not?

As a service to my American readers, I went looking on the Internet for US dealers that stocked TAL telescopes.

One small step for man ...

After many years, I am, in my late forties, about to get a "proper" telescope.
I placed an order with Scopes'n'Skies on Monday, and the courier is supposed to be delivering the stuff in two days time.
I have ordered a