So here are the first results of my first dive into the Deep from the new setup and observatory! Had a real struggle trying to enable guiding due to a) The DIY miniguider I assembled using a 9x50 finder and a makeshift 1,25" nosepiese could not reach focus with the DBK so I had an epiphany and switched back to the side by side setup with the Orion ST80...
and b) It took me roughly 3 hours to figure out how exactly to get PHD to talk to the NEQ6 aswell as activate the guide commands... more on that later though! 

The title truly does it justice! Owning an observatory, no matter how big or small, luxurious or minimal, truly magnifies the amount of satisfaction this hobby gives to the amateur. I am, as I'm typing this, sitting comfortably in my own observatory, listening to music and just watching the setup collect photons from the deep sky! I'm still in the testing phase but currently I'm managing 1 minute unguided exposures with the C9,25 running at f/6.3 and the Canon EOS550D. I am missing about 2 in every 10 shots but I'm expecting those numbers to improve once the guidescope is set up. For now, here's a teaser of what I'm doing...this is going to be a long night!

First day in the observatory today! Still a lot of work as far as moving in, arranging everything e.t.c. but the scopes are in and operational! The split-roof works great as a Sun shade for solar observing/imaging! Had a quick snap with through the ST80 guidescope as its the only size filter I had available but I love it! 

On Saturday, August 3, we drove up to Paradisos Hills at Lysos in Paphos forest to visit our friends wo were spending the weekend there. The skies up there are unbelievably dark and clear so we took the opportunity to snap a few pics...
We also met some amazing people, Lisa and Nick who were visiting from the U.S.A. Here are some pics!