Ratlet

I've had a couple issues with the mount deciding it needed to point at the core of the earth.

Have you tried resetting the zero position on the ioptron handset whilst having the mount setup and all pointing to north?  That fixed it for me.

5 hours ago, CCD-Freak said:

Here is the Iris with the same equipment and a Baader UV-IR filter....what a difference. (^8

 

 

You can see halos around some of the other stars as well, typically the redder ones, i wonder if they are related?  Had an interesting discussion with someone on here about what looked like a spherical nebula round a star but turned out that it was an IR pass in the their OIII filter.  It just happened that that particular star was pretty much one of the brightest stars in the IR spectrum in the entire sky.

6 hours ago, iapa said:

While you have the secondary mirror of, install a steel washer between the spider and the mirror.

It will stop the screws catching on any indents on the mirror caused earlier, and makes mirror rotation smoother especially.

I did this and cut a similar sized washer out a milk jug carton and put it between the washer and the mirror for a bit less friction.  Buttery smooth collimation.

PBS Spacetime had a good video earlier this week covering exactly this question:

5 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

I had two AzGti some time ago and used them in exactly the way you intend. I sold one thinking it was superfluous and have regretted it ever since.

PS you don't look 50, must be the air in Cornwall, happy birthday.

I had a similar reaction to the age lol.

It's a brilliant little mount.  I bought one for a good price because I thought I would sell it one.  Not happening.  More stable than my az5 and whilst I'm still get issues with the goto sometimes, I just figured out how to get it to point and track and honestly it's the absolute bee's knees.  Would be worth it just for that.

The only downside to this is that it made me start thinking about the refractor shaped hole in my life.

Potential lifesaver these.  Had a near miss with a snag on my power cables on the astrophotography rig.  The cable can't pull out of the camera or the mount if they snag.  The elbows should mean that if they snag again they'll be able to pull out.  Ordered 10 so got some spares if anyone wants a couple.

Don't tell the boss...

Took the 'travel setup' in to work to try and see Saturn in the morning.  This was earlier, about 0130 (during lunch break) when I was doing a quick star test and showing the guys albireo.  Central Aberdeen and only civil twilight so starhopping wasn't something I fancied.  Gave them a quick rundown of the summer triangle and Cygnus, which was about all you could see naked eye.

Guys were reasonably impressed with the double, but a miscalculation by myself meant we missed Saturn.  Figured it out so will have another go.

FYI, a child seat is perfectly sized to hold a small 5" Newtonian vertically.

I'm sure SIM City 2000 had something to say about the potential pitfalls of space based energy transmission.

I second the recommendation for the Starguiders.  They're great eyepieces.  Not going to make a suggestion on what powers though. The 12mm is one of my favourite eyepieces though.

Dew shield is a must, you can make one out of a sheet of craft foam easily enough if you want to be cheap (I do).

Spirit level for making sure the scope is level for alignment.

Maybe an old mobile phone to control the azgti?  I use an old one which I charge up for observing.  I've stuck red cellophane over the screen to help preserve my night vision.

Stopping down the lens will help with chromatic aberration.  It won't be eliminated but will be much reduced at F5.6.

If the halo's are coming from the filter though that might be a different issue.  I'm not sure on the exact cause of it, but people have gotten them on bright stars with a variety of scopes and cameras using dual band filters. 

Your image looks pretty good, but no idea how bad the halo's were to get to the final article.

6 hours ago, saac said:

Sort of astro related in that I can now digitise my CD and record collection and listen to it on demand while observing   I've been hankering after one of the Brennan units for a while. Went for the B3, it comes with a 2 terra bite disk and rips through the CDs in anything from 2-3 minutes. So far so good; impressed with what it does and how it integrates with my existing amp.

Jim 

 

Is the moon thing to the right a clock to show the phase of the moon?

Because of the method I use with a backing board I have to flock the whole thing.  I've also read conflicting views on whether you need to do the whole thing.

There is something satisfying about looking in the tube and seeing nothing apart from blackness and the mirror.

Winkles aren't an issue, but I did it this way:

Mostly because I used the same method with my 5" Newtonian where it's much tighter inside and watching videos of people doing it made it look awkward.

Upgraded primary sprongs for the Dob and probably the 130pds.  Going to experiment with not having/using the lock nuts.

I think you got it.

Rotating the image to match sky safari shows that it is in the correct position identified by other observers (gif in the main supernova thread) where it would (I think) be located in the lower arm on the spiral.  Drawiing imaginary triangles on the stars you've got matches beautifully imho.  But I'm not an expert and have been awake for about 16 hours...

Really nice images.  They've got a nice 'through the eyepiece' aesthetic to it.

35 minutes ago, John said:

8.5 inch maybe - it, or one very like it, is currently for sale (I think this is the same scope):

8.5" F/12 achromatic refractor and EQ8 equatorial mount and steel pier | eBay

 

 

 

I love the description "Would consider a quality part exchange. Must be smaller..."

I do like the look of Vixens, from a purely aesthetic point of view I prefer them to another popular Japanese scope that will remain nameless.  Hopefully I'll get a look through one at some point.

Thanks for sharing the photos.  It's amazing what equipment people have had and currently have.  It blows my mind that a human (rather than an observatory) would own a scope as large as that 6".  I like seeing the kit people have worked through and how it grows and develops with them.  There's something very organic and natural about it.

3 hours ago, John said:

It was a very large scope and I was large as well - I have thankfully lost around 3 stone since then 🙄

The scope has moved on as well - it was just too long and heavy so finding a suitable mount was a headache and then getting the scope safely on and off the mount was a backache. The photo below shows it in comparison with my ED120 and ED102 refractors.

I learned quite a bit from that experience though 🙂

 

 

 

Blooming heck!  That looks even bigger now!  Not grab and go that one.

I remember watching (I think) astrobiscuit who was speaking to someone who had something similar.  Said he hadn't looked through it because he couldn't physically lift it.  What was the focal length on yours?

Nice Vixen.  Classic styling on that.

6 hours ago, Franklin said:

You can't blame them really, sitting on your sofa with a 6" Istar on your lap!😁

 

I think someone put that across his lap to stop him from escaping!  That's a fair size size of scope.  I think it might be a fair size of a human too!

6 hours ago, Mike Q said:

So just how do you describe the Orion Nebula to someone, or even good old M13.   We get lots of "Oh Wows", but ask someone to describe it.... Forget about it lol. 

Brewing and astronomy are the two hobbies that have really gripped me in my lifetime and there is one thing I've noticed in common with both is that the folk who are passionate about it, when they talk about it it's not so much what they say, rather how they say it.

You can feel the excitement rising in them.  Writing it down doesn't quite capture it because it's so hard to really get it in words.

Oddly it's usually the first couple posts people make when they start observing or sketching that really capture it for me.  My favourite thing to see on the forum is a post "First observing report" or "First time sketching".  They're always a treat.

1 hour ago, John said:

Most of the members of my astro club, that actually have telescopes, have SCT's 

I think I'm considered a bit of a curiosity with my refractors 🙄

Meanwhile I'm just curious.  Like I understand what sharp means from a descriptive point of view, but astronomy seems to be a hobby of 'greater than the sum of its parts'.  Seeing Jupiter with good contrast, seeing globs with the 10" Vs the 5".  Heck clusters in general!  You can describe them, but the words don't really do justice to the view.  More than once I've sworn at the eyepiece or just started laughing.

Sounds like I'll be in a good place to hit the ground running with it if I pick up a diagonal.  My Gem28 has been languishing underutilised so it'll hopefully be happy to get some use.  I

Got some time to wait yet.  Light nights and still waiting for the credit card to cool down.

Unfortunately my shift pattern doesn't match up with the Aberdeen astro events or I would have a look.

Fortunately the forum hasn't steered me wrong on a purchase yet.  

That's a fair amount to consider.

It sound like the azgti would be at it's absolute limit with this scope.  I'd put the az5 into a wobbly bob category as it is not as stable as the azgti with the 130pds.  Gem28 would be suitable, but using it for visual would remove that from imaging.  So doable, but not optimised for my current kit.

I had not considered the difference in observing style compared to my Newtonian on an alt az.  I find that to be very comfortable and convenient, although zenith can be a challenge to navigate.

I'm currently about 6 months out from a potential purchase so plenty of time to think it over.

Do any of the 102 user's have a preferred mounting style?  Alt az or eq?  I found the Newtonian to be more convenient in alt az as the eyepiece was predictable where it ended up.

8 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

As a former Starfield owner I can say for certain you won't get better value for money. Optics are very, very close to the best there is and I'd say you'd find the difference between the Starfield and the 130 to be more startling than you realise.

For AP it has a matching 0.8 reducer/flattener which will give you 571mm f5.6. If you have a small chip (4/3 or less) you can get a 0.6 reducer for 428mm f4.2. 

Oh, and did I mention it's a thing of beauty...

A moment of honesty from me here:  I hold you about 90% responsible for my interest in this scope.  Your observing reports and comparisons with this scope have been very informative.  You seem to find good synergy with a 4" Doublet and your 12" Dobsonian and I find myself with a similar restriction for setting up where the dob gets restricted views to the East and a bit of mobility is nice for grabbing those low flying targets, not to mention a good location nearby which give unobstructed 

It is a very attractive scope as well!

When you say the views will 'be more startling than you realise', could you elaborate?

I was not aware that there was a 0.6 focal reducer available.  That makes a very interesting option for imaging and also provides excellent synergy with my other gear (135mm, 200mm and 300mm vintage lenses).  I don't do a lot but that is partially because I don't have an optimised setup routine, although I've been working on that and I think I'm getting the kinks worked out.  That being said, given the choice between observing and imaging, the camera will be staying in the box!

In terms of accessories, I think I'll have enough to get going (they seem to accumulate in the hobby) but the only thing I'm really lacking is a diagonal.  I have a circle T prism but I suspect that this might not be optimal.

15 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I'd go for the Starfield 102ED in a hear beat. The Starfield will give you both rich, wide, low power vistas, while also offering piercingly sharp, clean, high power views of double stars. The Planets and Moon will be crisp with great contrast and definition. You may even be pleasantly surprised at how bright many deep sky objects look through the 102ED.  A 4" refractor can be an awesome companion as it is easy to set up, quick to reach thermal equilibrium, and is a great all round performer. It would also give pleasing images!

My working theory at the moment is that the views through the 102 wil be only slightly dimmer than the 130pds due to the secondary cutting down some of the light in the newt.  I'm very satisfied by its performance on DSO.

A boost in contrast on planets would be great as the 130pds was a bit poor on contrast (although this could be solved with a filter).  

I'm currently very much satisfied with my optical arsenal of a 130pds and a 10" Stellalyra dob.  They do the business and gobble the photons, however part of the joy of the hobby for me has been building my experience and figuring out what I like (and the forum has been very helpful with my journey in eyepieces).

With that in mind, I feel it is approaching time to join the dark side and get a refractor.

Primarily it'll be used for visual, however I'd like something I can use for astrophotography if possible so some form of ed scope.

In an ideal universe I'd like to be able to use it with my current mounts (gem28, azgti and az5).

Currently budgeting about £900.  

My current location is bortle 4/5 skies.

And that dear friends is where I fall down.  Part of me thinks that some form of grab and go setup would be sensible given what I've got and the guys at Actual Astronomy sing the praises of the small aperture doublet.  Something like the stellamira 80mm, or a William optics 73mm.  I feel the short focal length would be complimentary to my current kit.

The other part of me thinks a larger more well rounded scope would be a better option.  I'll be honest here that the reports on the Starfield 102mm are what is calling me down this road and it's basically the only horse in the larger aperture race at the moment.

Given the focal length of this I feel the statfield would be less complimentary but would be a more well rounded option and be somewhat similar to the 130pds and I think (could be wrong) that the clear aperture would be pretty close to the 130pds once you account for the secondary and I know I'm happy with its performance on pretty much everything.  A safer option perhaps?

Does anyone have any thoughts?  Am I likely to be able to mount a Starfield on my current kit?  Should I try out smaller aperture observing?  You guys haven't failed me yet so I'm keen for some opinions.