bingevader

Well done Skipper Billy, that sounds like a result. See if you can make the obsy wasp proof for next year. Aw, now come on Gina, flies (or at least their maggots) are really really good at cleaning up dead and decaying matter. They're actually also very meticulous about keeping clean. It's just what they've eaten and trod in last and that some vomit on their food that might cause a problem. What's not to like!

I'm a great fan of the magic twigs! We've moved hives short distances with great success by getting the bees to reorientate. Move at night and then place twigs or grass across the entrance to hinder their exit in the morning. The vast majority will reorientate with only a handful heading back to the original site. I've wondered if these were bees that had stayed out late the night before anyway! Back to the wasps. As others have said, if the queen has only just started then it's easy to remove the nest whilst she's out, as long as you make sure there's no way for her to get back in. As others have also said, wasps are good pollinators and great predators and only turn to the sweet stuff when they mature. Most wasp traps are inefficient and so only tend to encourage more wasps rather than catch them all, so I wouldn't put them anywhere you want to sit or eat! I've never really understood why they're seen as the scourge that they are (and yes, I've been stung plenty of times, but more by honey bees these days). Just to really thwack the wasp nest with a big stick, I find other people's dogs more of a nuisance than wasps!

There's a derelict windmill in the village, I'd love to turn it into an obsy. Oh to be rich, I can live without the famous. In fact, not rich, just enough for a little windmill conversion, is that asking too much?!

The 4mm is fab Helen. I've had several really good nights with Luna, where the sky was clear and steady and I'd pushed and pushed the magnification. It seemed like a sensible investment and is paying off, so far!

Thanks John. If the old shape 4mm was good in your 300mm, then that's good news. It is a good shape and feel. It is a shame there aren't more, they're an excellent price.

Having had another birthday and tremendous success with luna obsevations using my 2x barlow and the various high-power eyepieces I possess, I thought it might be a good time to invest in a 4mm eyepiece. I couldn't find another review with regards to this EP although it does seem identical to the Skywatcher Nirvana and similar in spec to the Williams Optics Uwans. I’ll add a bit of perspective for anyone else considering the EP. I’ve been (very) slowly moving over to 82° EPs and thought the extra drift time that this would give to the 8” dob would be a real bonus. I thought it was worth it because, although the clear nights do seem few and far between these days, when they do come around, I consider my back garden in a small village in rural south east Wales to be pretty dark. Clear Out Side has me down as Bortle 4 skies, but I’ve always thought I can see more of the Milky Way and more stars in Orion than this would suggest. This was very much the first light and I used it in combination with my 8”, f5.9 dob giving a magnification of 300x. Unpacking. As you can see, it came (from FLO) in a box designated as a Helios Nirvana ES 4mm 82° Eyepiece. It’s a solid EP with the central rubber grip and a (marmite) bevel in the barrel. The invertible rubber eye cup gives a comfortable viewing experience. It’s a similar size to my other high magnification EPs, but slightly lighter at 163.5g. I can’t see me using this EP on any other target than the moon with the 8” dob, so as it’s designated purpose, that was all I observed for this review. The transparency was near perfect, but seeing wasn’t as good with the stillness coming between the ripples that past over the surface of the moon. The moon was a waxing crescent of 5 days old and the detail from the shadows was splendid. At f5.9, the EP is crisp and sharp across the field of view with no discernible distortion, astigmatism or curvature. I repeatedly allowed the various craters to drift from one side to the other without having to touch the focuser. With the EP being 82°, you do have to peer around the “edges” or tilt your head slightly to follow the object across the whole field of view. However, this does give you the immersive feeling that I like so much with the 82° EPs. There’s definitely no peering down a straw. I did notice a ring of fuzz, not fire, around the very edge of the field of view. It isn’t a gradual deterioration, that you might associate with some aberration or curvature, but just a point at the very edge that is no longer clear but fuzzy. Similar I would assume to the ring of fire, but a sudden lack of clarity instead. As a new moonraker at the higher magnification end of my EP collection, I am delighted with this EP. I had thought that this would probably be the end of my upgrades to 82° EPs, but as there’s also a 7mm in the series, and they are so reasonably priced, I’d be tempted to replace my X-Cel LX to get the wider field of view. I’ve no problem in recommending this EP to anyone with a f5.9 or higher ‘scope as long as you have, or are prepared to wait for the clear, steady skies. I’d be interested to find out how it behaved as a lower magnification EP in a faster ‘scope. Best wishes.

Ta. I find using binoculars easier than a telescope, I get eye ache trying to keep one eye closed all the time. But, I'll invest in a good eye patch instead I think.

Interesting thread! It seems like quite a lot of glass. With binoculars, you have a separate light path, but with binoviewers, you are splitting the single light path. Out of curiosity, is there a noticeable reduction in brightness?

My goodness, that was a bit of voodoo to raise this zombie from the dead!

Now there's a good idea. I did struggle at school and I'm not really prepared to fork out for another set just for that. A reasonably priced zoom might be a good alternative. Thanks John.

Fab, always worth keeping hold of these things!

And possibly here's the original pdf. Lunar 100 object list and notes.pdf

If you are in Pembrokeshire I would question the need! Things should be clear enough to point out without the hassle or worry of introducing a pointer. I have just finished regular sessions in school, in a fairly badly light polluted town and we managed fine. Youngest was a 5 year old. With eyesight better than mine, they had no problem identify the asterisms and then constellations and finding individual objects within, such as M42. But above all, have fun!

Maybe we'll just leave you to it then!? Only joking. Mine is more of a pipe dream list than a wish list! But I'm hoping that if I've been good I might get 12" dob when I retire.

Sumerian?! :)

Full width at half maximum. Learn something new every day. Sorry, I can't be of any help to you though!

Nope, for me, that would be the distance between pupils! Usually called the inter pupillary distance. 15mm would put your eyes rather close together!

Mass and density? I don't think they are big enough. I haven't read about their original formation yet.

Came here in the hope this was alcohol related! Merry Christmas, nearly.

Great use of a Pi! You know, they like these sorts of projects for the magazine. You can use Etcher on windows too btw, I prefer it to Win32DiskImager too.

Another blast from the past! I'd imagine it's probably easier, cheaper and quicker to find a mate with a 3d printer nowadays!

It was the car I was thinking of!

Sorry, I'm with the, "Yet more space junk!" brigade. Just because he can, doesn't mean he has to....

Is the baffle still in the same position as the original photo? Can you hook it out with a long hooky thing?!

I think my EPs well and truly fall into the mismatch collection! They're in the sig, but I'll take a pic with them all lined up if I get the chance.