I was out having a look at the moon and stars this evening, trying to get a few images with my DSLR. I could hear a rustling in the bushes behind me but I was taking long exposures of M81 at the time and in any case, I'm used to the cat turning up unannounced. But the rustling got louder and closer and it definitely wasn't the cat. The head torch went on and I fully expected to be face to face with a rat. Instead, I got a friendly look from a hedgehog. It wasn't a bit concerned about me or the l
working as a mainframe operator i get to spent some time on night shift, which is very much ok with a pair of binoculars around .) light polution is quite high but apart from the west, i'd like to call it acceptable. yesterday's gazing was wonderful with a clear sky. thought i'd have a look at a few double stars .) M44 - CAN - open cluster, the beehive mars - CAN - passing past the beehive M13 - HER - globular cluster Z1+2 - LYR - double, nicely visible with the 10x50, first timer, this is... E1
I have sky atlas 2000.Can any one help me how to use this I am an amateur.There is an overlay and I need to know the way it is supposed to be used.Any tutorials? jay
My first ever view of an astronomical 'thing' through a telescope was Venus, way back in the mists of time (some time in the late 70s). Prompted by a little section in this month's Sky at Night programme, I went looking for Venus again in the evening sky. I was hoping to spot Mercury, too. I was intrigued by the statement on the programe that only 1% of the population had knowingly seen Mercury. For the last few nights I've been thwarted by low cloud in the West. My view of the Western horizon i
Hi ive just joined up. I am going to buy a telescope called 'Skywatcher Explorer -200p EQ5 (8") ' And i was just wondering, if anybody could share their views on it, if you've had experience with the scope or whatever. Im welcome to critisism too! :)
Scope: Bresser Sirius 70mm/900mm Lenses: H20, H12.5, 2xBarlow Location: Semi-dark Site Visibility: Intermittent Cloud Light Pollution: Medium Last night was a little cloudy but we could see clear patches and since it looks like it'll be cloudy all week my wife and I decided to try and take a look at Saturn. The wind was knocking our scope around something fierce and at 45x and 72x all we could see of Saturn was a star and I thought that we were going to have the same failed experience we got whe
Scope: Bresser Sirius 70mm/900mm Lenses: H20, H12.5, 2xBarlow Location: Dark Site Visibility: Excellent! Light Pollution: Low Took the scope out to a prospective dark site with good views to the West in the hopes of spotting Venus and Mercury. A great location with excellent views apart from the suicidally bumpy road leading up to it. My wife was kind enough to drive us there and at first took the road at a bone jarring 10mph! Clouds over Western sky at sundown, but a break in them allowed us
Scope: Bresser Sirius 70mm/900mm Lenses: H20, H12.5, 2xBarlow Location: Back Garden Visibility: Good! Light Pollution: Heavy Learning to use telescope and interpret star charts. Examined a bright red star which subsequently turned out to be Mars. Not able to see any real difference (apart from colour) from any other star using all lenses. Looked at Cappella in Auriga constellation, cheap lenses supplied with telescope are showing false red and blue colour around star. Had a closer look at Mizar
I have just started out in amateur astronomy and intent to use this blog to keep logs of the things I see as well as to keep track of things I intend to do. Mainly for my own use...
I've read a lot of posts where people mention their 'Dark Sky Site'. My garden is pretty good for a suburban location, but I'm hemmed in by trees, bushes and houses. Short of cutting a groove through the kitchen extension and house roof, I have to wait ages for Saturn to pop into view at the moment. So I thought I'd go and find my own Dark Sky Site. I had some ideas and visited them during the day to get some orientation, find a flat, dry spot, safe parking and to make sure it wasn't some fly t
just joind this forum couple weeks ago,still trying to find my way about the forum. tha advise in endles and the ppl here very imformative, as im only a noob at the moment but willing to learn,would any one give me advise on the scopes im using cos all im seeing at the moment are star clusters and no planets. my main scope is the celestron nexstar 102 CLT computerised, read the instructions lined up with 3 stars and was amazed scope knew were all the constelations and planets were,but didnt see
Hello dear readers! I have just done GCSE astronomy 2 years ago... and I finish the rest of my *boring* gcses this year... so now I am rather stuck. At the moment, I have decided to do A level Physics, Maths, Biology and Chemistry. I loved astronomy though, and before my brilliant physics teacher left, he talked about an AS Astronomy thing.. I can't see it on any syllabus at any 6th form in wiltshire, so does this mean I can do it in my spare time? Is it possible to do this alongside 4 alevels
I’m enjoying my new hobby. The sense of awe I first experienced as a child hasn’t left me all these years later. I can look up into a clear sky on a cold spring night and try and imagine distances and scale. I can wonder at all the things I can see. As a student, I spent more time than I should sitting or lying on the ground with a few mates watching for meteors and satellites and discussing ‘infinity, man’. I find that when I’m looking through the telescope, I lose track of time, in a good w
At the 6.5mm setting the zoom has a 60 degree FOV (same as a Radian) and the sun's disk almost completely fills the view. I compared Baader Orthos, Naglers and Ethos eyepieces to see which was best and was surprised hat none of the other eyepieces could beat the zoom. I suppose it's a case of the zoom's optical characteristics exactly matching the Lunt. John
I’m a photographer, born and bred. Well, almost. I took it up in school, dabbled with film making, got a degree in scientific photography and, after working in the field for a while moved on to training (where I spent a lot of time writing and directing training videos). So I know how to take a picture. Except I don’t any more. For the last few clear nights, the cat (she doesn’t have a name that I know) and I have been out trying to take photos of the things I’ve been looking at through the ey
Hello everyone! Since watching the new documentry ' Wonders of the solar system' something has triggered inside me to buy a telescope. I have always had a fassination with the night sky but until now I've decided to take a step and see it a little closer. I'm looking at spending about £100-£150 new or second hand. Thanks, I hope to here from you soon :-)
Hi people, haven't really been posting lately... anyway as you may have already noticed, I now own a new scope, which is easy to use!! UPDATE ON SCHOOL RESULTS:: Maths: 154/159, 95%, 5th highest in my year group (highest MALE score though :p) Science:: Biology: 48/50, A* Chemistry: 44/50, A (1 mark off A* :mad::mad:) Physics: 43/50, A (2 marks off A* :mad::mad::mad:) Thats all for now folks, A level Italian mid-may, and about 1 million more exams at the end of may and end of june :icon_eek::icon
Hi i'm new at this and looking for advice on a new scope! Reflector? Refractor? I can possibly squeeze to £350 or there about, the club i have just joined suggester a Skywatcher 150p reflector. i know its got good right ups but it would be good to have other options. now as you can all see i am like a lanb to the slaughter so i can only reiterise HELP! Thanks for any advise Glyn
Accessorise I’ve had my telescope about three weeks now and already I feel the need to accessorise. Is this a male techno-toy thing? Yes, probably. Does it appeal to the gadget gene found in most men? Yes, almost certainly. Is it an astronomical thing? Probably not as I’m also a photographer and have felt the accessorise bug strike before. It’s like the tool bag (or box) – you always need a new screwdriver/chisel/ hammer/drill bit. So what did I need? Well, technically, nothing. But that wa
I used to ‘believe’ in UFOs. I had loads of books. I lived within 2 hours of the ‘Welsh Triangle’ (off the Pembrokeshire Coast). I’d seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind – the original and the special edition. But over the years I grew to believe that people are easily influenced or quick to mistake one thing for another. My interest waned (although I am still convinced that in a universe so large, we can’t be the only ones here). So imagine my surprise when, while observing the Pleiades w
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