DirkSteele

It’s a whopper! 17bn solar masses, 500 trillion times the sun luminosity and accretion disc is 7 light years in diameter.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68346725

I am the treasurer of a society whose mission statement includes being free (we work on donations and fundraising activity only) and for everyone so anybody who has an interest can show up.

Perhaps they had a bad experience in the past and have become more selective. As others have said, it is a two way process so you could still check them out and see if they fit you too. Would be a shame to miss out completely if they are the only local society available.

Starlight.

😉

Though if I do have a drink a thermos, it is most often Rooibos tea. I acquired a taste for it while stargazing in Namibia back in 2011 and it is now my hot drink of choice.

I believe it is this company.  https://www.goto.co.jp/english/about/

and https://www.goto.co.jp/english/about/history/

The logo is certainly the same.  I recognised it immediately as I know them for their products in planetarium space.  Did not know they were (are) in the business of making scopes as well.

Does not tell us too much more unfortunately.

9 hours ago, JTEC said:

Hi Peter, thanks for responding 🙂   I was thinking in terms of a mid size scope - probably a minimalist, ‘collapsible’ Dobsonian of some sort - that I could carry to dark skies on a plane.  David made me a nice 12” f6 scope a few years ago, and I had it in mind to float the idea with him but events, sadly, intervened.  Given the weight limitations, I don’t suppose a 12” would be possible but perhaps a suitably designed 10” might squeeze in. I’d wondered about a bare bones single pole design but, while keeping the weight down is a challenge, perhaps there are better ideas.  

Sumerian Optics in The Netherlands makes 12” and 16” Dobs for exactly this purpose. 

10 hours ago, Stephenstargazer said:

Nice bit of travel kit. How is the Sightron?

First time using it. Rather enjoyed it. Balance proved to be the difficult bit. Switching from a 31mm Nagler to small focal length EP would cause the scope to move in altitude even with the axis locked. But only with such extreme changes in weight. Trying only with 1.25” eyepieces was no issue at all.

I may have used a 1.25” mirror diagonal inside a 2”-to-1.25” adaptor and forgot to take the cover off and then wondered why I only saw black.

Thought it didn’t take me 10 minutes to realise my mistake! 😉

5 hours ago, John said:

Not mine of course but currently for sale in Germany and a snip at 295,000 Euros - a 14 inch / 365mm F/12 Lzos triplet. Interesting that the objective bears Thomas M Back's initials and seems to date from 2002 according to the test report.

 

To live somewhere where seeing would make that worthwhile….

That and the additional 500k+ to build a climate controlled observatory so the lens is ambient and a mount the size of a small car to hold it.

Guess I can dream. 😉

No real experience with prism diagonals but the best mirror diagonal I have used is the Baader BBHS. Colours have a greater vibrancy than dielectric mirrors and slightly less scattered light around bright objects. Not a night and day improvement but definitely obvious. The biggest surprise was the increase in intensity of the GRS using 4” class scopes.

When I want to keep the weight down and only use 1.25" I use the Tele Vue Everbright.  It is excellent.

To be honest, there is little to differentiate between all the high quality mirror diagonals.  Apart from one.  And that is the Baader BBHS mirror diagonal.  Its not dielectric and I have done side by side comparisons against numerous other high quality mirror diagonals and found colours a touch more vibrant and arguably with slightly less scatter around bright objects.  But it is not a night and day difference (though the the GRS on Jupiter difference in a 4" scope did surprise me).

22 minutes ago, DPF said:

Pick up in one piece would be easier for me. Happy to have a two piece setup if necessary 

Honestly I would say a 6" or better yet an 8" Dobsonian.  Still manageable pieces, fits the budget and desire for Alt Az and will be a big step up on the moon and deep sky. 

Only thing I would say is that you need to be ok crouching or sitting when using these scopes at most if not all elevations as the eyepiece will be lower than scope mounted on tripod / mount system.  The link below is the 8" model from Skywatcher and has a very helpful diagram which shows the relative sizes compared to an average human.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

One point of clarification would be your definition of “grab and go” as one astronomer’s view on this can be quite different from another. Do you mean pick up in one go for example, or a couple of pieces handled individually (such as an 8” dobsonian base and OTA) still being ok?

Because I love it! 😉

In a bit more detail…

I have always found the universe and all the wonders it contains, carved by the rules of physics to be awe inspiring. Hunting down those objects, which are often more beautiful than the most gifted artist could conceive and simultaneously appreciating the physics behind what I am observing (thanks physics degree) adds an extra dynamic for me.

I guess I also feel a bit like an explorer, visiting far away places that few will ever see and knowing that the photon’s journey, which in some cases will be millions of years ends when it hits my retina adds a personal connection to the universe.

It is also very peaceful to be out under the stars, though I do also enjoy the activity in groups and sharing the skies in outreach events.

The Takahashi FC-100DC primed and ready for what turned out to be a great session a few hours later. First time out for the Sightron Alt Az mount as well.

Oh, and one in the late afternoon after I had aligned the finder.

Had a long weekend away and my prayers to the cloud gods paid dividends with a 5 hour session though there was some ice on the scope by the end.

Sadly if you are thinking big dobsonians I think there is now a big gap in the uk market. Does anyone know if Beacon Hill Telescopes still operates? Think they did produce some larger stuff in the past.

However, optical sets are easier to come by like Nichol Optical for example. I believe they may have been a supplier for David’s wonderful scopes.

In refactor land, there are still a few options like Moonraker and IR Poyser.

But my goodness it did get chilly but I was well wrapped up. My Think Tank Photo backpack holding all my eyepieces certainly bore the brunt of it. Photo as I was packing down…. 🥶🥶🥶

Technically part of set up at night….😉

Had an awesome 5 hour session under Bortle 4 skies on Sunday. A long weekend away with the family meant we escaped central London. Took the FC-100DC with me.

Oh and though I did not really feel it (was well wrapped up) it was pretty cold. Ice even formed on my eyepiece travel backpack! That is a tiny picnic table for toddlers I found at the back of the house (was a weekend rental) which I used to keep the bag on.

I spent the weekend in a bortle 4 location, more then. 3 hour drive from my central London home. Took the FC-100 on the chance of clear skies and all the forecasts proved to be pessimistic for Sunday evening. Had a 5 hour session under almost cloudless skies (though two banks did roll through that stopped me for 10-15 mins). I really need to work a few prevention solution as the lens fogged up but I did not give up and took the scope inside to warm up before continuing.

Not an exhaustive list but I took some good notes so may well do a full write up of this session over the next week and post to the website.

M1, NGC1647, the Hydaes (using my finder to enjoy the whole thing) and several other open clusters in Taurus including Cr65 and M45 with plenty of reflection Neb on display.

M42 etc in Orion and many open clusters. Also took in J320 (yeah, me neither before Sunday night), it’s a planetary nebula.

Rosette Nebula (with UHC) and a couple of open clusters in Monoceros.

Had a go at Sirius but seeing was not great. Several open clusters including M41 and Cr121.

Hopped over the border to Puppis for M46 and M47 and made an effort to spot the planetary nebula that sits on top of M46 (using OIII) which I had never done before.

Eskimo nebula and M35 in Gemini and split Propus and Castor.

Usual suspects in Auriga (M36 to M38) and several more OCs and perhaps a nebula or two with some filter help.

Decided to take in a few galaxies during the night as well including M31 and it’s satellites, M33, M51, M81 and M82 as well as the Leo Triplet.

Spent a good amount of time In Cassiopeia for many open clusters including my favourite NGC457.

All in, I hit more than 60 over the session.

Widescreen Centre has reportedly the first example in the country at AstroFest last weekend. I picked it up and it was quite a chunk of metal and glass. Should be available in March / April.

21 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Thanks all. I have a Cheshire but it’s tricky to see past the crosshairs. Looking past them I see dark green circle and a lighter green circle. Not sure if I need to try and remove the cross hairs to test it properly? 

I use two, one with and one without. The crosshairs allow you to determine if the reflections are central and without gives a clearer view that the reflections are concentric.

28 minutes ago, John said:

I use the cheshire collimator check inside and, if clear, a star test to follow up.

That should pick up any mis-alignment of the focuser or objective.

 

 

 

Same. Doublets are easier to diagnose than triplets with a Cheshire as there are less reflections to see. 

40 minutes ago, Elp said:

The tripod makes all the difference. Tripod is the most important part of any setup.

14 minutes ago, dantro said:

I agree.  If you drive an axe into a stump and try to move the axe, it will be stable.  If you drive and axe into a log and try to move the axe, both will topple over.  The physics explanation is surely more elegant, but a  light tripod , even if it has a very high weight capacity, lacks the mass needed to stabilize even some lighter scope/mount combos IMO.   Adding low lying weights to stabilize a light tripod can help but kind of defeats the purpose of having a light tripod in my view.

This would be on top of Gitzo Series 5 tripod with a stated load capacity of 40kg. I did not buy the tripod that comes with the mount.