I have a Celestron 11" SCT. Out at our farm it is dark enough to see the Milky Way quite clearly with the naked eye. I have contacted a contractor that we used to build our tractor barn about building a small observatory so I can leave it set up permanently. But we live in Texas so it will need some power and a small airconditioner to keep the interior of the observatory from reaching sweat-box conditions.
For my own screen name, I used to fly until I had an eye problem. My phlyer (pronounced flier) is a hold over from that time.
A couple members of the club I belong to have C14s. I haven’t had a chance to look through them because they have them set up at their homes. One guy has his in an observatory, and the other sets his up when weather conditions are right for it. It’s gotta be a beast…
We have a 10” f/13 refractor in a dome as our main club observing instrument. We also have a 5” Astro-Physics refractor that we’re going to mount on the 10” and hook a video camera up to it for the mobility impaired who can’t climb the metal stairs to look through the eyepiece. We’ll start that project next month.
Do you do any photography with your scope? I’m learning lunar, solar, and planetary photography. Just got my feet wet last year with a Player One camera. I’m hoping to do more this year when it gets warmer.