StarryEyed

Draughtsman's chair. The one I have is now thirty years old I've had numerous mounts and telescopes in that time and have always sat comfortably at any height. Height adjustment requires not much more than lifting a finger. https://www.officefurnitureonline.co.uk/comfort-fabric-draughtsman-chair.html

Looks a bit like Einstein

Fantastic... He'll be on here in years to come sharing how magical his first scope was.

I bought a FC100DF five years ago and I'm still smitten with it. I couldn't imagine selling it, not even for a bigger Tak. I cant explain it. Fedele I wish you good luck in finding one.

Can I buy yours for £1700? Seems like a bargain to me.

Inspirational.

Today NASA published a gallery featuring Hubble images of 56 of the 109 deep-sky objects identified by Sir Patrick Moore as interesting targets for amateurs, published in S&T December 1995. The catalog includes 12 images not previously released by NASA. https://buff.ly/2Ev03hQ

I spent a few years in Brunei on Borneo and generally speaking the coast produces more clear skies than inland. The humidity gets into and destroys things very quickly watch out. But the planets and moon even in built up areas are always well placed. I had the most amazing view of the nigh sky of my life from the top of Kota Kinabalu it blew my mind. The memory of it still does...

That doesn't make sense. If it's not for keeps and truly surplus sell it. You could get a great wide field portable setup that's grab and go and would bring a lot of fun day or night. You would also make someone else very happy with the FSQ85. Ken.

I'm taking a half day. With the scope in the back of the car if needs be I setup on the top floor of the car park if the opportunity arises. Could be an exciting chase !

Stu. Thanks for the reply. I might just pick up an Astrozap Badder Solar film from FLO given my previous good experience with Badder film and it being supplied with an aluminium mounting. It took a bit of time to make one last time around. Seems like a bargin! For the transit this is going to be ideal. I have what I need to mount my DSLR to my refractor stright through so it seems with the Astrozap I would be all set. Looking around a Badder coolwedge would be ideal but it might wait until the new year as it's a bit of a commitment with respect to the price. The Astrozap would be an ideal to getting back to solar. Regards Kevin.

As we know there is a Mercury transit on Nov 11th. I don't do any solar observing since I sold my WO 80FD some years ago. I have still my old badder solar filter that I made for it which I did not pass on given the danger associated with solar filters and the principal that we are each responsible for our own safety. So I am now in the market for a new one for a Tak FC100. I know many of you here are keen solar observers. (a good year!) and would like to seek some recommendations for something suited to both visual and photographic. But ideally robust enough to last and be good enough to get the best from my refractor. Big question I know but timely no doubt. Thanks in advance. Kevin.

Nice!! Along time ago I had an 80F5 with a 32m plossl. This summer I picked up a 30mm wide field for an 100F7 and had so much fun that it reminded me why I always had fond memories of the 80F5. Wide field is can be such a joy and really can be a inexpensive way to enjoy the night sky. Everybody should just do this from time to time it's so relaxing and entertaining. Kevin.

GEJEK It's useful to remember that tripods can be upgraded or even home built whilst the head tends to be what it is. I used a home built wooden tripod for many years until it started getting a little loose. It cost me next to nothing and wasent very portable. It didn't need to be. If you have access to existing fence posts or concrete pillars you might just need to think a little differently about how you set up.

Doug. "orangey/orangey" I say things like this all the time and constantly get pulled up on them at work. I'm happy happy to see I am amongst like minded people. orangey/orangey.... Kevin

All of £1.02

I just started reading this. The Home Planet. "Conveys the human side of space exploration, in personal accounts by astronauts and cosmonauts and a collection of color photographs taken from space that capture our planet's beauty" This cosmonauts and astronauts set at an association and contribute to a book based on their thoughts and feelings of their experience. How it effected them. It's fascinating to read their perspective. Plus they elaborate on how the full size photos as good as they are don't capture the earth in its glory. All of £1.02 +pp for the hard back. I can't think of a £1 better spent. Kevin.

Earlier I commented on imaging from the Carl Sagan cosmos series 1980 and those produced by amateurs today. I would love to know what amateurs will be able to do from their back gardens in another forty years. But I suspect some will still be observing. So much to see and do and so little time and money.

Ours get turned off for a period.

On Thursday at the O2 with Prof. Brian Cox the open sequence had a Carl Sagan quote from the opening scene of episode one of the cosmos, amongst others. This prompted me yesterday to watch that episode. It's startling to see the images of galaxies and nebula used in that TV series which would have been cutting edge at the time and I belive won an award. It's stunning by comparison the quality of images amateur's can produce these days from their back gardens. It's easy to see why imaging is so popular, quite literally. For me images satisfy a need to know more observing satisfies my need to explorer and feel like I am part of the cosmos. They are different for me. I can get the former from other amateurs work and books but I can only satisfy the later with my own eyes.

These mounts with all their imperfections can cause unpredictable behaviour when two or more of these errors decided to coincide. There's a point when your gains become so small that futher effort to reduce them seems pointless. You can get the mount to work well if your willing to care for it and work on it. Mine even with a polar alignment that would give you two minutes unguided in the DEC still jumped about in the DEC. The thing was infuriating. I had it in bits a number of times. In the end I accepted the mount for what it was. I have been happy with it ever since.

There as ever is another point of view here. Maybe oberservational astronomy is alive and well. Another possibility is that interest in astronomy has swelled due such images being available say from probes and the Hubble space telescope. Certainly astronomy has gone from Patrick Moore late on a Sunday night to Prof. Brian Cox selling out the O2 on a Thursday night on his world tour. Imaging has a powerful draw to it the promise of wonderful views of our skies. Their maybe high proportion on imagers to observers as a result. It is after all regarded as science and emotional aspect is never communicated well in such areas. It would interesting how many start of as imagers and move to observation.

An amazing evening loved every bit of it. My understanding of space time continuum relativistic effects is now as up-to-date as a first year physics degree student. My eldest son starting his A level physics relished this idea. That can happen as a result of confusion or understanding. he hasn't said Which yet. P.S. He says both understood and confused. Hope his physics teacher is up for it!

I am of to the O2 tonite with my two teenage boys. Birthday present (last Jan) from my sister. It's nice to have family and be predictable, people know what you like.... Wahoooo.....

Compute is the magic word.