Cjg

4 minutes ago, icpn said:

I would wait until later in the year when the Milky Way is to the south as there is less light pollution that way however Saggittarius is always low so that may be a challenge. What kind of camera were you thinking of using?

Thanks, think the core will be to the South from 3am'ish. Camera is a Sony A7R mark 2 will probably use the 20mm lens and the Ioptron Sky Guider for the sky. Although looking at the weather and moon.....

1 hour ago, RT65CB-SWL said:

It has been years since I last visited Uffington White Horse. I agree with @icpn and the 'skyglow' of light pollution from Didcot and Wantage is pretty bad. One of the not so pleasant things about living down south is there is so much of it! 

Be interesting to see your images if you do go ahead with it and good luck.

Thank you! 

9 hours ago, Nicola Fletcher said:

I have five, which my mum thinks is way too many and I think is almost enough:

1. A Takahashi FC76-DCU refractor - my favourite and used all the time.

2. An Altair Astro 102 ED-R refractor 

3. A Takahashi FC100DZ refractor 

4. A 12” Explore Scientific Ultralight dob

5. A Takahashi Mewlon 180C Dall Kirkham - new and has only been out for one session so far.

These are all complementary apart from the two 4” apos but I love both of them so much I can’t bear to part with one!

Show your Mum @Stu’s post. 🤣 He’s definitely ‘taken one’ for the forum / astro community in general, being on the way to having a different scope for each day of the month🤣

50 minutes ago, icpn said:

The main National Trust car park would have the east view blocked by trees. You would be more impacted by the light polllution from Wantage and DIdcot which is pretty bad. The disabled car aprk would be better but it would dpend on what you were trying to do.

Thank you, I’m looking at finding a spot from one of those hills to possibly photograph the MW core in the early hrs one morning.

Advice please!
If I were to visit and set up a camera looking East from the hill with the White Horse of Uffington, just how bad is the light pollution from Reading to the East or from the towns and villages to the South?

The light pollution map suggests the area is a Bortle 4, but I’m struggling to visualise just how much the sky glow would be. ( Last visited the area some 25 years ago) 
Thanks,

Chris

2.5

An Astro-Physics Stowaway 92mm 

An Altair Astro 125mm EDF Doublet

An Altair Astro 72mm Doublet on a long term loan with a friend.

On 20/02/2024 at 12:23, reddoss said:

Hi Chris, are you going to AstroCamp in April?  If so, are you on top field (Astro-imagers row) near me again?

Cheers,

           Justyn

Definitely not top row, Justyn. 
Not booked yet, awaiting results of an eye exam on April 5th to see when the eye drs. Will fix the cataract in my left eye. Right eye done, but internal pressure in the left eye was much higher…🫣

On 13/02/2024 at 09:08, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

I've been to three Astrocamps and experienced one clear night. Last Autumn was particularly wet and miserable the whole time. That plus sleeping on a slope for three nights is putting me off. I may chance it again this Autumn. Have a good one. 

Think I may have been pitched next to you last Autumn? it was the wettest camp I remember. However, the night before AstroCamp was beautifully clear, and there were many of us already there. Hopefully see you next autumn. 

Worth watching / subscribing to Alyn Wallace if you are interested in a month-to-month objects to observe / photograph.

Here's his overview for 2024 

Depends upon the light pollution and whether your view to the South West is clear or not, but now, possibly the easiest is the Orion Nebulae, M42, the fuzzy patch underneath the three belt stars is naked eye visible and you'll see nebulosity..

Freetstarcharts is your friend to print out so as not to sacrificde any books https://freestarcharts.com/messier-42

You do not mention how old your children are, but NGC 457 the Owl Cluster usually a 'winner' https://freestarcharts.com/ngc-457 Just underneath Cassiopeia 

The Andromeda Galaxy is another easy, naked eye from dark skies, but will be possibly straight up, so for a refractor, stiff neck time? https://freestarcharts.com/messier-31

If you can borrow a copy of Turn Left at Orion, it will give you an idea of what to look for, month by month, especially helpful, if in the early days, you do not know what to look for and where.

Good luck,

Chris

8 hours ago, SwiMatt said:

I do enjoy hearing about Takahashis and other marvels, but for that kind of scope I would need to renounce other plans I have in life (or get a mortgage), so it's definitely not in the cards as my second telescope. It's up there among the best, and my wallet isn't big enough... nice to dream though

It's amazing to see the love that people have for small refractors. This is going to be a tough choice for sure. All in all, the quality and pleasure of use of small apos make it feel like the way to go.

And please keep discussimg, I just got the popcorn out

I have just the two scopes now...an Astro-Physics Stowaway - 92mm is a beautiful size for a 'frac, and the views exquisite..and then a 125 Altair EDF Doublet, the #BFS (Big Flipping Scope) If it's outreach or I know that the clear skies will last, it's the 125. But the Stowaway is something else...am surprised no one has mentioned the @FLO StellaMira 90mm ED Triplet...yet😉

@SwiMatt I had an ST102 many years ago, gave it away to a school teacher. Hopefully the newer versions have a better quality focuser that does not flop about. Anything other than a really lightweight eyepiece and it was a frustrating experience...Good luck, and hope you have plenty of popcorn at the ready for the ensuing debate 🤣

Chris

A great evening, Neil, felt very much like the 'out-of-hours' sessions that we had before the madness of CV19. Observing Barnard 33 has become a bit of an event whenever you and @Helix are on the pads with yours dobs! As for the soup, as much as I'd like to claim an ancient recipe passed down....the soup maker came with a recipe app!!😂

Hopefully more nights like that to come this year,

Chris

Anyone one with experience at running events and within commuting distance to Didcot?

1 Year fixed term contract, might be an experienced organiser at a local Astro Club who would suit this?

https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi?jcode=1891384

On 10/12/2023 at 17:07, John said:

Occasionally I have regretted that, and the example of the 6 inch F/12 achromat refractor that I acquired, as mentioned by @Stu earlier in the thread is one of those. But I learned from it and it's quite possible that had I not actually tried it, I would still have that itch of curiosity for a really long, large aperture refractor. They do look so alluring 🤩

  

So many questions, what were the views like? 
How on earth did you store / transport and fit it onto the mount?

Quite certain that’s not a scope you could slip past the other half unnoticed🤣

That’s a lot of commitment, well done!

Chris

1 hour ago, IB20 said:

Maybe I should change the title to “I have a 5” ED doublet”… 😁😁

Thanks for all the input and hurry up postie!

No wonder the forecast has gone to pot for Thursday and the peak of the Geminids.🤣

Congratulations, look forward to seeing your 1st light report in due course. (Asking should I get a 5 inch 'frac on an astronomy forum was really and truly only going to give you 1 answer, wasn't it! 🤣)

Good luck with your new scope

Chris

4 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

I think it is fantastic that someone is trying to push what is possible in optical technology forward (though I think we are probably spending the $1mn to get 1/10th of second lap time improvement like in F1 here) but I fear for the prospects of the company here as even idiots like me who spend way too much money on scopes won't spend 20k on a 4" scope.

 

Still, if they want me to review one, I am more than happy to put it through its paces.

If you are going to, please, do it well before next April's Cwmdu.🤣  and there'll be a huge queue at 'frac alley!

14 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

These are still around there's even a 2023 Sabre model.

 

Yay! Can highly recommend the mount, it’s great news that it’s available! 

12 hours ago, IB20 said:

The AZ75 holds 15kg on each saddle depending on length of OTA. It should handle it relatively comfortably, I’d imagine? 🤷🏼

What do other members mount their 5” scopes on?

A no longer made Altair Sabre Mount.

Once balanced, it really is a joy to use; the only thing lacking are the 'slow-mo' cables.

9 hours ago, IB20 said:

Having 76mm and 102mm “APOs”, how much benefit will I see if I acquire a 5” ED doublet?

How often do users take their 5” scopes out? How long do they take to acclimate and how affected are they by local or atmospheric seeing?

The scope in question is the Stellamira 125mm and so far the reports seem really good. It’s quite long at 1m extended but it seems extremely light compared to most other 5” OTAs. My longest scope is 820mm so I don’t think the length would surprise me. 

The thought of sitting in my garden looking at summer doubles with this scope is an incredibly enticing one!

 

 

 

An Altair 125 EDF owner here. 

Yes, an appreciable advantage over my 92mm Stowaway, but ....the extra length, weight etc means that I have to use a much bigger / heavier mount, so if you already have a mount capable, then the only thing stopping you, really, is the weather and how many clear nights you have in your part of the world to use it. 

I've put off investing in a harmonic drive mount for my 125 as the weather has gotten worse each year, with fewer opportunities to get out for a few hrs. The recent @FLO pricing of their 125 in Carbon Fibre is a bargain.

Good luck,

Chris

Agree. I shall miss Steve's monthly emails, have shared them on the NAS FB group a few times. However, I understand his reasoning too.

Chris

On 16/11/2023 at 17:13, 900SL said:

The current 115mm f7 Wave sounds pretty good, and is tempting me.

Fpl-53, tested, enhanced QA during production, certificate in green, nice focuser and components, sounds similar to the TS CF APO range. A step up from the standard 115mm FPL51 models.

Only issue is the somewhat patchy customer service that seems to be reported from some Altair clients (I'm assuming they are a smallish outfit)

I've had feedback from a couple of users who seem pretty happy, anybody else out there with the 115mm or 130mm?

Owner of the 125mm EDF here. 

It's the doublet rather than the triplet, so perhaps not helpful to you, but, very happy with the views, and quality of fit and finish.

Mine came with three pages of a test report that shows lots of figures that don't mean much to me, as I'm a visual observer.

The important Strehl ratio is 965.  

My version didn't come with a handle, so invested a small fortune with FLO to purchase the William Optics Handle which transformed the attaching to the mount (especially the unattaching after a long observing session when tiredness and cold sets in!!)

Despite living in Norfolk, 25 miles or so from Altair, I purchased mine from Tring Astronomy, as at the time they were regulars at the Astro Camp in Wales and I wanted to support them.

The Telescope Express version looked identical, and could be configured with the larger focuser too, so suspect that they come from the same factory in China.

Good luck.

Chris

On 21/11/2023 at 00:41, Gfamily said:

We bought next door to Astrofarm and attempted the Messier Marathon from there last spring*. Being at 46° N makes it a lot easier to see the low southern ones.  

*No great success I'm afraid - we started with some cloud, and then had a lot of dew falling out mid evening, which then tried to freeze up towards midnight. My commitment didn't survive the cold.  We'll try again as we're there again next April. 

This might be useful though - it's a Google Sheets list of the Marathon in order that can make it do-able in a single night. It should be viewable, and you can download a copy for your own use/records - Credit to Dan Machholz who originated the sequence here .

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L2jp_22MnaoI4cD_hnvzZvcM8z2pLOATz35xKsvpAwE/edit?usp=sharing  

We met at the Autumn AstroCamp in Cwmdu! 😁 I had my Stowaway with me and was sharing the views with the 3 campers who had been walking earlier in the day. Nice to meet you on here too, and good luck next year with the MM...I had frost on my cases both times at the AstroFarm; past midnight it tends to get baltic! 

On 12/11/2023 at 18:07, Bugdozer said:

If I can remember where I printed it from I will post a link! 

A quick search brought up this site https://uol.de/f/5/inst/physik/ag/astro/Objektkatalog_Messier.pdf looks identical to your notes, I think?

On 11/11/2023 at 17:38, Marvin Jenkins said:

I am wishing you luck IB20. I have observed the 110 Ms and I can offer just a small bit of advice. 
Be careful about planning. As an example I wizzed through the easier ones at a time the hardest were visible. When it can to the tough ones (very southern) I was in winter!

M68 became my personal Messier Nemesis. I hovered at 109/110 for nearly two years due to lack of opportunities, weather and suchlike. I finally managed it but it felt more like relief not triumph and that’s not how I thought it would be.

Well done on M1 by the way. My diary for first observation describes it as a small puff of grey smoke.

Marvin

M68 was the 1st one that I could not find, it "should" have been easy as it's underneath the bright star in Corvus. Missed it on the night, but two night later afrer much cussing and cursing with binos and my 76mm Tak, I found it...M83 was so low down in the murk, it took me a another night of searching just toi find it!