Ad Astra Observatory

First light! I decided to press ahead and put on the mounting plate tonight (same day as the tubes got cut). Just in time for night to fall, I finished up and got Trixie on the mount for the first time. With no finderscope, the first night was a little rough until I got the G-11 synched up for the first time.

After that, it was just a really great test drive. I got photos of Vega and M27 (each is a single 30sec unguided frame), and even spent a little time at the eyepiece. The difference between the 13” and the 8” scopes is amazing. There are a *ton* more stars, and the bright DSOs (M27, M57, and M17 in particular) are noticeably brighter and more detailed. WOW.