Ratlet

43 minutes ago, DaveS said:

Imaging doesn't have to preclude observing. Once my imaging sequence is up and running I will frequently go out with my 10 X 50s to look around. I have some grab and go kit that I should be making more use of, though it's not the primary focus of my astronomy.

This is basically what I do.  Take the 10" out to cool (ideally whilst it's getting dark) and setup the imaging rig whilst the Dob cools.  Troubleshooting is largely confined to turning it off and hoping it learns it's lesson by the next clear night.

34 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

The accuracy of the Starsense depends on the alignment.  I do a rough alignment on a local tv aerial when it's too light, use the zoom in on the phone to get the best alignment. Then later I re-align on a known star/planet and again zoom in for better accuracy on other targets.

Last night I aligned on Saturn which was low down but still a good view. Managed to get the coat-hanger, Andromeda (very feint), Deneb, double-cluster to name but a few.  Quite pleased as it was the first light for a new ZWO 2" eyepiece and a hastily re-configured base for the Starsense to fit the Lyra 102mm all of which worked well.

 

I messed up there.  That's what I get for writing the report whilst I really should have been sleeping.

The Starsense worked REALLY well.  Very impressed.  It did struggle to identify stars sometime, but I think that's because I was using an old mobile with a pretty duffed up lens.  Usually I just moved the unit a bit and it would be fine.

My issue was more that it felt that moving from something low on the horizon to something high up the eyepiece went through a fantastic array of heights.  I had to adjust the legs quite frequently which was a bit cumbersome.  If I was more prepared I would have had my chair with me and that would have helped massively.  If I had an actual plan I would have worked my we up or down rather than pinballing about the sky.  It was meant to be me just testing out the Starsense, then the friends daughter came out for a quick look and ended up being a 2 hour mini outreach session 😁

With the 130PDS on AZ5 or AZ-Gti the eyepiece tended to end up in a very narrow range of positions.

But just to be clear:  Starsense is brilliant, my planning for observing is awful.

Apart from the planets, The Double Cluster was by far and away the most popular object.

Went up to see some friends up north after work and packed the LT80 and the Starsense unit to give it a spin.

Setup and let everyone have a look at the showpiece items: double cluster, M13, albireo, m31, m57 and even managed some questionable observations of Jupiter and Saturn although neither were much above 15°.

They've got a fantastic horizon out here, down to about 5° to the south and bortle 3.  Was really good. 

My friends daughter loved using the scope.  They were adamant that I come back up with the bigger kit later in the year when I don't have to work.

Got to get up for work in 4 hours but well worth it.  Just hoping for the weather forecast to hold out so I can get the big lad out tomorrow.

Loved the pinpoint stars with the refractor but didn't enjoy the seeming unlimited variation in where the eyepiece would end up as I haphazardly rattled through objects to observe.

I do visual and sketching for me and other amatuer astronomers.  AP is for everyone else.

2 hours ago, RobertI said:

I shall watch this John, looks fascinating. I didn’t realise Terry Pratchett was a keen astronomer. 

I just watched it.  It's fabulous.

1 minute ago, Saganite said:

Sir Patrick Moore always said that the success of Sky at Night was the subject and not him, but I have always disagreed because for me it WAS always about him, him and his delivery of the subject to me, and I feel the same way about telescopes, refractors to be precise, and the way they deliver the glories of the night sky to my eye.  For me , the challenge to see the most that I can of all manner of object with a fine telescope in real time is what burns inside ....🙂

I don't want to veer of topic, but you've just reminded me of something that I think visual needs.  And it's the old school Sky at Night episodes where Patrick talks to amatuer observer's.  They are the absolute bee's knees.

Patrick Moore didn't interview them, he told a story with them.  He asked questions which would be useful and informative and the interviewee would know the answer too.  Maybe I've only watched the wrong newer episodes, but it feels like Sky at night is trying to be a mini Horizon documentary with a short bit on what you can see.

The closest thing I've found to those classic episodes and getting me, as an amatuer fired up, is Refreshing Views on YouTube and Actual Astronomy Podcast.  Mark Radice interviews people about their scopes and setups and really captures the vibe and enthusiasm in a similar way to Patrick.  Actual Astronomy's talking heads format also gets the vibe right, especially with some of their interviews with guests where they ask just the right questions to get answers that are informative for the newbie and interesting to the (somewhat) experienced observer.

I don't think visual will die or go away.  Imaging has become more accessible but is still expensive and has a fairly steep learning curve.  As to why more imagers don't do eaa I think it's because most imagers want the Hubble like image of DSO.  Eaa gives a nice image, but not with the extensive optimisation that comes with imaging.

With technology like Starsense it is making visual more accessible to the masses as you don't need to learn the sky, just do a simple calibration and away you go.

Add to this the capability of forums like this to open up the hobby and I think things will be in safe hands.  I certainly wouldn't have started if I didn't have access to the wealth of information here.

Light pollution will be the big risk to visual I think, certainly in areas where the weather in unpredictable making travelling to a dark site more of a risk.

Ah.  Perfect.  A great report an some sketches.  Brilliant.

They make a good dob.  Got some foibles but nothing too major.  I'm a big fan of setting circles and a digital inclinometer on my Stellalyra, though I've just upgraded to Starsense (but lwaitng on clear skies to use that in anger.)

If you haven't already, reset the alignment before you try again.  You can find the option on the bottom right when you select the alignment option.

41 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

It's suprisingly good for such a light scope. Though I cannibalised my upgraded ST80 and swapped the tube rings and focuser with the Celestron 80AZ. The focuser is a GSO one and has a shorter drawtube so needs an extension or 2" diagonal. Even with those added it's still light and gave some good viewing, including Saturn, last week when a fellow SGL'er came over to see the Starsense in action.

I'm very impressed to be honest.  I usually test my scopes out on a flag pole I can see from my house and it was remarkably CA free and pleasingly sharp, although this is no guarantee for astronomy.  The focuser is pretty naff though and I suspect it will want upgrading.  My mind rebels paying as much for the focuser as I did for the scope though!  Need to find a middle ground somehow.  I think it'll do well for planetary, doubles and for quick trips outside darting through the clouds.  Hoping it will give me a flavour for refractors as I've got my eye on one of the Starfield 102's.

To be fair, his made did him dirty and didn't take everything into consideration and not offering additional support.

Quite often the correct answer is a flavour of dob, but not always.

There is also the problem of when you start, you don't really know what you want.  When I started I thought I wanted to do astrophotgraphy.  Turns out I really just want to stand outside looking at DSO with my eyeball.

44 minutes ago, Skyline said:

The SV220 is touted to be the L-eXtreme equivalent but priced more reasonable. Some report it as 6nm Ha. But officially it is 7nm.

I think the initial prototype was marketed as a 6nm but they opened it up to 7nm.  Not sure if they changed anything in production or just changed the blurb.  As with most of these filters it's pretty difficult to determine exactly for the amatuer and even then there can be large variation even from manufacturers with high quality control.

Great filter though.  Very happy with mine.  I use it instead of an O3 filter for visual and it worked pretty well.

I'm working long shifts so not had a chance to play with mine yesterday.  I removed the arm and put the scope in some spare tube rings I've got kicking about.  Fit nicely between the gubbins.  On the carbon fibre tripod the whole setup is incredibly light.  Think this will be excellent for showing of planet/moon to folk.

Really only looking to align the red dot as I'm wanting to see how this handles Jupiter.

I must admit that the chromatic aberration is not bad at all in daylight.  I'm not sure what I was expecting but it's better than the svbony binos I got which are apparently ed coated.  It's also really sharp.

The focuser leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm not sure if an upgrade would be possible without spending silly money.

Very excited to give this a try under dark skies.

That's a nice image.  Stars are looking good.  I'm also trucking with the sv220.  Been very impressed with its performance.  Doesn't seem plagued with bloat like some dual band filters.

23 hours ago, IB20 said:

Yes agree with @John, Saturn and Mars seem to eat up the magnification but Jupiter not so much and I usually settle on 120-170x for best contrast. I have used a variable polariser on Jupiter which I found really helped tease out the detail in the equatorial belts and zones.

One of my favourite ever Astro observations was Uranus in the 200P, no really surface detail and I haven’t clocked any moons yet but the colouration is quite beautiful. When you think what you’re actually looking at, it’s very moving and profound.

I always call this the 'you can feel the distance in your bones' moment.  They're brilliant.  I had it the first time I saw Saturn back in 2012.

I have joined the gang.  I really liked my setting circles and I'm glad I've got them as a backup, but they only really work on the dob, not my alt az mount.

Also joining will be my kids who are going to get the scope (transplanted to some rings).  I've got an ST80 and a couple newts but this is the first 'proper' sized refractor I've held and seen up close.  There is definitely something 'tingly' about a long refractor.  Can believe how light it is though.

Also got a 10" astroessential dew shield after a couple abortive DIY attempts.  Last session got dewed out on the secondary and it's the absolute pits.  Tested it on the scope and it fits with a couple cm (like about 2cm)of overlap.

I'm going to migrate to heated dew removers so picked up a secondary dew heater as well.  It's hopefully going to be a contingency.

1 hour ago, saac said:

Not your usual astro kit but I was getting so fed up with my various astro related toys scattered around the house, camera battery chargers or usb cables never at hand when needed. So a trip to ScrewFix and here's the solution, quite happy with it ; slowly filling it up but now at least I will know what room I should be looking in  

Jim 

 

Just need a Takahashi sticker on it.

Beautiful colour.  Always thought tool drawers only came in red or blue... Or rust.

Been a while since I had it out, but Once I'm aligned, if I want to look at something in a particular region I'll do a goto to a nearby star.  If I land on it I'll slew to my target and all is good.  If I miss the star I'll centre it in the scope and do a sync.  This seems to improve the accuracy of getting to a nearby DSO and it's easier to find the missing star Vs a dso

Yeah, I might be contributing to the problem in the northeast of Scotland.  Sorry folks.  Only a Starsense so hopefully should clear in a week or so.

15 minutes ago, saac said:

I think a more accurate interpretation is science describes how we think (understand) how nature behaves. That understanding is not perfect (complete) and not fixed and will always evolve. 

Jim 

I agree.  That's a more accurate statement.

On the theoretical side I've always taken it that science doesn't describe how it is, rather how it behaves.

At the end of the day, a theory is put forward to describe how something behaves.  If it doesn't pan out through experimental evidence then it's kind of just maths I guess?  It doesn't need to have a practical application, but predictions need to be verifiable.

It's often overlooked that whilst most of science is held as being truths, the reality is that they are 'best fits'.  If something more accurate comes along it will (when the old guard dies most likely) replace the existing dogma.  Hell, scientists will sometimes change the model depending on what they are doing.

  Sometimes Newtonian gravity calculations are good enough so why use relativity?

I like the thought that I can look back during my short 40 years on this earth and can rattle off the number of times an existing theory has been overturned or some other major changes has become apparent.  The acceleration of the expansion of the universe, dinosaurs being the ancestors of birds, not reptiles, etc.

When the old has been over written it's not a case of a new truth has been established, rather a better fit has been fitted.

Think they're M4.

Managed to get up at 0300 (normally up at 0400 for work) and set up the 130pds for Jupiter and Saturn.  Was nice to see them both again.  Seeing wasn't great, especially for Saturn which was just above the roof of the house.

Had a wratten #8 filter and moonglow instead of the cheap yellow and found the contrast was not so good.  Will try again tomorrow with the cheap yellow and also get the dob out.

Cheers for the feedback.  I've got some time to consider things.  Current plan is to get a Starsense 80mm, primarily for the unit but also to try out a longer focal length refractor prior to picking up the 102 later in the year.

I wouldn't recommend getting the samyang if you were going for sub £500.  If you were looking for sub £500 the ashai super takumar is the place to go at 135mm and 200mm.  That's £15-£40 depending on ebay for them.  You're not going to be winning apod, but it'll punt out images that will bring a big ol' smile to your face.