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Steve Ward

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Posts posted by Steve Ward

    Eyepiece temperature

    in Discussions - Eyepieces

    Posted · Edited by Steve Ward

    With reflectors the cooling to ambient is to reduce air currents inside the tube disrupting the view , it's not the figure of the mirror that is "off".

    The relatively warm primary mirror when cooling down creates these currents by forming a thin layer of warm air that rises up the tube causing the shimmering seen at the EP.

    Cats and Maks suffer the same causing small plumes of warm air around the internal baffle tube.

    If on the other hand you cool your EPs to ambient you will find them misting up almost immediately when you bring your warm eye up to them so they are better of in a warmer enviroment such as your pocket.

    It's the same thing as a refractor gathering dew on the objective when warm moist air hits the glass , hence the use of dew shields and dew heaters on the front.

    • Like 2

    Eclipse 2026

    in Getting Started With Observing

    Posted

    Pete Lawrence is headed to Greenland if that's any help ... 😄

    Personally I'm biding my time until the year after when I'm heading to Sfax , Tunisia which will deliver over six minutes of totality as opposed to the measley 1:45 or so in '26 .... 😉

    SEEING IS BELIEVING - DISCUSS. 🤔

    in The Astro Lounge

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Flame Nebula said:

    Thanks Steve! Looks useful. 

    What I did notice, which was interesting, was the arc second resolutions. Not sure if these are a representative sample for my area all year round, but if they are, then a 4" apo would see all there was to see most of the time, at least visually. I use the phrase " most of the time", because clearly, with prolonged sitting at a larger aperture scope I'm sure occasionally there will be moments of sub arcsecond seeing, where the scope would shine. But, nevertheless, it makes the 4"apo more attractive. 

    I'll be honest and say that I've never found it all that accurate , but I'm mainly solar imaging and daytime conditions vary wildly depending on location , time of day etc , hence my "get out while it's clear" approach.

    If I waited for perfectly transparent blue sky and super seeing I'd never get any glass aimed at it .

    • Haha 1

    SEEING IS BELIEVING - DISCUSS. 🤔

    in The Astro Lounge

    Posted

    I would add that you shouldn't get too hung up waiting for the best conditions but get out there when the sky is clear and enjoy.

    Visually there are always moments of stillness even when the average seeng is poor , it's just a matter of patience and waiting for those to occur and details to pop.

    Imaging-wise for solar , lunar and planetary the high framerate camera , lucky imaging approach works wonders .

    Damien's articles are good readings , just remember that when he grabs his best images these days he's sat by a swimming pool in the Bahamas ... 😉

    • Like 3

    Monetising Astrophotography Shots

    in Getting Started General Help and Advice

    Posted

    Easiest way is to post them on Facebook/Instagram , preferably in various groups with NASA , SPACE or SCIENCE in the title , and let all the flat earth , NASA-hating ignoramuses loose in the comments sections ... 😄

    If you also intentionally add a 'mistake' in the description the likes and comments will flood in making you millions ... :happy8:

    • Like 1
    • Haha 5

    StarHuggers Rainbow of Lights / March 6th 2024

    in Imaging - Solar

    Posted

    @Rusted

    Don't let yourself get dragged into his nonsensical waffling.

    He'll be coming up with the iron sun "ferrets" nonsense soon and then hopping on the ever descending spiral that he's ridden to the depths on every other astronomy forum out there before heading back to his master Apollo Lasky's lap to lick his wounds yet again.

    This would be better off being sent packing to Reddit , the last bastion of snake-oil mutterings .

    • Haha 1
    • Sad 1

    Quark Chromosphere - Uneven field illumination

    in Imaging - Image Processing, Help and Techniques

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, Mark_C said:

    Thanks for the responses all! Really appreciate the feedback. I guess it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who has these uneven illumination issues with this filter. To be fair with the flats taken and subtracted within Sharpcap the results are fairly good (i think) although I'm no solar expert.

    I've attached a picture - this was taken with an Evostar ED120 and UV-IR cut filter. I've not had a proper chance to test the different dial settings of my quark because the weather has been so rubbish over the past 6 months that it clouds over before I get a chance to try each setting! This picture has been taken with the dial set at 0 from a set of 1000 frames.

    I've just read through this thread and this is very dissapointing to see, had I known this beforehand I probably would have avoided buying this filter, as the CN thread does not represent Daystar in a good light.

     

    I think the attraction of being able to put this filter on a long FL scope such as the ED120 to get close in details drew me in more than the risk of getting something that may not have worked properly!

     

    07042024.jpg

     

    I've seen a lot worse than that , as far as I'm aware FLO send their Quarks to be checked over by Gary Palmer before they're released into the wild so it should be one of the better ones.

    I think you need to give it a proper session running right through the temperature settings visually before jumping into imaging so that you can find the sweetspot.

    And remember that your local seeing will ultimately determine the image quality , more aperture is not necessarily better .

    • Like 4

    Quark Chromosphere - Uneven field illumination

    in Imaging - Image Processing, Help and Techniques

    Posted

    Perfectly normal for a Daystar product and perfectly acceptable as far as Daystar are concerned ... :angry2:

    Their customer service and T&Cs are pretty appalling so good luck dealing with them should the unit have to go back to them.

    This recent long-running thread over on Cloudy Nights should give you an inkling into their attitude and the reason why I will never go down the Quark route ... :happy8:

    https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/909154-daystar-filters’-sr-127-‘qt’-dedicated-hydrogen-alpha-solar-telescope-chromosphere-model/

    • Like 2
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