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Blog 27026

DIY Solar viewing filter housing

I recently purchased a sheet of Baader astro solar film to try my hand at some solar viewing and along with a friend have been playing around with different ways to mount it to the scope safely and effectively. Ill use this blog as kind of a "how to" to show you, the reader how we went about making a simple filter attachment for the small 40mm aperture hole on the front of my 150P using some ply wood, glue and a few screws. To start I cut 3 75mm cicles out of some 6mm ply wood solar filter 1
Nova

Nova

5
Blog 22857

Tongue-tied but trying!

I couldn't believe it, I had waited till 10:00 pm and I still didn't have the inky black skies needed to see most of the stars except the brighter ones in each constellations. Deep-sky objects were clearly NOT going to be on the table for this particular night! I will have to take a strong coffee before doing any serious stargazing from now on as spring approaches summer! Since the planets outshone everything else, I decided to concentrate on them. Like usual, my first gaze fell on V
stolenfeather

stolenfeather

3
Blog 34179

Website Live...ish

Well, the course web site went live today...sort of! :( Lots of error messages and unfound pages when I tried to log on this morning. Finally got onto the course web site this afternoon for a quick look. Not much there just a basic outline and study calendars for the two possible finish times. You can either complete the course by 31 July or by 25 October. You don't have to stick to the 31 July timetable if you can't complete the course by then due to time restraints but you do have to submit yo
Stargazer33

Stargazer33

2
Blog 34179

OU Course - Galaxies, Stars & Planets.

Just reading through the course book in bed of a night - for as long as I can stay awake. :rolleyes: Also working my way through the OUs 'Maths Ebook' which is really helpful (and available to anyone). Getting really fed up with these cloudy nights as my interest is being really ignited, but I can't go out and view anything! :mad: The course module website will open on 8 May and the course will start on 12 May. So I'm trying to get ahead in the book before the course starts. Only half way throug
Stargazer33

Stargazer33

3
Telescope Project

New House, New Camera

Well it's been a LOONG time since last posting. A house move and other family crises intervening. Finally things are settling down and I managed to get out under the stars for the first time proper at our new house. Scope is now in a semi-permnent position (scope permanent, camera, PC etc. not) So got the gear guiding again and got out my new and shiny ATIK 383L+ :D Thin cloud + full moon so I was never going to get a good shot :mad:, but at least I could get the scope aligned etc. New for th
rfdesigner

rfdesigner

3
Blog 21987

venus and moon

[ATTACH]318[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]319[/ATTACH] Had a go at Venus again seeing it was bright, Using the eos 300d camera on the mak 90, i know its not brilliant, but still learning the ropes of the camera, also image of the moon last night out the bathroom window with 18-55 lens on, some how i missed moon coming up in south, busy looking at Saturn high up in the west. yours Paul.
mr saddo

mr saddo

3
Blog 22857

(super)MOONSTRUCK!

One would think that after last night with the famous "supermoon" , that many posts covering the event prevail but no. To tell you the truth, I must admit feeling quite bothered about the "hype" the news conjured up with their flashy headlines and promises of wonder. In the end, there was little to see without some sort of measurable reference that the moon was "bigger". The media did it again, promised something they knew little about, raised excitement and only delivered an illusi
stolenfeather

stolenfeather

4
Blog 21987

Dont forget the transient of VENUS june 5-6

Get your solar filters ready, has this will be the last transient until 2117!! http://transitofvenus.nl/wp/where-when/local-transit-times/ plots your location and times. article on the matter below. http://earthsky.org/tonight/venus-swings-directly-in-front-of-the-sun-on-june-5-and-6
mr saddo

mr saddo

4
Blog 18242

Disasters all round :(

Try to get back into observing has not been easy, disasters all round. After setting up the equipment in the observatory I turned my attention to all the flight cases of gear I had not opened in almost a year. Silly me had left a number of items with batteries installed and these had leaked, so the last few weeks have been a recovery effort and that is going well but the worst part was not the cases but the observatory. I don't know what has happened but I have more rain inside than outside,
The Sailor

The Sailor

6
Blog 22548

Astro-Cafe - Supernova - Venus - Mars - Saturn

It was third Friday of the month and that is Astro-Cafe night at Davis Bay by the ocean. After tea, coffee and hot chocolate, I was eager to get the scope setup. I left a half dozen members in the coffee shop while I drove round to the South end of the Seawall and began setting up the Scope. I had the Celestron C9.25 and the Alt/Az T-Mount. Without motors and power it was quite quick to set up. I pushed the scope to Venus and found a really nice view. The 9.25 has a long focal length 2305 mm w
James4

James4

5
Blog 22857

Have you ever danced with the galaxies?

April 21st, 2012 The peak of the Lyrids settled in on this night which boasted a dozen or more meteors per hour. Did I see any meteors? Yes, I saw a couple but I have to admit that I wasn't really looking. According to me the "real show" was a little bit further,... I made my way outside after fixing my TELRAD which had become unattached at one side since the glue wore off with time. I realigned my viewfinder using bright Venus. When I stopped fumbling in the dark and actually
stolenfeather

stolenfeather

3
Blog 22857

Have you ever danced with the galaxies?

April 21st, 2012 The peak of the Lyrids settled in on this night which boasted a dozen or more meteors per hour. Did I see any meteors? Yes, I saw a couple but I have to admit that I wasn't really looking. According to me the "real show" was a little bit further,... I made my way outside after fixing my TELRAD which had become unattached at one side since the glue wore off with time. I realigned my viewfinder using bright Venus. When I stopped fumbling in the dark and actually glimp
stolenfeather

stolenfeather

0
Blog 21987

Trying to get saturn with canon 300d

Hi, all being trying to photograph Saturn,been bit of a night mare, all the gear no idea sort of thing, really disappointed,and frustrated, tried all sorts of shutter speeds, bulb etc with remote trigger, what settings do i use? or do i need a tracking box for the eqi?
mr saddo

mr saddo

8
Blog 22548

Solar Observing 14th April, 1600 hrs PDT

Came back from my regular Saturday outing yesterday and decided to get the scope out for some solar observing. I have not done a lot of solar observing but I really like the casual nature of it. No need to worry about lights, or cold and no need to wear ski pants! I used The Explore Scientific 152mm Refractor with Thousand Oaks Glass Solar Filter. At first I thought wow - there is nothing here ... Just the Solar Disk. After about 20 seconds a small group of spots came into view in the lower rig
James4

James4

0
Blog 22548

T-Mount, C9.25 and Scope Shop Psychosis

While I was awaiting delivery of a new CGEM, I made the mistake of visiting the new scope shope that opened up within lunch time driving range of work. I immediately noticed an large wooden tripod with Alt-Az T-Mount atop. I've been looking out for a large Alt-Az mount for some time - for those nights when you don't intend to stay out too long. I wanted one capable of supporting a 152mm Refractor or the 9.25 inch SCT. A strange thing happens when visiting the scope shop - I call it 'Scope Shop
James4

James4

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