bomberbaz

The title sums it up as briefly as possible, but let me put some more meat on the bones.

I found, using a combination of the light pollution map and google maps/earth what I hoped to be a superb dark sky site. Great I hear you say, but (there is always a but) this site was 100 miles and nearly 2 hours drive away in Keswick.

Unperturbed by this I decided to give it a go last night, no moon to speak of and forcast clear skies. So packing my TS350 dob, two boxes of glass and a variety of other bits and bobs into the boot of the car and set off. 45 minutes in up the M6 I realised I had forgotten my observing seat yet again, gahhhhhhh 🤬

I managed a workaround to that seat issue using my manfrotto, a picture of this can be seen below. Not the most comfortable but I made use of it a few times. 🤣 Marks for ingenuity?

To the nitty gritty. After setting up well before dark I was concerned that the sky was very cloudy and not at all what clear outside forecasted. My concern (and most of the clouds) evaporated just before dark as it all just suddenly cleared and left me with dark and beautifully starred skies above. See picture below, just a 30 second snap with a small stretch.

So one of my aims was to test out exit pupils on HB and OIII filters. I tried out both the filters on many different nebulae of differing type, emissions and make up and to cut it all short, the 24mm APM with an exit pupil of 4.9mm was for me the most consistant performer. Rather ironic given all my work as it was bought as a HB filter in the first place 🙄It provided the most contrast, definition and brightness of the eyepieces used. (Exit pupil variance from 3.5 to 5.8mm)

Back to the venue, it was selected based upon it having a good allround darkness and specifically a dark southern horizon. The bush in the picture above is due south, remember that picture is 30 seconds at ISO 800 and is stretched, it was super dark in comparison to my previous dark site used.

My second DSO of the night showed just how good the horizon was, I went to M17 Omega/Swan nebula using the APM 24 as the opening eyepiece armed with an astronomik OIII filter and "wow", I mean "WOW". This is without a shadow of a doubt the best view of the Swan I have seen by a country mile.  The shape,  structure and strength of the nebula itself was quite sublime, it gave an almost 3D effect though the depth and variance of the nebula combined with the structure within, the wings were absolutely gorgeous, you get the picture. (This is at 15 degrees on the horizon) Now this was a very difficult object to view as it was, as mentioned so low and even with the boot stool, my back was going crazy but I did find it so very hard to pull myself away from it, it was simply stunning!

I had similar superb results on the whole veil, it just jumped out at you, the crescent was popping readily into view showing a fully joined image, again with good structure around the inner area, the pacman and bubble nebula were firsts at this venue with the former providing the most detail/structure and firsts again for heart and soul nebula. The last two weren't brilliant but I got them as it were.

With the HB my previous venue gave blanks on all but Campbell's hydrogen star & california. Last night I added to that with first sightings of gamma cygni, the cocoon and Sharpless2-91 & 101. None of the four firsts were much to write home about, mainly fuzzing or hazing of the sky although gamma cygni gave a feint amount of structure by running the FOV slowly over the area of nebulosity.

Other viewing were M31, 33, 101, 102, 81, 82, 51. All of these were excellent objects to behold in these lovely dark skies. I was using the Baader 8-24 to zoom in and out to find the best strength to apply to them. x140 seems to be the sweet spot for galaxies using the dob although I went as high as x215 and although I loved the ubiquitous zoom, I missed having the extra FOV that my Nikon gives me when viewing galaxy DSO.

I viewed a few other clusters and doubles, again the zoom excels here (Albireo was a peach) and I have one final object to report on with a question.

I spent a while viewing M57 the ring, I was cranked right in at x215 (no filter) and I am sure I could see a greenish bluish tinge to the nebula. Am I imagining this or has anyone else seen this?

In summary an excellent site that has only been excelled by my visits to Galloway. An overall 9 out of 10 for darkness that produced an SQM reading of 21.15 and likewise a 9/10 for an excellent southern horizon, the one area I have constantly struggled with.

Down side distance but of course you get out of this hobby what you put into it.

I will be back for a couple of goes over the winter viewing during galaxy season where I think it will really excel. Going forward my 25 minute drive (SQM 20.5 ish) site with an average southern aspect will remain my chosen site for the bulk of my viewing. 

I have enjoyed writing this review as I was reliving my exploits of last night whilst doing so.

thanks for reading.

Steve

On 30/08/2022 at 09:14, beamer3.6m said:

My second question...

So for a basic imaging rig (EQ) what do I need software wise as it has been years since I imaged.

I have the following:

Laptop

Canon 400d

Canon 350d

Qhy5 guide cam

Various cables

130pds

Synscan handset from original heq5 mount (must be 5years old now)

-----

So if I use the gti would any of the above be useful. The heq5 is just too much of a faff to get out. I want portable and lightweight.

I used to image with the heq5 using PhD etc and so understand the concept of guiding etc but I am a looooong time out of the game so just need to know the BASIC kit I need to get going... I don't need to go for asiais or advanced setups immediately.

My two penneth worth:

I started out imaging because of the AZ Gti EQ capability when paired with the ASI Air Plus (£320 new). I didn't want weight or faff, the Air+ is a game changer as far as imaging goes, polar alignment is easy peasy and the combo of the Gti and air+ meets my requirements perfectly. (I can pick the whole rig up one handed)

It (the air+) is compatible with your canons, so no need for a new camera, think it is also compatible with your guide so the only thing extra you need is a guide scope. ( Astro Essentials 30mm f/4 Mini Guide Scope | First Light Optics ) £59 quid new and a cable or 2 maybe.

I realise it is all extra expenditure but you will get the best out of your existing kit, with the right new bit of kit.

One other thing which I am sure you are aware of is weight. Your setup would be touching AZ Gti limits, maybe even slightly over so good balancing is a must. (As mentioned you will need a counter balance bar and 2kg of weight for the PDS)

Steve

Some zoom eyepiece porn here 😅

APM Telescopes. Zoom Eyepieces (apm-telescopes.net)

excellent work, a quick comparison to the JWST image (you were expecting this no doubt) shows you have captured quite a few of the smaller background galaxies in Stephan's Quintet. A resounding success given your skies and equipment. 👌

35 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

Could someone do me a favour and measure the diameter of that central "well"?

Also, does that 3/8" bolt in the picture push up from where it's shown, above the level of the top flange?

well diameter is 60mm and yes the bolt does push up to engage with whatever you put on top. Pushes up by circa 10mm

Top of mine 

2 minutes ago, beamer3.6m said:

Quick question

Can the az-gti be mounted directly to the skywatcher tripod which is used for an heq5.

I have an heq5 but it's heavy and awkward for me at the mo,  but can I utilise the tripod to save on the purchase cost of gti???

The bumf on Flo's page states it is a 1.75 tripod, if that be the case the answer should be yes. Caveat, some of these tripods have a metal locking protusion that engages with the mount and this might be the same.

I will put a picture up of mine later, mine works with it.

Sky-Watcher HEQ5 PRO Go-To Astronomy Mount | First Light Optics

26 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

 

another sterling effort Lee, nice work indeed. BTW it's not that noisy pal, your just over self critical.

Coincidentally I saw this on Thursday, well the part below in the inner circle.

I was using my 14" DOB, an Astronomik OIII filter and switching between a APM 24mm and 26 Plossl for different exit pupils in B4 skies.

It's quite distinctive but my problem is it is so big you can lose perspective as I simply can't fit enough of it into a full FOV.  Both EP above give less than a degree.

Anyway, it is to my eyes not distinct in edge definition but there is good structure within it if that makes sense. I moved the FOV in and out of the nebulosity and it is relatively easy to pick it out doing so. 

Last night I set out on something of a mammoth observing session so decided early on to leave planetary until after the faint DSO to save ruining my dark adaptation.

In the end I struggled because Saturn being lowish was a royal PITA to view without an observing chair, (yes I forgot the blooming thing again) and my back was playing hell with me stooping over. So my time was limited to around 15 minutes overall but after trying magnification ranging from x 210 all the way up to x560 using the Nagler zoom, I actually settled on the x 210. This was mainly down to comfort and control factor, sat down I would have been able to control the DOB better and I could then have managed the higher settings easier.

The skies were excellent btw, very settled.

So didn't get the Cassini division, hints of it but to be honest I was concentrating on it's moons.

In the end I managed Titan of course, along with Iapetus, Rhea and Dione.  I think Enceladus was there too but as always with it being so close to the planet itself, the glow off the planet drowned out the moons a little. 

One thing I intend doing next time, slightly annoyed I never thought about it last night was to try out using the ND filter to calm it all down a little. Guessing with that Cassini would have been easy too last night.

I did spend a few minutes right at the end on Jupiter but it was late by then. Next time I will have a go at the two outlying gas giants as well.

Anyway, for 15 minutes a productive little Saturn session and a teaser of things to come i hope as I expect there to be other clear nights this next week when I will remember my chair.

That is beautiful, looks like a water fountain gently spraying before falling back. Nice work michael.

1 hour ago, AstroNebulee said:

Thank you Steve, yep I understand it now, nice mod indeed. 

Lee 

Best of all Lee, very simple (as well as effective).

4 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

Hi Steve sorry for my late reply I thought I had, did you take a picture of where your new spring is positioned, I'm probably being thick but I can't in visage it. Edit...think I worked it out, excuse my crude drawing but is the spring placed here?

Cheers 

Lee 

Not sure Lee, that is kinda what I mean. See a more detailed sketch below to illustrate.

45 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

Hi Steve 

Is this the spring that you replaced? Also do you know where you got the new spring from as I was thinking of fitting more substantial ones to my Az gti. 

Nice mods and thank you for sharing 👍

Lee 

I didn't replce it Lee, just added an extra one as mentioned above.  Refer to the small red arrow in my first picture. The spring pushes against the casing and motor housing as oppose to pulling like the installed one does. 

TBH I have never found the need to put mine onto my steel tripod and simply keep the smaller SW tripod permanently set up.  

I do agree that in terms of stability it is an improvement but how significant that is is arguable.

I have been meaning to put details of my minor mods up so here goes.

I placed a small but fat spring between the outer casing and the drive motor (see red arrow). When this is fastened up is stops the slop in RA as the small spring  installed is simply too weak.

I also slipped two small pieces of plastic (I sabotaged a teflon type chopping mat) and slid them between the motor housing casing and the actual drive mechanism housing. (see yellow arrow) This helps take out a little of the slack in RA too. Since I did this with the new mount, my tracking has tightened up significantly and is always under 1 and I guess is averaging at 0.8. (previously circa 1.2)

If anyone needs pictures, let me know.

Steve

I love these deep field images, especially when you can pop in a well known character with it. 

How far is the most distant of these if you know that is Dan?

2 hours ago, Dan_Paris said:

   Hi,

M92 is a well-known globular cluster in Hercules, overshadowed by its more famous neighbor M13 but nonetheless impressive on its own right. It is less known that is lies  close to a rich deep field containing many distant galaxies.

 

Many of them appears on this picture taken last month with my 8" newtonian astrograph, even from my light-polluted backyard  (right clic for the full-resolution picture) :

 

 

Here is the luminance annotated with ASTAP

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Dan

 

Technical data
200/800 custom Newtonian astrograph with Romano Zen optics and carbon fiber tube
AP900 CP4 mount on Losmandy HD tripod
TS 2.5" Riccardi-Wynne corrector
ASI183mm
ZWO LRGB filters
Guiding : ZWO OAG + ASI120mm mini + AsiairV1
Luminance : 200 *60sec at -10°C
Chrominance : 20*60sec at -10°C each channel
Darks, flats and synthetic biases
Conditions : Bortle 7/8 skies in Paris' suburbs (20km from the Eiffel tower), variable seeing (from 1.8" to 3"), rather poor transparency
Preprocessing and stacking with Siril, processing with Pixinsight and Rawtherapee

Hmm perhaps in my statement above which sparked this BB theory discussion I should have been more precise in what I meant. 

There are some who are thinking the actual mechanics for the BB aftermath are not as first thought, I wasn't meaning the BB never happened, just that it "might" have developed differently following the "dark ages".

Loving the aurora diffractions, incredible piece of kit that will continue to blow peoples minds.

I believe there is some doubt building as to the validity of the BB theory given the sizes and density of galaxies in the early universe, simply too much of everything to match existing theories!

1 minute ago, AstroNebulee said:

I have one of the heated USB body warmers on that page that was bought for me and I love mine when I use it in the winter. 

When I connect a power tank it'll keep me warm all during my imaging session that I stay out with my equipment. Even when I don't use a power tank the silver material reflects all my body heat back in so only put the power on intermittently but so toasty.  The power draw can be low well with my power tank so the talentcell power pack should cope and not switch off or any power tank that stays on with low power draw. 

Lee

 

What brand do you have please Lee?

Depends how much you want to spend. I did a recent posting about the stellalyra zoom and it appears from what input I received it is nearly on a parr with the baader but at much less cost.

StellaLyra 8-24mm 1.25" Lanthanum Zoom Eyepiece | First Light Optics

As for a barlow, I also own the BST short barlow, which a chunky zoom will benefit from not adding too much extra length, weight and possible flexture to the business end of things.  It is a nice bit of kit at a very affordable price. 

BST StarGuider 2x Short Barlow Lens | First Light Optics

HTH

Steve

I recently came across these by accident, I was actually looking for a new powertank and they came up as an option, probably often bought together.

Amazon.co.uk : heated vest usb

Has anyone got one and if yes, a few questions below:

How long do they run for as in, do you need a lot of powertanks to run them for say 4 hours.

Are they reliable and how effective are they.

Anything else you can add such as reliable brand.

There are always reviews on amazon but I am very sceptical on the validity of many off them. It is well known some companies try to bride people into giving positive reviews.

However, overall it seems a great idea and would potentially cut down on having to look like the Michelin man. 

cheers steve

The only reason my 31mm Nagler got moved on was exit pupil size. Had it not been to big it would still be sat in my case.

I haven't actually used one but have used TV before and I currently own a delos 8 and it is a pearl.  No doubt the delite will give you delight. (see what I did there? I'll get me coat)

Just take some bins too. I had my 10x30 IS canons, wish I had also planned ahead and taken spare batteries, they failed early on 😱😅.

2 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Agreed..but it's just to long and unwieldy for my liking..I prefer to use a higher power eyepiece with a 1.6x nosepiece to keep things more manageable. And a Hyperion zoom with a 1.6x nosepiece or 2x shorty Barlow makes a very nice high power zoom👍😊

Dave

You make a good point although I have a nagler 6-3 zoom which sits perfectly in in the spot where a barlowed zoom would cover. 

Makes me wonder do I lose the 6-3 zoom or lose the tele extender as I do have a meade shorty 2x barlow too just in case, hmm. 

PS, when I say lose, I mean sell 😉🤣