RobertI

Great report and nice description of the objects you saw. Somehow Saturn always looks so sharp, not sure why. Nik’s suggestion of a RACI finder is a good one. I don’t know why a manufacturer has not created a 2x finder or red dot finder for light polluted skies where not many stars are visible, I think it would be a winner.

Another outreach night, this time in the graveyard of Polstead church in Suffolk following an excellent talk by a fellow astronomer on galaxies and the perils of light pollution. The clouds spoiled the show unfortunately - there were a couple of nice rigs set up to show real time images of some galaxies but sadly nothing to see - however my visual only setup, comprising a C8 on the Skytee, managed to spy Jupiter and Saturn between the clouds, Saturn especially eliciting “Wows” from everyone who saw it through the eyepiece, reminding me of what a truly magical sight it is.

This is the thread that @Moonshed mentions, you may find it an interesting read.

Interesting one. I’m a fairly recent user of eyepiece dew bands, in that I found I needed them for using with my binoviewers (where I don’t change eyepieces). I’ve limited use with dewbands for cyclops viewing, but I recall it is a pain as many of my eyepieces are different diameters and using a zoom can be a bit problematic. So no answers I’m afraid, but interested in your idea of attaching to the diagonal. Perhaps a portable hairdryer is the solution!

I don’t know if you get the Skywatcher AZ4 in the US, but it’s rock solid with the 1.75” tripod and good value for money. Easily carries my 102ED. No slow motion controls but I don’t think they are essential for deep sky work around 100x. In fact I find it very capable for planetary work at 170x.

Really sorry to hear about your wife Chris. Not surprising you have lost interest in the project. The dome looks amazing - do you think you might be more inclined to finish it if you had some help? I’m wondering if there are some enthusiastic astronomers who might be willing to help out? Good luck.

Mine is this incredible Hubble 23rd anniversary image of the Horsehead Nebula taken in Infrared. It has an “other worldly” look about it and somehow makes a really immersive background for my iPad. Full image here: https://esahubble.org/images/heic1307a/

That’s a lot of stars. Where is it?

Interesting that transparency is not included - I would have thought poor transparency would reduce contrast in diffuse objects such as galaxies and nebulae? We could probably have a whole thread devoted to discussing that list!

I think I need to make a pilgrimage to this place John. Amazing.

Sounds like a great idea to simplify your kit to just the 125ED on a sturdy altaz mount. 👍

Outstanding captures and interesting write up. 👍

I like the Heritage and Cube combination.

I’d price them at around two thirds of new price - ie: 60-70% depending on condition. Some items may have gone up considerably in price since you bought them.

Another thought, if it’s for pick-up only I wonder if one of the astro retailers like ENS Optical might buy it all as a job lot. If the job lot includes stuff you were going to throw away, it might be worthwhile.

It looks like you have some nice equipment and it would be a shame to sell to too cheap, especially as there are people who lurk on SGL specifically to pick up bargains and re-sell on eBay for a profit. Perhaps there is a friendly SGL’er who would help you price the equipment and place the adverts?

I would say EAA (Eg: Seestar 50) is a good option for the fainter stuff if large aperture are a problem. In theory, I break out the EAA for the springtime galaxies and do visual for the rest of the time. In practice my EAA rig is a bit of a faff and a SeeStar or EvScope or Vaonis would work well I think.

The 8” is pretty compact.

You probably already have this switched on Peter, but there is an option to show objects as images in SkySafari (I’m using SS 7 Pro)….

From what you say, you enjoy visual and imaging, and the problem is your setup is heavy and takes a while to set and polar align? Some really good suggestions above, not sure I can add much, but here’s my thoughts on options for when you get a clear night but can’t be bothered: Step outside with some good binoculars for ten minutes and enjoy some amazing wide field views - that way you don’t have to beat yourself up for missing a good night and you’ll have a nice warm glow when you get back inside. Get a small scope on a simple manual mount for visual use as mentioned above. I would thoroughly recommend the the Celestron Starsense Explorer mobile phone technology instead of a finder - it makes life SO much easier. I was out with my C8 last night which has an 8x50 RACI finder trying to find some challenging objects - I ended up wishing I had set up the 102ED with Starsense! I can also recommend the Heritage 130P on a photo tripod, as you don’t even need to set up a chair to observe. If you need your imaging fix, the new EAA products like the ZWO SeeStar look incredibly easy to use and good fun. Although imaging capabilities are limited it makes my relatively simple EAA setup (66mm APO, plus CG5 plus ASI air) seem cumbersome and complex. Planning your next sessions can be a good motivator - I enjoy using SkySafari to create observing lists for particular scopes, and I also enjoy sitting at my desk with InterStellarium Atlas and identifying interesting targets. Hope that helps a bit.

Just had a nice couple of hours. Transparent skies so I took the C8 out to see how it would cope with the Crescent nebula. With a 0.63 reducer, OIII/UHC filters and a 32mm Plossl I got as large an exit pupil as possible. A disappointing view initially, so after fiddling with different eyepieces I concluded the 17.5mm Morpheus actually gave the clearest view, but as with previous sessions, the best I could manage was getting a clear curve in the top half, but not the whole length of the Crescent. I have concluded my skies are just too bright for anything better than this. I swung round to M27 and what a contrast after the murky Cresent, the Dumbell being bright, vivid and rather spectacular. 🙂

Definitely a UFO, probably piloted by Aliens. It could also be the shadow of the secondary mirror and spider vanes of a telescope. Probably a UFO though. 😉

Really super sketches. 👍

Looks great Paul. A six inch F8 dob is a is a very versatile and hugely capable instrument. I’ve had some tremendous views through my 150PL, particularly DSOs and close doubles. And of course it’s really quick to cool down.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with this. 👍