Any star gazers and amateur astronomers ?

Enjoy the Full ‘Pink’ Moon tonight!

https://twitter.com/engineers_feed/status/1515343667422134289?s=21&t=cCnB7OSCrMEogsEIcipiww

 

The pic speaks for itself:
https://twitter.com/spacedotcom/status/1516839568690974723?s=21&t=ld86GSUKq5QPitMMv7_ZYg

 

For our friends up North

https://twitter.com/csa_asc/status/1521112269899374592?s=21&t=gK1zP2Q5eHgaSSVlBSi2Eg

 

Of course after a week of cloudless skies, rain’s predicted this weekend…. Hope the skies are clear where you are!
https://twitter.com/nasakennedy/status/1525105973916049409?s=21&t=AOjaqUert-UNrdaLXfVRLw

 

Of course it was cloudy and rainy last night for me. Hope everyone else had clear skies..

https://twitter.com/theastron8/status/1526086248602935296?s=21&t=Mr2JhbwlAH6Q7qqpTH77-A
https://twitter.com/aerospace_lovr/status/1527956015643336704?s=21&t=Hnm6VyplxLoDO53uyZNNwQ

 

https://twitter.com/spacehub_sl/status/1527339727468494849?s=21&t=8acQCUx-lk_XyegV_c_pcQ

 

Wishing all clear skies

https://twitter.com/nasa_marshall/status/1529866207863652357?s=21&t=vOk_Z9AZOBaXRp7fCjxvRg

 

I am looking at getting my mother a telescope for her birthday. For a few years, she has said she wished she had one. But, every time she looks at reviews of the ones in her price range (<$300) she decides against it and doesn't want to spend more money at the expense of other things.
So, I am looking at a Celestron Nexstar 6SE and wanted to see if anyone here has one and could give me a honest review/thought about it. I like the idea of the smaller size for setup as my mother is smaller in stature and not really strong enough to handle a large tube telescope. The computerized idea that can give her a "tour" along with tracking is something that I think she would enjoy.
My main concern is reliability and longevity of it as used by an amateur.
Any thoughts? Anything I should look at adding as far as lenses, filters? A case will be ordered for it.

 

I do not have this scope but I think you’re in the right ballpark. Celestron and Meade make descent products and the Go To feature is great for the casual viewer.

These folks seem to like it:
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/709363-celestron-nexstar-6se-as-a-re-entry-to-astronomy/

Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

 

I've looked at a few other sites and some of the negatives were from people who expected too much from the telescope to begin with, people who used cheapo lithium batteries in the OE compartment and were surprised when they popped, and people who didn't take the time to read/learn how to set it up. Of course there were other issues like broken components upon delivery and such.
I'm looking at about $1500 max as that will be a months worth of expendable $ for me.
My thinking is the 6SE, a 2x Barlow lens, a dew shield to help with small amounts of off angle ambient light, a 6000mah battery pack, and a travel case. Anything else I should be looking at adding to the list?

 

Red light flashlight.
Star Atlas.
Subscription to Sky and Telescope or Astronomy.
Eyepieces?

BTW, this is a terrific gift, I’ll nominate you for kid of the year!

 

Thanks, but not kid of the year.
Spent about 6 hours reading reviews and talk about them. While I do still have some questions on the longevity of it, I think it would be the one she would enjoy most. Plus, I think that if it does fail in the future (main issue is the computer) I can modify the mount to be manually used.

I ordered the case, lens & filter set, dew shield, external power pack, a couple red flashlights, and a solar filter. Knowing that the solar filters are made from a cheap film, I got the warranty on it (I've had very good luck with Assurian) so if it fails I can get it replaced or refunded. The cap of the filter is the main thing, I can replace the film later on as needed for pretty cheap. The telescope comes with their Starry Night program, so I will let her use use that for a while. Maybe next year, I'll buy a camera for the telescope that can feed directly into her computer so she can control and view it more easily.
I will be ordering the telescope itself soon, just need to find somewhere to ship it since they won't put it in a plain box, and I get all my UPS stuff sent to my folks place as UPS won't deliver to a set of coordinates up in a national forest.
I'll inspect, setup, test, disassemble before her birthday. That way, if there is an issue, I can get it swapped for another one. Then I'll go down off the mountain on her birthday and set it up in her living room before she wakes up.

Edit: got everything ordered. With what my sister chipped in, I went ahead and added the wifi module and 10mp imager. Went a bit over my initial budget, but don't really care. She's going to have one heck of a starter setup.

 

https://twitter.com/nasa/status/1532140938541293570?s=21&t=0xy1yapH0IgUnHMtkZpfSw

 

https://twitter.com/spacedotcom/status/1532778561827913731?s=21&t=239G5xx-rm6vxOz8ZmyQ1Q

 

That was the closest I have ever seen my mother to cussing at me. Ha. After I said "happy early birthday" while taking a picture to send my sister, her face went full on confused and she said "what did you just say?" After the initial shock, she was on the verge of tears.
That alone made it all worth it.
Gave her a quick review of what each piece was and how to set up the telescope on the tripod and power it up with the external battery pack. Told her she needed to read and watch YouTube. I didn't have enough time to go through it with her today as I am already running late after having a tire try to eat a rock and go flat.

 

Bought a Celestron 70mm travel telescope for myself. Bought it "used, good condition" on Amazon. It had been returned and they cut the address labels off the box before returning it, but it had not been opened. So, only damage was to the box and I got it for less than half price.
Decent basic travel scope, will also get used as a spotting scope once I get a phone mount for it. Tripod is crap, as expected. The "spotter scope" will get replaced as I can't stand the upside down and backwards aiming on it, probably replace it with a cheap red dot or maybe a green laser.

 

Excellent! Good for you. Gonna have some viewing ops with your mom? (wish I could with mine but that's no longer possible...)

 

Eventually. Currently working extra to save up $, 13+hr days 7 days/week, a 3hr drive from their place.
She and my dad set up the 6SE a couple mornings ago and she got to look at the planets and a cluster. She said that she was amazed with how many stars she could see that she didn't realize were there. The dew shield helped block the ambient light on their porch. Unfortunately, not much to do about the trees.
They are taking a trip and are taking it with them since they will be in a few spots that have zero light pollution camping in their Airstream.
The 70mm is the start of my own collection.

 

https://twitter.com/skyandtelescope/status/1545023583629475843?s=21&t=sW6lHvs_kBhICcjq5Ll5zw

 

I've used my 50x range spotting scope before to gaze in the sierra Nevada's, years ago.

i live in New Orleans now, can't hardly see anything with the humidity here.