Norris Adams

I definitely get it Chaz. Ever since I rolled into EAA I've been hooked. I also had a couple of cataracts removed two years ago and I'm off to the opticians for an eye test again this week - I'm pretty sure my sight has deteriorated quite a bit over the last six months. EAA allows me to take every advantage I can get, so I will continue to exploit it to the full! Norris

Whenever I feel that the summer nights are a no-go, I remind myself that the first time I saw Polaris B - not too difficult a target I know - was June 21 in 2021. There's always something out there when the clouds part! Norris

Beautiful image!

Competing with Hubble? Somebody likes a challenge! Amazing work - great achievement! Regards, Norris

Hi Tony, I'd been looking for something to give me a better focusing ratio for some time. Not being able to find an over-the-counter solution I'd tried various home-made ideas with limited success. Your chance remark (regarding a clamp) made me think of a small, retail clothes 'grip' that I had thrown into my tool box just the other day. I felt sure it would be useful for something...! I've just tried it and it works great! Rigid, secure and light to control and move! Because I'm only using it at the point of fine focus (for EAA work), it will never have to move more than a few degrees., so there's no interference issue. But trying to achieve those few degrees (or even sub-degree movement) when using a small wheel is mighty difficult!! Thanks again!!! Norris

Here's my first go at a DSO. Bode's after seven minutes! It was taken a couple of years ago. Even though it's smeared and grimy, it still delighted me at the time. Without a camera, I'd spent many nights 'wobbling' the scope to try to catch a glimpse of something that the star maps told me was definitely there, but I'd never been able to see it. Here at last was proof they weren't lying!!! Norris

Hi Ed - I guess with the task of sketching particular targets you probably observe much more than the average astronomer. Your work reminds me of a conversation between Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes in "A Scandal in Bohemia". "When I hear you give your reasons," I (Watson) remarked, "the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each successive instance of your reasoning, I am baffled until you explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.""Quite so," he (Holmes) answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself down into an armchair. "You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room. "Frequently." "How often?" "Well, some hundreds of times." "Then how many are there?" "How many? I don't know.""Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed." Well done Sherlock! I suspect you (and your peers) see a lot more than the rest of us - imagers and visual astronomers alike! Norris

Hi Recretos - Stunning captures from such a remarkably compact piece of kit. Great work indeed!! Regards, Norris

You must be delighted Aditya!! Amazing! Regards, Norris

Each to his own Dave! Maybe one day I'll dip in to the deep-end! Clear skies!

A very succinct summary Elp! As you say, sometimes features emerge that you hadn't expected. I shot my regular five minute exposure (10.7s subs) of a reflection nebula (NGC 6914) in Cygnus a few nights ago. After the allotted time, I was beginning to see something that I hadn't expected, so I let the camera run for another 15 minutes. The result is attached. It's far from perfect but it kept me happy! Norris

Paradoxically Carastro, Smart telescopes seem a bit 'too easy' to me! Not that I have ever used one, but I have tried subscribing to remote telescopes and processing the images they deliver. Even though the quality is much better than anything I can produce with my own kit, the finished output didn't feel like I owned it....since I hadn't put the effort in the acquire the image - I'd done it through a middle-man. Maybe I'm just too 'old-school'! Perhaps, to misquote an advert on TV - "maybe one day all telescopes will be made like this". Norris

Hi Roy, It's certainly been a difficult year. With so few clear skies, I can understand why people crave a permanent housing for their kit (just to snatch a few images when the opportunity arises). Norris

Thanks Coco - For all its frustrations (and there are plenty!) I'll stick with my trusty CMOS camera! I understand what you're saying though. Visual astronomy is a very different experience. I think you 'live in the moment' more looking down an eyepiece - if that makes sense? Norris