Collimating a Celestron Nexstar 6se/8se using a Star 

Yeah, a dew shield would be a nice accessory. I've been in a few situations where having one would've been fairly significant, but don't think they are terribly important most of the time. And great input, did not know that.

I've wondered if reflectix is of any benefit when the telescope is in a dome. For awhile i had it on my scope, but i wasnt sure in the dome scenario it benefited.

SharpCap

You are correct that adding a barlow forces you to do corrections more frequently. Theres not going to be a perfect rule one how often, but generally speaking, it'd expect it to be similar to the barlow multiple. E.g. if you use a 2x barlow, then you will have to halve your exposure time per image and double your current adjustment rate (atleast for the drifting FOV). You also have to expose for x^2 = 4 times as long to get the same signal to noise. You do get increased resolution, but its not worth it since it makes your sessions both more tedious and 4x as long for the same S/N.

Get a 8” cheapy dob, best first telescope to purchase. No go-to stuff. Learn the sky using a Orion deep-map 600.

Really depends on what you want to do. I've found the 6se very convenient since I like doing time-lapses of the planets. The size of the aperture and quality of the optics are pretty good in my book. But, for DSOs without a Focal Reducer, I find it very much lacking. Also quite expensive new. The 130slt helped me first get into Deep Space, but do bear in mind that I modded the scope and drove an hour to darker skies to shoot. That's not always an option for everyone. If you don't mind tracking things yourself, an 8" dob can be a good option as george suggests. It'd be really hard doing the timelapses, but the larger aperture has the potential to provide you with better individual stills. But a really nice thing to try (if you have a DSLR of some sort) is just going out a little ways away from the city lights and trying your hand at some wide-field Milky Way shots. That's the easiest way most people start with DSOs since wide-field is just so accessible. And as always, give the used market a look. There can be some ridiculously good deals there. If your in a big city, it almost doesn't make sense to get something brand-new.

@kylemccaslin thanks for your reply. I ended up getting a 130slt for $375 AUD. Going to do your mods and get a $200 dslr and try to emulate your shots

@@georgewashington7444 8"dob does seem like good value. I picked up a 130slt for fairly cheap. See how it goes.

It's that the donut should be perfectly symmetric. The dark circle should be perfectly in the center, not closer to one side.

@@kylemccaslin Ahh. Got it. Thanks.

Well, to be clear it's showing me a super out of focus image of a star. It simply looks like a donut because that is what the telescope looks like from the front - a large circle (the primary mirror) with an obstruction in the center (the secondary mirror). So you're sort of correct in saying that it is the primary mirror?

Does tightening the screw make the rim thicker or thinner? If Does it move the black to the center or away from the center?

@@4ThoseAbout2RaxxWeSaluteU it changes the angle at which the secondary mirror reflects the light, changing the light path. The result is that it moves the central black circle towards or away from the center of the image.