1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Aw c'mon! we're not talking nuclear submarine propulsion systems here!

Well Alan, if we can market the Zarkov cloud gun, Jaffa cake tube Heritage 100p's, and the Hubble space telescope, we can add nuclear propulsion to a telescopes also 🤣

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Great video @Chris, looks like a fabulous little scope. I’m sure it is imaging biased, but as has been said, it should make a ideal airline portable visual scope too. Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it.

Thanks Stu  and further to the airline portable side of things, I must confess that I forgot to push the rings back as far as they will go! Doing so shortens the scope by a further 1cm when the dew shield is pushed in. The Stellalyra 90mm will go as short as 46cm not 47cm..every little helps

36 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Watched the video Chris, very informative and entertaining as always.

Am I right in thinking that the dewshiled could retract further, making the scope shorter for travel, if the the rings were removed/moved?

Thanks Rob and good spot! I was able to get the length down a further 1cm by removing the rings or even pushing the rings as far as they would go down the tube. The StellaMira 90mm will go as short as 46cm this way   

This is the latest in the range of StellaMira refracting telescopes by First Light Optics, and they have kindly loaned me one to play around with! At this early stage this video is purely a first look and an overview of the specs, however there will be more to come as I test the scope out for both imaging and visual in the coming weeks

Please excuse the intro, I like to spice things up a bit. 

First look video below (sorry about the intro, I just like playing around with green screen effects)

45 minutes ago, Dave Lloyd said:

Problem is, they never light up their house. If they put the lights at the bottom of the garden shining back I might consider them a bit less bone headedly selfish. 

You make an excellent point Dave!

Looking through your pics I can see how well thought out this is and organised you are, it looks great  

12 minutes ago, Macavity said:

I think a FAIRER description might be the *program* (Cox) does/did?
But then it's folks who THEN discuss this, that "get it in the neck"?!? 

Are we allowed to discuss it though? 

16 minutes ago, Macavity said:

[IMO] The (religious/political) "Dog Whistle" is quite commonly used
by TV Presenters! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_whistle_(politics)

Don't let THEM divide US! The mods have my genuine sympathy... 🙂

I don't know what others think, but for me if someone calls someone else's beliefs "blind ignorant" on a thread, then that thread needs steering back on course.

I'm sure we're able to do that on our own without the mods involvement right? 

Is it me? or does this thread now contain religious undertones ?

If so that never ends well no matter what stance you have. 

1 hour ago, Laurieast said:

@ChrisHas this situation changed or improved? Or any the wiser why they have done that?

 

It's a bit like with any security lights: sometimes they're on and sometimes they're off. 

No clue as to why they need 3, and with 2 of them so high up. 

24 minutes ago, Paul M said:

I think it's TV in general. A few minutes of actual content spread over an hour. But I concede it will resonate with more than a large enough audience to be considered a great success.

I'm no scientist nor even well educated but I do have a very short attention span and if someone is talking without saying anything then I'll drift off into my own thoughts surprisingly quickly 

There are some really good astronomy podcasts on Spotify which you may enjoy more? although one or two do contain some general chit chat which might make you switch off? 

The Naked Astronomy series is probably the most concise I've heard.

My kids have the monopoly when it comes to the TV and I find podcasts handy as you can listen whilst washing up, cleaning the house etc  

20 minutes ago, Paul M said:

This is why I just don't bother any longer. That's padded out documentaries across the board. 

Part 1, tell you what they're going to tell you.

Part 2, tell you.

Part 3, tell you what they told you.

Putting myself in the shoes of someone completely new to the subject I would probably welcome the repetition to help cement the information. 

I'm wondering if this is done deliberately being its aimed at the general public?

It was relatively clear out when I was at my running club the other night and a guy asked me to give him a bit of a tour of the sky. For starters he had no idea that the bright 'stars' were Jupiter and Saturn and was amazed when I told him. He later messaged me to say he had watched the first episode of the above and loved it so much he was going to watch it again with his kids. 

It seems to be doing the job with it's target audience. 

2 hours ago, DaveS said:

Probably not aimed at us, but at a general non-scientific audience.

Jim Al-Khalili does more deeper science on the box, or else Dr Becky or Sabine Hossenfelder on YT. There are also PBS America "shorts" on astro / astrophysics.

This! I can't recommend the above enough  

There are some very good Astronomy podcast also like the Supermassive podcast (again with Dr Becky), and Naked Astronomy but I can't remember who presents that one? 

I don't think I'll be here when they confirm the transit in 2091, but applying the transit method to stars in other galaxies is something I wasn't even aware of so thanks for the link. 

2 hours ago, Franklin said:

You said in the video that you were not going to spill the beans. 🙂

I wont on YT until the video is out, but I've already spilt the beans on SGL on a few occasions

32 minutes ago, Franklin said:

When are FLO going to loan you a Paramount MyT ?

I'd love to see a review video of that beauty ! 🙂

Thanks for the vote of confidence, although I think I'm way too much of a casual imager to give the MyT justice in all honestly.

I mean I didn't even provide a guide graph in the above video hehe. That one may be best in the hands of more serious imagers. 

I definitely pitch more towards the beginner and intermediate astronomers, but FLO have just loaned me one of the new StellaMira 90mm Triplets which I plan to review for both imaging and visual. I'm very excited about that!

34 minutes ago, RobertI said:

I used the fingertip method to clean my 130p mirror last night and it worked a treat. Highly recommended. Thanks Chris! 👍

Brilliant! You're welcome, and thank you for trusting my instructions 👍🤪 

8 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Looks like a slightly beefed up GP with goto Chris. I would imagine the tracking is much smoother with the belt drives though. All the payload specs they give out for this class of mount are a bit ambitious in my opinion. I have a 4" refractor on a GP2 and I wouldn't want to put anything larger on it. Another great video.👍

I think a beefed up GP mount with Goto perfectly describes this mount in a sentence

There still isn't a huge amount of info out there for the Explore Scientific EXOS2 mount, so I decided to throw a quick overview video together and cover some of the cool features and niggles I've found after a year of ownership. 

In my haste I did miss one niggle, the default ExploreStars software doesn't seem to result in very accurate gotos but apparently goto's are better with third party software via ASCOM, and it is fully ASCOM compliant. I've mainly used my EXOS2 as a sidereal tracking mount for both visual and casual imaging, but I'm starting to look at NINA for plate solving to see If I can get that to work well. If so I may keep the mount a while longer but I'm tempted to upgrade to bigger mount as I feel it's on the limit with an 8" reflector. 

The only other thing missing is periodic error correction but it does track quite well with it being belt driven, and It's quiet once balanced. However, balance is key as the motors on RA and Dec make a clicking ratcheting sound if an heavy payload is slightly out of balance. I think balance would be a pain if you need to setup and tear down each session unless you're using a lighter less demanding scope such as a 4" refractor or 6" Newtonian.

I think I've concluded it's a remarkably affordable mount considering the specs, but it's better suited to lighter payloads as you would typically use with an EQ5 class mount. 

*EDIT: One person in the YouTube comment section said they don't hear a ratcheting sound if their 200pds is out of balance, but others online have reported this:

https://explorescientificusa.com/pages/what-is-that-noisy-ratchet-sound-i-hear-from-my-mount-why-wont-my-mount-move

The the EXOS2 pmc eight mount comes complete a 12V 2A mains adapter as standard, and this is what I use with mine. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-mounts/explore-scientific-exos-2-pmc-eight-goto-mount.html

Copy and paste - What's in the box:

What's in the box

• Explore Scientific EXOS2-GT with Open GOTO PMC-8
• Stainless steel tripod with 2" legs and bubble level
• Counter weight 2 x 4.5kg 
• Polefinder with illumination unit
• Power supply 12 volts / 2.0 ampere
• ExploreStars Software via download

5 minutes ago, Tim said:

Looks like the neighbour I had at a "dark site" recently.....

My neighbour at home is similar, massive floodlights on all night, I spoke to him about it once and he did angle them down a bit, but then upgraded to even brighter, much worse ones.  They drive you mad don't they 😕

basically daylight then  

3 minutes ago, Craney said:

Is that an original wall ?   Looks a bit fancy and OTT.   Wonder if there is planning permission on it....?    I googled,

"in regard to its height:

it is next to a highway used by vehicles (or the footpath of such a highway) and it would not exceed one metre in height (from ground level); or

it would not exceed two metres in height (from ground level) if elsewhere; or ...."

That might make an interesting conversation starter.

 

 

I don't actually know as we've been here less than 3 years you see, but it is quite fancy isn't it. I kind of wish they'd build the wall another 20 foot higher! that would solve the problem  

16 minutes ago, RobertI said:

Oh no, that’s just horrible Chris. 🙁 What on earth are they going to do next? If you are feeling brave enough I would just politely ask whether they could switch them off by 9pm each night. I think if they know how important astronomy is to you and what effect the lights have they might want to be reasonable. Fitting a timer would be easy for them. I’ve generally found neighbours are happy to help once they realise, but I know some SGL’ers have had bad experiences. If that doesn’t work, invite all the neighbours to a star party on your driveway - you might then at least get some support from the neighbours and minimise the risk of someone else doing the same. Good luck. 

Maybe a fourth light? I honestly don't know at this point Robert, I thought two was more than enough lol The problem is in my head it would all go south if I approached them. In my minds eye they would tell me to er go away to keep this thread family friendly.

Maybe an untraceable note through the door with letters cut from news paper perhaps?   

19 minutes ago, JamesF said:

That's utterly mental.  What on earth are they scared of?  It looks as though there could be a house with a garden that backs onto theirs?  If I lived there I'd be going utterly bananas.

If they're lighting up bedrooms in your house (or those of other neighbours) then it's seriously inconsiderate, regardless of the astronomy situation.  Perhaps a polite note through their door (anonymous if necessary) might be in order, pointing out that their security lighting is almost certain to be considered a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and please would they adjust their insecurity lights so as not to illuminate their neighbours' houses.  Give them a few weeks to sort it, and if they don't then complain to the council until you get a satisfactory resolution.  I'd point out to the council that the neighbours are, in your opinion, potentially putting peoples' health at risk by lighting their bedrooms to a level where it may be difficult to sleep properly, and (if it is the case) that they're unreasonably preventing your enjoyment of your home by making astronomy impractical due to the high light levels.  I'd suggest the health/sleep issue is the stronger case to make because the council won't fancy being sued by someone further down the line who has had their health compromised due to the council's lack of action.  If you can keep some records of when the lights are on and for how long and include that and the above photo with your complaint, all the better.

Could be worth canvassing the opinions of any other affected neighbours, too.

James

I agree that it's mental, and I'm not sure what their thought process is at all? Beyond the wall at the end of their garden there is another neighbours driveway, so they are probably getting a bit of light through their living room curtains like us. Their immediate next door neighbours back garden must be lit up like the 4th of July though. 

I had a read of the link Astro Noodles posted earlier and saw that the health argument would be the best stance with the council, but I will play it by ear, and if they're on all the time a polite letter through the door might be in order to begin with. 

We only speak to the elderly couple next door as the couple over the road keep themselves to themselves, and it's all end of gardens to the left of us as it goes round a corner. The elderly couple next door are so laid back that I doubt it would bother them.   

7 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

So great you can keep your sense of humour, well done because you must be livid really 🙂 

Steve

Thank you  If it was a house overlooking my back garden I would genuinely be crying into large glass of wine right now, but the front garden (south facing where the planets are) has never been good, it's just got a bit worse now. I'm hoping they wont be on all the time else that will get a bit much.   

It did cross my mind that I should have tried much harder to persuade my wife to move to the countryside though.