miguel87

3 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

it works all days, any day. as long as the sun shines. 

im not talking about the direction of the shadow, just the very tip of the shadow. that tip travels in a due east direction as the day progresses. 

I know you are talking about the tip. It's still a huge no.

The path of the tip of the stick will form an arc. So already that means it cannot work as every hour's line would point in a different direction.

I am 100% confident this is definitely not true.

4 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

if you've got the time, and who hasn't at the moment, an even more accurate way to do it and it give you true north which is what you want rather than magnetic is to have an upright stick that wont move at all, mark the tip of the shadow on the ground, come back a few hours later and mark the new tip of the shadow and draw a line between them, thats exactly east-west in relation to true north. A stick/pole about 2-3 feet works best. as upright as possible but doesn't have to be accurate just stiff and wont move between markings. 

There is no way that would work. To start with, the path if you marked every hour for a day would not be a straight line.

Second the sun sets in different locations not always due east and west.

If you did this between 8 and 9pm near mid summer, the line would be heading towards a north-south line.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get some ace photos with a bit of work. 

I didnt mean to assume you were a novice but I picked up simple polar alignment from just visual astronomy.

I was tempted by the jewels of AP (aren't we all) but after a brief unsuccessful stint I realised I was no longer enjoying looking at the night sky so am a dedicated visual o server now.

Hope to see your pics in the future!

Mike

43 minutes ago, spikkyboy said:

thanks so far, yes this will be for AP and I never dismantle the kit so my hope is that once I get this correct and park the scope in home position each time it is used I will only ever have small adjustments for the movement of Polaris?

Just seems no accurate way to put the tripod down and have it point to dead North.

I have the mount head and all electronics taken off now and even with just the bare tripod my phone is going nuts as soon as it goes near the metal.

North ends up somewhere to the SW so not really any help. As I say I ordered a real compass but who know when it will arrive.

You really dont need a compass, like everyone said. The position of the tripod legs is not important. Even google earth will give you a good enough idea of north for the tripod.

What scope are you going to be imaging with? I dont know anybody that doesnt take things apart to some extent between session due to storage, weight etc. I'm pretty certain you will have to polar align everytime you go out. Even if the scope stayed assembled, Mark's on the floor would not be accurate enough for AP.

Dont take this the wrong way but, maybe you need to take some smaller steps first.

You certainly need to be very familiar with polar alignment before diving into astrophotography. Is this your first telescope.

No offense intended ✌

And on the point of marking the floor, I have heard of people doing this but personally I find it pointless. Because of the adjustments you make higher up the mount in the EQ head, you could put the legs in the same spot next session but still be out of polar alignment with the top end of the scope. 

The only way floor markings help is if you never disassemble your setup.

I know my garden faces pretty much east, so I just slap the tripod down pointing roughly towards my left hand fence and thats more than accurate enough to then properly polar align.

Are you setting up for visual or photography purposes?

Yes you could put the north facing leg down and then swivel the whole tripod around on it. But why would you do that? Just leave it pointing north.

If it is for visual astronomy only then compass north will be fine and you can tweak the direction of the mount head once it gets dark without having to move the legs.

If it is for astrophotography then I have no experience to advice from. But I do know that you probably cannot get a satisfactory position for astrophotography in daylight.

Mike

Your first pic was closer to the 'right' way up I think?

7 hours ago, paulastro said:

Bailly is very well placed tonight on the SW Lunar terminator>  Well worth a look.

Description:
Circular formation little differentiated. The largest of crater shaped formations.
Few steep slopes supporting many craters.
High walls ridden by Bailly A to the South-East.
Extensive and pretty flat floor to the South and tormented to the North. Spangled of craters and craterlets whose Bailly B to the South Bailly
D & C to the North-West and Bailly F & I to the center. Hills.
 
 

Just a question from a lunar novice, why do you call it a crater shaped formation and not just a crater?

Mike 

25 minutes ago, Louis D said:

If you're using 50 degree eyepieces, I find many open clusters and nebula view better at 75x than 100x by giving them a bit more context.  They're just a bit too small for my liking at 50x.  If you have a 9mm 100 degree eyepiece or ES-120, then that doesn't matter all that much since it provides so much context already and 75x might be a moot point.

My 9mm is just a standard 50°, so I guess my thinking is that it would be nice to have a wider view other than just my panaview. But it is fair to say that is not a necessity.

I will be getting the scope out tonight (despite the moon) and will see if I feel the need for another piece!

Mike

Thanks everyone for your replies. I like to keep eyepieces to a minimum from a financial and practical point of view. My entire collection is 6mm and 9mm Vixen SLV, 20mm Vixen NPL, 32mm 2" Panaview and a Tal 2x barlow.

This gives me exit pupils of 0.6mm, 0.9mm, 1.2mm, 1.8mm, 2mm, 4mm and 6.4mm.

You have made me question my need for another eyepiece.

Mike

2 minutes ago, Don Pensack said:

Just a note: the Vixen SLV is fine in all regards save one: it is a lousy eyepiece for Moon viewing.

There is a bright, shiny, spacer directly under the eye lens that reflects the light of the Moon upside down outside the field stop of the eyepiece.

If you're up to dismantling the eyepiece and blackening that spacer, then never mind.

But if you plan to use it for the Moon, look elsewhere.

On the other hand, for deep sky it is fine and very comfortable to use.

That's interesting, how does that manifest when looking at the moon? I havent noticed anything in the 6 or 9mm but to be honest I dont do a huge amount of lunar observing. Probably suggests I can deal with the problem without getting too annoyed.

Still tempted by the price and FOV of the starguider. I just dont want to feel like I'm downgrading.

13 minutes ago, Louis D said:

I'd say 75x to 100x is my favorite workhorse power range for everyday observing of many objects under typical sky conditions.  As such, I would highly recommend a low-teens eyepiece to fill that gap.

Your 8" Dob is actually 1200mm in focal length, so your current powers are 38x, 60x, 133x, and 200x.  That leaves quite a gap between 60x and 133x, so I'd recommend something around 86x to 100x with a 12mm to 14mm eyepiece.  The 12mm BST Starguider is pretty decent at f/6.  So is the 12mm Meade HD-60, though it's been discontinued and is considerable more expensive in the UK than the Starguiders.

Thanks Louis,

Sorry I must have made a typo somewhere, my scope is a newt on an EQ mount, not a dob.

Yeah I think you are right and it is a gap I would like to fill. I think part of the reason I havent yet is that I use my barlow alot and always try to buy eyepieces that fill two gaps in my range. Any eyepiece around 15mm will not be useful to me when barlowed because I have that whole range covered roughly.

Still, I think it might be worth it.

I think I have boiled it down to...

1. The starGuider 15mm. Lots of recommendations and great price plus an extra 10° AFOV.

2. The Vixen SLV 15mm. I have the 6mm and 9mm and they are great (and parfocal). But it's considerably more expensive and has 10° less AFOV.

Appreciate all the responses

Hello,

I dont often post images but though I would share a view quick lunar snaps from a fantastic night of observing.

The close up is the Mare Humorum area and the Gassendi crater which is apparently 110km across.

I love the images produced by amateur astro photographers but I lack the budget and patience to enjoy it myself.

I do try the occasional snap down the eyepiece with my phone but only very bright objects are worth trying. Keeping the phone steady over the 6mm eyepiece was a challenge!

Mike

Great sketching,

I did the same whilst viewing through my 8" reflector.

Very similar views but I was not able to pick out any detail on the planet.

However, it is perhaps the most well defined I have seen the phase. And obviously it looked fantastic amongst the sisters.

Mike

2 hours ago, Timebandit said:

 

Hello.

A gap of your 9mm to your 20mm is a large gap on eyepiece spacing when it comes to magnification availability ,and I am not a big fan of Barlow's personally.  So yes I do feel you would benefit from filling this magnification gap.

What to fill it with depends on your budget. But I would consider a second hand TV Delos 14mm with 72d fov or maybe consider a Vixen if you can locate one, a second hand Vixen LVW 13mm with a 65d fov. Two great mid range price eyepieces IMO .

Hope this helps

 

 

Thanks for the reply,

I get on pretty well with my barlow so I find creating a 10mm eyepiece more than acceptable at the moment. Still a big gap tho.

I have 2 vixen eyepieces (SLV) and really like them so I will definitely have a look at your recommendation for the LVW.

Never looked through a TV but obviously their reputation precedes them! Depends on price, I mean, roughly speaking I dont want to be spending more than about 100 quid.

Mike

Thanks in advance for your advice and opinions.

I have been enjoying visual astronomy for almost 10 years. I currently use a SW 200P (focal length 1000mm).

My current eyepieces (6mm, 9mm, 20mm and 32mm plus a 2x barlow) leave a gap between 50x and 100x magnification (that would be an eyepiece of 11-19mm).

Question 1, will it be significantly useful to fill this gap?

Question 2, if so, what should I fill it with?

I recently considered the 15mm BST StarGuider, however, with a 60° AFOV the resulting view would show me 0.9° of the sky, only 0.1° different to the 1° displayed by my 50° AFOV 20mm eyepiece.

Thanks,

Mike

Ummm, where to start?

30 minutes ago, bottletopburly said:

+1 for the extension at 3 o’clock 

Yeah everybody keeps saying that but that IS the one being used in the image

My first scope was the SW130P and it was fantastic. The mount isnt perfect but is fine for visual astronomy.

I am totally with on the desire for an equatorial mount, it's about getting the image of that celestial sphere into your head and being tuned in to the movement of it all.

The 130 is a good price and will show you all of the things you mentioned above.

I now use the 200p on a eq5. The mount is much better and on a clear night, deep sky objects are that much clearer but I still miss certain aspects of the 130p. It travels very well and sets up super easily.

Yes you could fit the 1 metre OTA of the 200p in your back seat but once you have the tripod, ring mounts, finder scope? Eyepieces etc, the car is getting pretty full!

Personally I would wholeheartedly recommend the 130p provided you are not looking to get into astrophotography. That scope really taught me how to find my way around the night sky!

Good luck,

Mike

I also use a 200p on an EQ5 and your set up looks absolutely fine.

Just to double check you are trying to find focus visually? Not using a camera or anything?

I really cant imagine why it isn't working unless there is something going on with the mirrors?

Have you been able to test on the moon yet? I would do this and see through the whole range of your focuser if the image is heading in the 'right direction' for focus. Or if it is changing at all.

What object were you unable to focus on?

Mike

On 10/03/2020 at 10:09, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Hi Wes,

Nice report. It is pleasing to hear you managed an enjoyable session with the 8" dob. I to have a 200p and find it amazing for the money. Like you I view from very light polluted sky's, Around bortle 7-8 and am impressed what the 200p can find in these conditions. I have tried to mitigate the LP as much as possible by fully flocking the tube and using a dew shield to block out lateral light from my neighbors security lights and i did notice a difference in contrast when viewing. In mo opinion these were worth will fairly cheap mods which have increased my viewing enjoyment.

Venus looks stunning at the moment, As mentioned above I have been using a Visual Polarizing filer to view it and it has really taken the glare away and shows the phase with all its colour superbly!

Uranus is also a joy to see in the 200p - On a good steady nights viewing I have found it to be a stunning crisp green disc, i keep coming back to it whenever possible and really enjoy looking at it!

I also can see a shade of green in the Orion nebula and have recently been trying to split the E & F stars in the trapezium. I have managed both stars on one occasion but it is quite a challenge.

In summary the 200p is an amazing scope and very versatile, I have enjoyed many stunning targets with it and dont think I will ever part with it 🙂

 

Regards

 

Baz

 

 

 

Hi Baz, sounds like good viewing! I also use a 200p and got interested by what you say about a filter for venus. 

I had had some nice views of Venus recently and am easily able to see the phase, however the brightness washes out any detail and I get significant chromatic abberation (possibly atmospheric)

How much difference has your filter made and was it expensive?

Thanks, Mike

Sounds good. We will be in a rented property for 6 months while we look at somewhere to live permanently and although my job is Swansea we will consider all local areas. The rental property has a tiny garden not suitable for astronomy and my scope is fairly bulky (200p) so I'm hoping to find a good location nearby for this season.

Wow, that sounds promising. I will be in gowerton from December when my new job starts so hopefully we will get some clear skies. Is it a public spot? Road or park etc?

Hi all, I am relocating from Solihull to gowerton, swansea , and would be interested in meeting others for some observing. Have you managed any meets recently? I will be happy to be away from the lights of Birmingham. Mike

Exellent advice, thanks