Mark at Beaufort

Hello Jon I am really sorry to hear of your sad loss. Clearly your father was a keen astronomer which shows from the equipment that he had.

The management of SGL recently changed the procedures for selling equipment and I will try and help you place an advert in the correct place in the 'for sale' board.

Firstly we must determine a price for the equipment which is normally 60/65% of the new price. Secondly the location of the equipment so that members can work out distances to travel. Some carriers will not transport telescopes especially if original boxes are not available. Finally you need to determine payment method.

Have a go at starting a thread on the 'for sale' board. Once you have started the thread I can always go into the thread and add or amend items as necessary.

2 hours ago, Littleguy80 said:

 By the end of the summer I could be down to just M83! 

Neil best of luck with M83. Its easy to star hop to the galaxy but I find it difficult to see in the UK. When I was in the United States last year I was a guest of a large astronomy society who had an 18" scope on a mountain top close to the Lick Observatory. I viewed M83, very easily, in some 11x70 binos - of course the quality of the location and its higher position helped.

Well done Neil - I only observed M6 and M7 whilst on holiday in Spain. Never been able to see it in the UK. I live on the edge of the City and nearby is an area with a good southern horizon - will take out the Heritage 130P and see what happens.

I have never tried for Pluto thinking it was too faint for the 12" Dob.

Looking back at my notes my last Messier was M70 and at -32 Dec I am not surprised. I used my 4" APO frac and I recall my excitement completing the Messier list.

Hello Mark sorry I have been away and only just picked your thread.

Really pleased you obtained the 20" Dob in the end. You certainly have moved on from your 10" to 16" and now the big 20".

As you say the darker nights are really going to show its worth. So many more DSOs - is there any particulars objects/groups that you plan to observe?

5 hours ago, Dave NZ South Island said:

Owned a Skywatcher Black Diamond 120ED for several years now and it is an excellent scope all round for both eyepiece viewing and imaging. Sure you won't get the huge visuals you get on planets with a big SCT with FL >2000 but the sharpness of the images makes up for that.

All in I spent many nights imaging Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with my 120ED and my 9.25" SCT and the images I processed always appeared to have the edge on sharpness with the refractor (to get the best out of them I fitted Moonlight and Feathertouch focusers respectively)

Welcome Dave to SGL. I look forward to receiving more reports from you both visual and imaging over the coming seasons.

Fantastic stuff Gerry.

I have often wondered whether a Skywatcher Evostar 120mm Achro when stopped down to 80mm giving a F12.5 would give an interesting view of Jupiter and Saturn. I only owned a 4" ED Frac F6.95 so never had the chance to experiment.

@Darula- ok I have the answer. Still places available so just book the Astro Extra area. 

So glad you raised this - thanks again

1 hour ago, Darula said:

 

Thanks for posting that - the short answer is don't know. I can only assume one is related to the children's activity. However, I will ask the organiser from Project Link and come back to you.

Update - I have sent an email to Christianne 

2 hours ago, Darula said:

Heloo 

Does anyone have any idea what is the difference between advance and astro extra tickets for a Giant Leap?? 

I am part of the committee that has organised the 'giant leap' conference and I am not sure what you mean. If you want to attend you simply register for the free event.

This is the fact sheet I produced for the Partial Eclipse. We gave a copy to everyone that attended and wanted to view the Sun.

sunsafetycode001.pdf

Yet another fantastic looking Dob. The specification looks excellent. So I am looking forward to info on 'first light'.

4 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Wow!  For me, it will go from 37 degrees altitude today to 80 degrees altitude, and in the winter when the bugs won't be biting all night!  We're also getting a total solar eclipse in April of 2024 as well!  Should be an excellent year for astronomy.

Sounds great. I am hoping to visit for 2024 Eclipse. I will need advice on the best location in Texas. Although I should start a separate thread for this.

What a fantastic looking scope Gerry. We look forward to some great reports over the coming season. 

I have used an Orion (USA) glass filter, Thousand Oaks glass filter and an Astrozap Baader filter and the best result, IMHO, was the Astrozap.

You can check with FLO and I think they will post to Canada.

Finally I agree with Stu's opening thread that white light solar observing is never boring. I have to admit that the best view of the solar surface (white light) was with a 4" Astro Tech ED Frac + Lunt Herschel wedge + Baader Continuum filter and Binoviewers

John I just looked out and saw a similar view of Noctilucent cloud - even persuaded Pam to take a look.

Really pleased for both FLO and Ian. I have also met Ian on a number of occasions - really nice, knowledgeable person. Steve I wish you and your team every success moving forward.

Three organisations have organised a full FREE Astronomy and Science Conference to celebrate 50 years since Apollo 11.

The poster shown below gives more information.

We have approval to show an original Apollo Space Suit and will have Moon Rock on display. You won't believe the security requirements for this!!

BT has given approval to allow a site visit around their Earth Station - this link will tell you so much more - this is a fantastic site - https://www.globalservices.bt.com/btfederal/en/products/satellite_services/earth_stations

There is activities for children and food is available on site.

Remember this is FREE but places are limited to 120 so if you want to come you need to apply now using this link - https://bit.ly/2IeEa7Z

Great idea Iain. Lying back in a recliner with my 15x70 Apollo Binos and using O-III filter can be so enjoyable. Viewing the NAN, Veil and Dumbbell can be great in binos.

Thanks Alan. I think I have decided to scan the used market for a better quality EP. Looking back perhaps I should have kept my ES82 4.7 and 6.7mm.

36 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

I recently purchased a secondhand 3-6mm Nagler Zoom. I paid around two third of the new price. A saving of over £100! It has 50 degree AFOV across all focal lengths. Very good quality and the ability to match the magnification to the seeing. A pricier option but I think the versatility justifies the cost. 

Thanks Neil - I had a Nagler 3-6mm zoom and I found the eye lens and FOV too small using a 10" Push Dob. I accept it was sharp and contrast was good but I just did not like it preferring a wider FOV.

Thanks Mike for your advice. I must admit that my best view of Saturn was using a Celestron 9.25 SCT and Pentax EPs - it was brilliant. The Pentax 70 degree EPs appeals and they are slightly cheaper than the Delos. I have owned Hutech and Fujiyama Orthoscoptics but the narrow FOV is not easy using a 12" push Dob.

13 minutes ago, Geoff Barnes said:

+1 for the 6.5mm Morpheus. I was out last night observing the GRS on Jupiter and tried a few different EP's, including the SW Planetary 4mm and the 6.5mm Morpheus with and without a 2x Barlow and in.the end settled on the Morpheus on its own for the sharpest, clearest view. Even with the full moon very close and slightly wobbly seeing conditions the view was very good indeed.

Thanks Geoff that is very helpful

2 minutes ago, John said:

Perhaps the Baader Morpheus 6.5mm  would be worth considering ?. Good for globular clusters and planetary nebulae as well as doubles and solar system targets.

Thanks John - I have been considering the Baader Morpheus especially for Globs and PN. I remember my 5mm Nagler and in my 10" Dob a few years ago I had a brilliant view of M13.

1 minute ago, Piero said:

mm.. 5mm gives quite a lot of mag with your dobson (~300x ?), maybe too much for Jupiter under UK skies. Nice view though! 

Yes I agree which is why the 6mm seems better (253x) in the Dob. Not many wider field 6mm EPs around - that I can find. So that is why I was looking at a cheaper options at the present time.