http://stargazerslounge.com/ Astronomy forum - For all astronomers, young and old. en Thu, 17 May 2012 08:23:30 GMT vBulletin 60 http://stargazerslounge.com/images/bluefox/misc/rss.jpg http://stargazerslounge.com/ http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189439&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 07:38:10 GMT Yo,for the last two years I've spread the word of the mighty Dob. "Don't like refractors", now I've got two.Then came the eq mount "not getting one of those,all that setting up")to track planets using RA motor.That was a revelation.

I've always been sceptical of automatic/techno solutions.Old school combines with slide rule man,many hours of school sword fights including the deathly slide out middle section. Did we really use logarithum books?I'd seen folk with goto manuals at star parties still scratching around for an hour.

Then I had a chance of a refurb goto to put a refurb 2nd hand tube on.After 3 attempts and silly errors, all I can say is WOW! If you get silly errors then just persist,you'll learn so much of how the system works. This system is a doddle to set up, even in the darkio.

The ota is f6 and this has given clear x240 and above on planets.Mostly it's used with a 21mm Hyperion,a few (15) eps and a Telrad. The focuser is a Revelation two speed which came with the ota.The ota is 1200mm long and balances perfectly with 3 weights spread evenly along the bar.It certainly helps to have 2 securing bolts to the puck.

The accuracy and tracking and set up speed is impressive.What is amazing is that there's more background preperation and planning involved to view reasonable and interesting targets. Basically I just concentrate on one area of the sky and a few constellations at a time.To pick out the best I trawl the net, books and observing reports here. Thankyou to all those who post.

This system means no more frustrating half hours looking for deep sky objects or working out if you've seen a cluster or just stars! With limited viewing time this goto just packs so much in.I replaced the latitude adjustment bolts with upgrades and use a 12v leisure battery.
Being an avid deep sky fan and retired I am lucky enough to get out at every oppurtunity, the next stage will be a mod to the laptop.

If you're thinking of this goto, don't hesitate .Best of all the refractors and smaller tubes can use the mount.It's certainly not cheating and best of all it works,almost forgot;nice.
Nick. ]]> Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups cotterless45 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189439 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189437&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 07:10:40 GMT A Soyuz spacecraft has successfully docked with the International Space Station.

More... ]]> Space News Space News http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189437 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189435&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 05:33:09 GMT Hey guys. Feels kind of strange introducing myself because I have been visiting these forums for a long while. I have had an interest in astronomy for a long time now and have been saving up to buy a telescope. I live at the southern tip of... Hey guys. Feels kind of strange introducing myself because I have been visiting these forums for a long while. I have had an interest in astronomy for a long time now and have been saving up to buy a telescope.

I live at the southern tip of Africa so any decent equipment comes at a greatly inflated price! That being said, I finally took the plunge and ordered a sky-watcher 8" truss dobsonian and it arrived 2 days ago!

So I raced home from the office, drunk with the thought of tearing open my new toy. Well, let me tell you... the thing is beautiful! Before assembling anything, I looked through the eyepieces, twisted all the knobs and let my daughter play "pirates" with the straight through 9x50 finder scope. I was in geek heaven.

Fast forward an hour and the base was assembled and ready to go! A quick alignment check proved that the collimation was still near perfect! not bad when receiving sensitive equipment in Africa!

Okay, being a long time lurker here I always snigger a little when people talk about new telescope curses; that is until that first night. A large blanket of clouds rolled in from absolutely nowhere and stuck around the entire night! The next day at work was pure torture!

Racing home again, I was excited but apprehensive.

1. Bath the kid
2. help make supper
3. get child ready for bed
4. observation time!

So I haul this puppy outside into the garden (pretty weighty I might add) and there it was, the clearest, darkest sky I had seen in a long time. By some divine providence the neighbours on both sides of us were away and there houses completely dark, wonderful!

First thing I did was switch on google skymap on my phone and scan the heavens. First object of interest was mars, excitement! So i plopped in the 25mm eyepiece that came with the scope and aimed the finder at the red (well orange) dot in the sky. Oops, the finder was COMPLETELY off. After 5 minutes of swinging the scope randomly i finally caught it. Tiny, orange and beautiful.

Quickly shoving in the accompanying 10mm piece before losing the planet, I keenly stared at it once more in even greater detail, still tiny but still beatiful, a glowing orange orb on a black satin sheet.

I excitedly rushed to call the wife for a glimpse and she slowly hobbled outside, wrapped from head to toe in a huge woolen blanket. I bit my lip as she stared into the eyepiece.

"what, is that it?" she said, "It is so tiny. What a waste of money."

My excitement died like frog in a blender. She quickly retreated back inside and I, undaunted, continued my journey of our little slice of dark sky.

After 20 or so minutes of awesome mars-ness, I jumped back to skymap. What's this?, saturn peeking out over the neighbours roof! So, I swung the scope around and discovered probably one of the most breathtaking views I have seen in my life! This was truly the jewel of the sky, and through this scope she was brighter than I ever imagined.

Again I called the wife and after a bit of coaxing she finally joined me outside for a view of the ringed planet. Once again she looked through the eyepiece and once again I bit my lip.

"oh WOW!"

That was enough for me. She spent the next 20 minutes staring at saturn while I had to gently push the scope for her every 30 or so seconds. She finally went back inside (I think my impatient pacing scared her away).

I must have spent the next 2 or so hours following Saturn through the sky until the cold got the better of me.

TL;DR : First night with new scope was a revalation. only saw 2 objects but I can't wait to get back! ]]> Welcome BigDeadPixel http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189435 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189433&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 04:47:37 GMT i found m13 tonight!! now i am hooked. i found m13 tonight!! now i am hooked. ]]> Observing - Deep Sky rpmiller78 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189433 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189430&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 03:04:29 GMT Seeing looked like it might have been a bit calmer than the 13th of may. But sadly after only 40 mins of getting the scope cool ( not long enough ) clouds rolled in. So i hurriedly captured two captures before i got nothing. Will process the other... Seeing looked like it might have been a bit calmer than the 13th of may. But sadly after only 40 mins of getting the scope cool ( not long enough ) clouds rolled in. So i hurriedly captured two captures before i got nothing. Will process the other shot later. this one slightly lower FL My two new cooling fans must be helping these hurried shooting nights i reckon
]]> Imaging - Planetary neil phillips http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189430 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189429&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 01:36:26 GMT As I often do, I was trawling the net and came across a piece of info on APM Germany. From what I read, the Tal fracs have a Steinheil lens design rather than the more common fraunhofer. I quote....

"The difference to the Fraunhofer is: The first fieldside element is a negative Flintglass lens, following is a positive crownglass lens. The inner radii are more curved than at the Fraunhofer."

The scope in question is the 100RS. I assume the 125R and 75R are of the same design?

Not terribly exciting, but any information is good information, I guess.

I'm Now off to read up about the two different designs.

Andy. ]]> Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups AndyH http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189429 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189428&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 00:24:16 GMT Quite amazing, a feint big blob between the tiny stars Ofcourse now I want to know what do I need to make it look a bit better in my view? I used 25mm EP so far, maybe barlow lens would be a bit better? Maybe a filter? Found it under LP skies so... Quite amazing, a feint big blob between the tiny stars

Ofcourse now I want to know what do I need to make it look a bit better in my view? I used 25mm EP so far, maybe barlow lens would be a bit better? Maybe a filter? Found it under LP skies so would it been seen better under dark skies without any other optics? ]]> The Astro Lounge Astro-Nova http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189428 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189427&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 00:11:22 GMT Hi all,

Today was my first time using RegiStax 6 with some of my AVI files observed today.

I'm new to the software so bare with me.

Equipment used:
-Coronado PST (stock)
-Orion StatShoot Color Imaging Camera IV ( I know monochrome would be best for the PST, but haven't saved up enough for a decent CCD yet, would like to get the DMK41)
-Meade DSM mount (its a horrible tracker so I can usualy only gather arounf 150 -200 frames before there is too much movement out of fov)
-CEMAX Barlow 2x

For a low budget setup like I have, I'm still impressed with the quality of the 40mm pst.

Can't wait to get all the parts for a stage 1 mod!

Thanks for vieiwing.



]]> Imaging - Solar thenews24 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189427 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189426&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 00:01:46 GMT i finaly got to use my new 12.5 bgo and all i can say is wow, it was worth the wait for sure.sky wasnt great lots of patchy cloud but first up was saturn cassini division very clear and then a metor passed straight through my fov wow. hercules... i finaly got to use my new 12.5 bgo and all i can say is wow, it was worth the wait for sure.sky wasnt great lots of patchy cloud but first up was saturn cassini division very clear and then a metor passed straight through my fov wow. hercules cluster next that was equally as good very clear seperations, not much else realy as clouds rolled in but at least its not a virgin any more:) ]]> The Astro Lounge faulksy http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189426 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189425&goto=newpost Wed, 16 May 2012 23:56:03 GMT wow had a great night well a couple of hours and the chance to use my new bgo 12.5 for the first time. saturn was excellent could easily see the cassini division in moments of calm could also see slighty patches of colour on the planet it self but... wow had a great night well a couple of hours and the chance to use my new bgo 12.5 for the first time. saturn was excellent could easily see the cassini division in moments of calm could also see slighty patches of colour on the planet it self but this was due to staring for a long time. also tried my 16mm nirvana on it and that was amazing could see the cassini division most of the time looked almost like a lp record with the grooves on show happy bunny indeed:D:D ]]> Observing - Planetary faulksy http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189425 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189424&goto=newpost Wed, 16 May 2012 23:54:05 GMT finally got round to suplimenting my red dot finder, i was thinking about a viewfinder but decided on a telrad instead. very easy to attach to the scope and even easier to align the circles, first thoughts were how big it looks on my little 130m... finally got round to suplimenting my red dot finder, i was thinking about a viewfinder but decided on a telrad instead.

very easy to attach to the scope and even easier to align the circles, first thoughts were how big it looks on my little 130m but its very light so doesnt mess up the balancing.

i downloaded some telrad charts and set about finding my first target, M57. ok this is something i find easily with the red dot finder but i followed the chart and positioned the middle circle on the 2 bottom stars of the parallelogram of lyra and had a hopeful clance through the eyepiece, and there it was bang in the centre:headbang: top result!

hmmm what next, M51 never found it from my garden and still havent, one flaw with a telrad....dew, it dews up very quickly, ill have to get a dew shield for it, and now some high level clouds have rolled in so my first light is a short one but so far i think the telrad will be a good little aid to my nocturnal fumblings. ]]> Member Equipment Reviews jabberwocky http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189424 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189423&goto=newpost Wed, 16 May 2012 23:38:02 GMT This is my first attempt at processing narrowband image data and I'm still experimenting to settle on a standard NB processing workflow; I still don't have a good strategy for suppressing the halos around the brighter stars but hopefully they don't harm this image too much.

NEQ-6 Pro, Skywatcher Quattro 10CF + MPCC, SBIG ST2000 + CFW-10 with Baader LRGB + narrowband filters.
10 sub-exposures of 600s each through H-alpha, O-III and S-II filters (I initially tried 900s but too many stars were saturated so dropped back to 10 minute subs).
I mapped the colours using the Hubble Palette: R = S-II, G = H-Alpha and B = O-III. I duplicated the colour image then converted it to mono and made a new colour image with the sharpened desaturated copy as luminance.

Thanks for looking
Derrick

]]> Imaging - Deep Sky derrickf http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189423 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189422&goto=newpost Wed, 16 May 2012 23:18:48 GMT However here goes... Today I decided to bite the bullet and remove the primary mirror from my 150P to clean the dust and black specks off it following a very useful youtube vid that I was sent. Upon removing the bottom plate, I noticed there... However here goes...

Today I decided to bite the bullet and remove the primary mirror from my 150P to clean the dust and black specks off it following a very useful youtube vid that I was sent.

Upon removing the bottom plate, I noticed there were only three large screws... now shouldnt there be six? There were threaded holes by each large screw which looked to me like they were supposed to house locking screws. It shouldn't be much of a problem to get such screws but my question is this....

Is this how they come standard on the old blue tube models? If so I think I'll mod it for lockers anyway, if not, I may have bought a lemon. (it works ok though)

Another (yes you lucky people get two questions for the price of one!! WAHOO!!) question is, the focuser.... its ABYSMAL!! So much slop I could probably slide down the side of it and push it up n down myself. Ok, well not really but its bad. Turning the focus wheel one way makes the tube tilt up, turning it the other way makes the tube tilt back down. Now correct me if Im wrong, but collimation is going to be impossible with a tube like this surely?

Who am I calling Shirley I hear you all shout? (grins)

Im not a giver up so I'll certainly get it sorted and cos Im stuck in a wheelchair for 3 months Ive plenty of time to get it sorted out before I get outside with it.

Now Ive looked online for replacement focusers, the crayford for some reason only come in sizes for 8" tubes and upwards so any suggestions would really come in handy here. Money isn't limitless as Im out of work due to three strokes over past few years, so I have to keep things realistic and cheap as possible.

All or any advice on both questions will be very gratefully accepted.

Cheers to all ]]> The Astro Lounge daz395 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189422 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189421&goto=newpost Wed, 16 May 2012 23:16:18 GMT I need some insight on how to make a solar filter for my scope that is if I can get my hands on some solar film before the Venus Transit. I'll be using it on my Celestron SP-C6 scope and I'll be doing imaging and possibly viewing. With the 6in scope do I make a filter the full size of the opening or do I make a off axis filter cell?


]]> Imaging - Solar NickRose2006 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189421 http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189420&goto=newpost Wed, 16 May 2012 22:52:31 GMT 15th May 2012

I'm in the Lakes at the moment and managed to get out for a while last night, so I thought I'd share my notes. I haven't really posted much more than questions until now, so I hope this is the right place and that the musings of a total newbie aren't too tedious to you all...

I think this was my 5th session with my scope. I've dotted around some of the more obvious southern Messier's previously - and stared at Saturn! - but after my last session I realised I was getting myself drawn into Messier-bagging and not stopping to take in the skies generally. Part of the reason I got a scope when I did (and the ST80 specifically) was because I struggle with binos and wanted to be able to get proper widefield views to complement my naked-eye night-sky-wonder-gazing. So this time I resolved to keep it wide and peruse the skies in general exploration.

The first thing I noticed before I even got to the scope was the absolute absence of LP up here! So many stars and the Milky Way really obvious low in the N, even at 11 ish at this time of year. Such an amazing difference!

I spent a while just scanning the masses of stars in the Milky Way at low power (x13!) and being generally amazed at how much there is out there. Then had a nose along Cassiopeia to practice moving the scope 'manually', ie with lock knobs loose and just ignoring the finder and scanning through the EP. Even that was instructive - naked eye there must be about 8 to 10 stars visible in and around the constellation but in the scope each of those was surrounded by another 100 fainter ones. Crikey :icon_eek:

Eventually I succumbed and went looking for C13 and C14 near Cassiopeia. C13 was an easy find, C14 has a longer featureless leg and I failed a few times, which taught me to look more carefully at the chart (well, iPad app) and I found some fainter ones along the way which made it easier :D
Both of these open clusters were a bit hard to isolate from the stars at 30mm, but had better shape and more interest at 8mm (x50) :)

(At that point my notes read "2am zzzzzzz" as I signed off for bed!)

All told a pleasing night's viewing, and I'm glad I reined back and enjoyed the skies and the wonder of it as well as searching out some more specific targets. Of course there are more Milky Way and Herculean items waiting if the skies comply again ;)

Thanks for reading, and clear skies
Kev ]]> Observing - Reports KevUU http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=189420