In a rush...

Awful weather for three weeks. Had to get a new laptop (thank you daughter number one for porviding an old one that, with Windows 10, works like a dream). then the lead acid battery went flat and I discovered the charger didn't...charge.

Anyway, all working, all software on, rushed outside to set up, with one eye on the showery looking clouds scudding across.

Didn't get on with PHD2 at all, so reverting to PHD1. Then the long USB cable is too long for PHD so had to take the laptop outside to get it to connect to the camera..then gave up with guiding!

What with showers, no guiding, clouds, dew, ended up wih 5 x 60 s subs of NGC 891 in Andromeda.

So much for autoguiding..

It was a fantastically clear night. We were due to go out for dinner with some friends, but I had enough time beforehand to set up the scope, get it tracking and to try out the effect of my mods.

The mods?
1. Clean  mirror - just weak detergent solution and plenty of water, finished off wih deionised, NEVER touching the mirror surface.
2. Removal of the fan assembly at the base of the scope - lighter.
3. Getting the primary and secondary closer so that I can drop the Barlow (needed to focus the DSLR)- I now have an F5 instead of F10!

In all, these changes shaved off just under 600g (it wasn't really that dirty!)

Anyway, got the telescope aligned, calibrated, polar aligned...............to find I had a dead as a doornail laptop!

So, no guiding, but around 85 x 60 s exposure plus some darks got me this:

Messier 33

Now to get another laptop; this time it will stay indoors and I will get longer USB cables - I think the dew from a couple of sessions ago killed it!