DirkSteele

7 minutes ago, John said:

Similar to yours. On the Berlebach Uni 28 the Ercole will hold the 130 F/9.2 OK for low to medium power observing but as you get over 200x (which is just cruising for these 130's) the settle times start to become intrusive. 

When I use my 130 now it goes straight onto the T-Rex which delivers a really stable platform even at "ludicrous" magnifications. The total weight difference between the T-Rex and the Ercole is around 4.5 kg but the Ercole needs quite a bit of counterweighting so that equals things up.  

200x is exactly my experience as well where the inflection points seems to happen.

10 minutes ago, John said:

How do you find your Ercole copes with the 130mm F/9.2 Matthew ?

 

 

Need to see what difference this pier makes (I had been using the tiny pier from the Sky Watcher Az Gti - surprised it did not buckle to be honest!), but I think the length is pushing the limit a bit once the magnification gets up to the level we know this scope can easily take.  I also need to see if an even more robust tripod helps.  Solid as rock on the APM AzMax Load but that is not a surprise given it throws my LZOS 180 f/7 around pretty easily.  How about your experience?

Needed a half pier to boost the height of my LZOS 130/1200 when using my Ercole on the Gitzo Series 5 tripod. Tecnosky model from Astrograph delivered today. Quite a hunk of metal.

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Adapter to allow my Leica ASPH zoom to be used in 1.25 or 2-inch EP holders 

Look forward to some reports on performance now that has arrived.

Needed a half pillar to raise the height of my APM LZOS 130 f/9 scope when used Alt Az.  Found Astrograph had stock of the Tecnosky half pillar so placed an order at the beginning of the week.   For some reason my credit card woud  not process (have been having issues with it recently so likely to change it soon).  Rupert sent alternative payment instructions upon my request.  Which I promptly paid.  Arrived today well packed.  Quite a hunk of metal and should fit my needs well.

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

The filter has arrived. Should get to test it with Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura)  

The green tint is quite noticeable 

Nice coving! 😉

Look forward to hearing how it performs.

Completed one.

41 minutes ago, John said:

I had the ES 92 12mm and 17mm for a while. They were both noticeably heavier than the Nagler 31. 

My Ethos 21 is a little heavier than the N 31 I think.

 

Yep, but it looks less imposing as it doesn’t have the girth.

Oh, and in response to your where does that time go…. never ask that question! It is always longer than you think. I thought a Sky and Telescope cover was 10-15 years old recently and it was pointed out it was back in 2000.

Sky and Telescope published an article about how rare eclipses of the sun are (spoiler, they are not with an average of 2.38 per year for the 2000 year period 1001 AD to 3000 AD - this covers partial, total, annular and hybrid). However, each one covers less than 1% of the Earth’s surface and there is normally more than 300 years between eclipses passing over the same point which makes them seem rare. What is unusual or perhaps rare, in terms of eclipses is the apparent diameter of the moon and sun being the same to permit total eclipses and observation of the corona.

https://skyandtelescope.org/2024-total-solar-eclipse/how-rare-is-a-solar-eclipse/

Superb!

I cannot provide a quantitative method to determine the benefit, only anecdotal experience. I have taken my 2.4”, 3” and 4” scopes to Bortle 1 and 2 skies around the world and under the best skies(which I call Bortle 1+)  I have seen my 4” out perform my 11” in suburban UK Bortle 6/7 type skies).

The impact can be quite startling.

6 minutes ago, The60mmKid said:

Dunno. Astronomy is the only reason I maintain a gym membership.

Carrying some of my scopes is my gym membership!

Ha.  Ask me the last time I used my LZOS 180mm triplet.  Including the tripod, mount, and counterweights it tips the scales at over 70kg....

Clue - it is measured in years.

22 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Another delivery.

 I need an adapter before I can test, thought 

Look fporward to reports on its performance.  I have been considering one.

Amazing capture.  Brings back memories of 1994 when we were all watching Jupiter.  Wish I had the scopes I have now back then.

I can get 6.2 degrees with my 35mm Panoptic with my Tak FS-60 (5.8 deg with my 21mm Ethos).

With my APM LZOS 105 f6.2 I can get 3.4 and 3.2 degrees with the same two eyepieces but could exceed 4 if I bought a 41mm Panoptic.

Sadly, I do not have photos with the scopes using either eyepiece.

She just called a waxing gibbous moon a mummy moon. I think I see where this is going… I know I have been a bit greedy recently, but ouch….

Just been shopping and I picked this up for my 2 and half year old daughter. I might be trying to bring her into the Astronomy community! But in my defence she was asking about the moon at 18 months old and she now refers to a waxing crescent as a baby moon.

Fingers crossed I have an observing buddy in a few years. She does have some rather good glass to look through. 😄

It is by far those best Messier globular. I have been fortunate to observe it from the Southern Hemisphere many times and it is only beaten out by 47 Tucanae (my absolute fav) and Omega Centauri on the globular podium.

Bob King just published an article about Comet Nishimura on S&T and highlighted the swan filter aided with visibility.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/new-comet-nishimura-may-become-naked-eye-bright/?utm_source=cc&utm_medium=newsletter
 

12 hours ago, YogSothoth said:

I’m leaning towards a satellite burning up as the most likely explanation, although it didn’t really look like the above photo. It was a solid ‘smoke trail’ similar to the vapour trail left by a passenger jet, but very short. The bright flashes were coming from within the trail. The whole thing disappeared abruptly after a few seconds.

Does the disappearing include the ‘smoke trail’ as well? I would expect that element to be persistent even if the body had burnt up and the flashes stopped. I would certainly expect flashes with the smoke as bits break off and burn up.

Back in early 2022, a powerful geomagnetic storm caused 38 Starlink satellites to de-orbit and burn up in the atmosphere. We have certainly experienced a fair share of storms this year. Perhaps you witnessed a similar occurrence. Anyone aware of any satellites being lost recently?

Image of the starlink Sats burning up.

Certainly when I was studying I did. Photometry of T-Tauri stars was my astrophysics masters project. But now I like to just admire the beauty of the universe. Which for me at least, is further enhanced by having a deeper understanding of what I am looking at and what physical processes have resulted in what I am seeing. Perhaps one day I might do something more serious   Again, but I would want a permanent observatory to do that.

Just downloaded it. Made me smile. Glad I am a visual only guy though!

Bortle 4 and a 6” scope? A tremendous amount. Start with the showpieces so many of the messier and Caldwell objects but the sky really is the limit. As your skill improves, so will your ability to see faint detail so make sure to revisit old favourites.