First Light New Grab & Go for Planetsry

[David Kirjassoff]

When I saw the Prime day special for the new Svbony MK127 I couldn’t resist ordering it.  I was happy with the Svbony eyepieces (24mm 2 inch) I got for my binoscope so figured it was worth a chance for $400 shipped.

I had an az-gti mount which would work perfectly with it and got to give it a try this week.  Collimation was spot-on out of the box, and images of the moon were sharp and contrasty, and it did well on bright globulars as well.

It now lives set up by my back door and I can one hand the whole thing outside easily.  Sorry if this reads like an ad, but I’m just happy with it especially for the price so I thought I’d let you know about it if you have a similar need.

I know aperture is king but 5” in such a small package is princely.

. 

[Richard Navarrete]

Awesome! Beautiful yard as well. Congrats.

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[Jamie Dillon, DDK]

I'm with Richard. Not surprised that you two have a cool backyard. Greeen!

[Mark]

 I'd like a backyard telescope calendar...

Like a pin-up calendar....

 But featuring nice telescopes in attractive backyard settings instead:  

Even possibly in somewhat suggestive poses, like talking a quick peek at Venus when nobody's looking.

[David Kirjassoff]

Great idea Mark. You can be Miss July.  Nice garden and she has her shroud off. 

Sent from my iPad

On Jul 3, 2026, at 5:00 PM, Mark <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:

 I'd like a backyard telescope calendar...

Like a pin-up calendar....

 But featuring nice telescopes in attractive backyard settings instead:  

<IMG_20190503_182216995_HDR.jpg>

Even possibly in somewhat suggestive poses, like talking a quick peek at Venus when nobody's looking.

On Friday, July 3, 2026 at 4:14:52 PM UTC-7 Jamie Dillon, DDK wrote:

I'm with Richard. Not surprised that you two have a cool backyard. Greeen!

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[Jay Freeman]

That won't happen in my back yard, it hasn't been thoroughly mowed since the end of the Pleistocene. But I do have a very similar setup for general grab and go -- a Celestron C6 on a Sky Watcher AZ5 altazimuth mount, with a PiFinder for location and tracking. It is probably about the same weight, bulk and performance as David's Maksutov, and though the AZ5 is only manual tracking, at least you don't have to realign the PiFinder every time the cat nuzzles the tripod.

--  Jay Reynolds Freeman, Deep-Sky Weasel
---------------------
Jay_Reynol...@mac.com
http://JayReynoldsFreeman.com (personal web site)

[Mark Wagner]

You need to post that scope with a saber tooth tiger in your Plestocine backyard, Jay.  With the tiger nuzzling the tripod.  AI can do it!

[David Kirjassoff]

I can help with that

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 3, 2026, at 5:32 PM, Mark Wagner <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Jay Freeman]

Yeah, but I am too lazy to take a picture in the first place, and besides, I would have to use a machette to cut through to where I would be setting up the telescope.

That reminds me of a funny story from the old days. I was at a Riverside Telescope Maker's Convention in the early 1980s when there was a presentation on imaging mistakes -- this at a time when "imaging" meant "film", and nothing else but. There were several examples presented of attempts at astronomical imaging that had gone wrong -- actual slides projected on the screen -- with novel zig-zaggy star-streak patterns and titles like "The Mark of Zorro" or "Thunderstorms Happen", and they all invoved that dratted cat. There was another slide called "The Blank Frame", otherwise known as "A 1/50th of a second exposure of M31 followed by 45 minutes of careful guiding." The basic rules for beginning "imagers" at the time were "Always check the shutter speed and keep the cat indoors."

My cat count is down to ten. I will never be an imager.

Hmn, the place where I usually observe is well into mountain-lion and bear country, and I usually am all alone there. Maybe I should set up a camera, just in case. Do you suppose mountain lions like pizza?


-- Jay Reynolds Freeman, Deep-Sky Smilodon

---------------------
Jay_Reynol...@mac.com
http://JayReynoldsFreeman.com (personal web site)

[Jay Freeman]

Oh wow, wonderful, and you have my back yard nailed. How did you know?

(I am active on Second Life, and my favorite avatar is a tiger.)

-- Jay Reynolds Freeman, Deep-Sky Apex Carnivore

---------------------
Jay_Reynol...@mac.com
http://JayReynoldsFreeman.com (personal web site)

> On Jul 3, 2026, at 17:56, David Kirjassoff <dkirj...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I can help with that
>

[Richard Navarrete]

Ok, I’ll play.

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[David Kirjassoff]

Nice garden too!  I can be matchy.

Sent from my iPad

On Jul 4, 2026, at 9:40 AM, 'Richard Navarrete' via The Astronomy Connection (TAC) <sf-ba...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

 Ok, I’ll play.

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Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

On Friday, July 3, 2026, 5:00 PM, Mark <itsmar...@gmail.com> wrote:

 I'd like a backyard telescope calendar...

Like a pin-up calendar....

 But featuring nice telescopes in attractive backyard settings instead:  

<IMG_20190503_182216995_HDR.jpg>

Even possibly in somewhat suggestive poses, like talking a quick peek at Venus when nobody's looking.

On Friday, July 3, 2026 at 4:14:52 PM UTC-7 Jamie Dillon, DDK wrote:

I'm with Richard. Not surprised that you two have a cool backyard. Greeen!

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