I have been very fortunate after my first clear sky to have a number of cloudless nights. Each one seems to have brought better viewing conditions than the last. Although this might be due to me ‘learning to see’. I was sceptical about the concept of learning to see. I’ve been practising seeing for, ahem, 21 years (and another 21 and a further 4) so I thought I was getting pretty good at it. Okay, I use glasses but the basic concept of ‘face the thing I want to see, open both eyes and look’ is
I got my telescope one lunchtime, on a break from work. The shop was about 15 minutes up the road from the office and I’d spent ages doing all the research in magazines and on Stargazer’s Lounge. The staff were very helpful and although I knew what I wanted – a nice Skywatcher Skymax 127 Mak Cat f/11.8 Goto Alt Az – it was good to go through the options and confirm I’d made the right choice. At home, everything fitted together easily and suddenly, there was a proper telescope sitting in my liv
Does anyone have knowledge or experience regarding Galileo Dobsonian telescopes? This is not the Indian company, but a concern located in Florida (Telescopes, Binoculars, Gadgets & Gizmos). They have numerous items listed on eBay at very inexpensive prices, but no one seems to be snatching them up. Regards
I've been reading Eric Chaisson's 'Cosmic Dawn: The Origins of Matter and Life'. Reading this book I have to struggle quite a bit. So much so that in writing about my experience I feel the urge to go hillbilly just to make things interesting. Okay, this feller knows his stuff. Pro'lly a good perfesser too. But whoooo--weee... the smell comin off'in his writing style jess leaves a person wantin something a biiitttt more on the personable side of things. Fossilized dino dung has more juice in
Do £20 Light Pollution Filters Work? I am thinking of buying one because of the stupid amounts of Light Pollution in Oldham. would it really make a difference or is it a waste of money? Would it make the Andromeda Galaxy look like a galaxy, and not the faintest ever small blob? Also i have some 10x50 binoculars they can see blue clouds of the Orion Nebula but with my telescope all i can see it the 2 stars... would it help with that? and will i ever be able to get the Horse Head Nebula with the s
Does anyone know if finder scopes produced by Skywatcher and Orion will fit the dovetail on a Celestron OMNI XLT 120 Scope? I'm looking to get a finder with a right angle to prevent me needing to study gymnastics before viewing anything at the zenith. Thanks, Mike
During the past few weeks of cloudy skies I've been spending some of what would have been observing time learning how to use my Nikon D3000 DSLR. After many hours using the camera on the tripod I came to the definite conclusion I should get a 'Right Angle Viewer' for the viewfinder. I wasn't sure whether I should get the Nikon DR-6 Right Angle Viewfinder or some other brand that was anywhere between 1/3 to 1/2 the price. I phoned the local office of the national photographic chain and immediatel
In a perverse way cloudy skies can be good. The condition allows you to catch up on your astronomy reading. In my case I was intrigued by the title. Space Enterprise: Living and Working Offworld in the 21st Century (Philip Harris, Praxis Publishing 2009) At first glance one might be tempted to think this fellow was a bit on the squirrely side of crazy using a title which conveyed a meaning of humanity flourishing on planetary and space outposts rather than just barely managing to exist on two
I just noticed something today. My membership status in the Star Gazers Lounge has suddenly changed. Having been a 'vacuum' I am now classified as a 'Nebula'. With apologies to Descartes does this mean 'I gaseous, therefore I am'? p.s. It has now been 65 nights since the purchase of my telescope without ONE night being cloudless enough for observation. I'm beginning to wonder if G-d has remembered me.
I am sad to anounce the destruction of yet another roof on the shed. It did, however, manage to snap a reenforced fence post in half in its BID for freedom. So beware the evils of bungee cord, i knew it wasn't strong enough and all four bungees frayed like the spineless buggers they are. I was expecting them to make some brave last bid stand with triumphant music playing and slow motion capture as poor brave jonny bites the dust......poor jonny. Ahhhh look out brad! Another gu....oh the humanit
When I joined the Stargazers Lounge (see http://stargazerslounge.com/welcome/95087-greetings-everyone.html#post1356680 ) I wrote about how I had as a New Years resolution decided to get started on astronomy as a hobby. Well...? The fates have been conspiring against me it seems. I set forth in my posting about how I had already purchased a Nikon D3000 D-SLR and Pro-Star (aka Clevo) D900F laptop. Well, it seems the drivers (windows or *nix) for Intel WiFi 5300 cards won't allow signing into sec
Some time ago I purchased a box which at the time I thought would be useful for my husband's woodwork tools. It contained an incomplete telescope and I would like advice whether it will be possible to obtain parts to restore it, where I could purchase them and if it would be worthwhile to do so. The maker's label states 'Prinz Optics, Made In Japan, Astronomical Telescope Model 660 DE=76.2mm F=1250mm'. There is a draw tube but the rack has been removed leaving just one small screw. There are no
I'm thinking about setting up a Website for a new South observing group? I thought 'South Astronomer Observing Group' was a good name for the group?. The website could have news, pictures and info on there for the meets etc. I think the email side could keep us all posted. etc. If you would like to join, please show your interest. Cheers Rob P.s this is a new suck it and see project.. no money involved
I will be coming to the UK in May this year and want to do some observing. In particular I want to complete the Messier Catalogue with the objects we can't see here in Australia. Where is the best place to do this? I also want to buy a cheap telescope to enable me to observe. What is the best one to get. It can't be too big or too heavy. I am an active member of the South East Queensland Astronomical Society and own a few telescopes 102 Skywatcher mak, Celestron 8" dob and have the use of Celest
These are my first ever pictures I have taken with a telescope. I think these are quite good for my first time. Although, I'd quite like to experiment a bit more with focus, exposure and editing. If anyone has any tips, please leave them here!
Hi Guys, I am 15 and quite new to astronomy. I have a meade ETX-60 AT Telescope. I wondered (apart from the LPI) what should I use to take pictures with it? Thanks Ben
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