bomberbaz

Well done in bagging the illusive and not impressive HH, it really is pretty naff in smaller apertures. 

Your approach and processes are spot on and description matches my own findings. 

For anyone else reading this you need the following to get it. Very dark skies, a decent sized exit pupil of 5mm+ and a HB filter. An observing hood is also very handy to have. 

Howdie all.

Just wondered what opinions are on tomorrow's possibilities are given we will have a 2 day/6% moon (according to my phone moon app)

Biggest problem is quite a few of my desired objects are uncomfortably close to the sliver of moon that will be showing.  The sliver will set around 9pm

My first on the list is M33-triangulam galaxy which will be pretty much on top of it. Thing is I use M33 as one of my standard candles for measuring the darkness so tomorrow I think I may have to ignore that one although I shall give it a quick go. 

However another choice is the Jones 1 planetary nebula as a standard candle. it is nothing to write home about but gives a good measure of darkness. I am classing it as a horsehead indicator. If it shows, the HH should be gettable.

I am also going to have a bash at some quasars, of the six on my livesky list, 4 should be in a position to get at some point in the evening including HS 0624 6907 which is a mere 4.5 Billion light years away.

Anyway, back to my query, I have never tried viewing with a small waxing moon before believe it or not so how much effect is that pesky sliver going to have on the viewing potentials?

I may have to amend my list! 🤣

TIA
Steve

18 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The modest collection is definitely getting there with the addition of some higher end eyepieces this last six months or so.

The medium term goal is to replace the Starguider 5mm and Baader BCO 6mm with their Vixen SLV counterparts. The former eyepieces do the job but I'm smitten by the 4mm SLV. It hands down has beaten my previous 4mm eyepieces in every way, so I have high hopes the 5mm and 6mm will do the same!

Longer term I will replace the Altair 24mm UFF. The presented image, eye relief, fov etc I'm happy with however I'd prefer an eyepiece of similar quality but not as heavy...

 

I only have the vixen 25mm plossl which are used in binoviews on the moon mainly but they do provide lovely crisp contrasted views so I can only assume that the SLV's will give similar as I understand they use the same glass.

I have been thinking about the same sizes as you for V.H.P. viewing in the dob as the price is so attractive but the narrow fov puts me off a little.

You will have  to pop up one weekend for a star party to share equipment pal 😉

11 hours ago, RobertI said:

The best view I have had of M33 was  at a dark site with 10x50 binoculars. I couldn’t believe how bright it seemed, given that from my back garden it’s a struggle at best and on poor nights, it’s just plain invisible. 

Something to be said for this, I have found it twice with my big bins and both times was fairly easy. My best views as already mentioned were at a mega dark site. It was so good it gavee an animated view in as much as the galaxy arms appeared to be actually moving.

As per the above comments, M33 is a blighter to see. I have managed a few times and seen it well twice. Both those under exceptional skies with a big dob.

For me a larger eye pupil with dark skies are the key. As i remember I was around 3.5mm exit pupil.

13 minutes ago, LaurenceT said:

I don't think you can get more levelling accuracy than using a bubble level, some seem to think that the mount is reasonably forgiving in terms of level accuracy.

You could always buy an electronic leveller but I suspect that there would be little discernable difference.

 

I have an electronic altimeter, works a treat.

13 hours ago, Spile said:

I decided to go down the minimalist route. After reading a number of recommendations I invested in a zoom and use it alongside a low power wide angle eyepiece. https://astro.catshill.com/the-zoom-eyepiece/
It suits me.

I do exactly this with my refractors, one low power, one dedicated higher power and a zoom. 

Formy dob hoqever I use entirely dedicated eyepieces. Some good points raised already, around what you can live with in terms of optical quality and what you feel is a must have, eg a flat field.

Personally I really like the svbony range of eyepieces as offeri g great quality at excellent value. The 68degree range gives you a 6,9,15 and 20 mm bundle option at under a 100 quid. There is opposing opinion on how it would perform at F5, may be worth thinking about.

They also produce the more expensive but better quality ultra flat eyepiece. I have some of these in my astro bins, the extra notch up in price is definately noticed in the results and would give very good results in an F5 dob. . 

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

You just have to accept that every scope is a compromise and no one scope does ot all so it’s more about finding the best comprimise rather than the perfect scope. Also explains why most have more than one scope. 😁

sshhhh, everyone needs at least 7 days worth of scopes, Sunday through to Saturday, everyone know that. Even my wife

2 hours ago, vlaiv said:

130mm refractor will have roughly the same light gathering as 6" CC.

 

Two big differences here would be price for a Doublet refractor and more importantly for me, size/ ease of storage. 

I don't doubt both will give superb views, also that the 130mm frac would give better views overall.    

I have also read @johninderby's link regarding many aspects appertaining to OTA with a central obstruction and found this very useful. 

Originally I was considering an 8" CC but after much thought I feel this is going to be too big, hence this thread. 

Theree was also a very lot of useful info in this current thread. 

Thanks why I love SGL, in this instance (and for a change) I am actually thinking myself out of an impasse 😅

Thanks for the info vlaiv and @johninderby, it is proving very useful.

Is this calculation correct when comparing various scope types, think I have asked similar before but such as my age is, I forget far too easy these days.

Simple frac 100 - Pi x Rsq =  3.14 x 50sq = 7854

OTA with central obstruction, this time a 6" CC with a 58mm central obstruction.

1) CC 150 - Pi x Rsq =  3.14 x 75sq = 17671  minus 2) central obstruction  58 - Pi x Rsq =  3.14 x 29sq = 2642 

Therefore you get 1 - 2 = 15029 total area for the CC.

Is this right?

TIA people

Steve

2 hours ago, Giles_B said:

Thanks @mikeDnight - I do think there is a bit more thickness to the scratch that doesn't quite show on the pictures. Put I take the point - i.e. stop fussing!

The collimation was the first thing I checked after first use - the previous owner said they'd collimated it with an included laser collimator when I picked it up.

The collimation was crazily off before I had a go with my Cheshire - less than half of the primary was visible, so I guess the laser collimator is ready for the bin....

Interesting that the coma was still bad with good quality eyepieces for you @bomberbaz. I guess a coma corrector might be further up my shopping list than I thought.

Thanks for the advice on the setup right for the push to intelliscope computer - I think from your description I'm doing it correctly. My big problems were that I was unable to get warp below about 2 - but I may have been too slow to find my reference stars, or the base may have been too off level (I hadn't consider this) - plus I was scrolling through thousands of objects that were below horizon. I think if I go out with some objects in mind it will be a bit better than random pointing!

exactly my point. You should find and remember how far down the list the second object is. Get to the first object then you aren't searching for the next one. See how you go. 

I had a 10" XTi until last year, I had owned it for around 5 years before my upgrade.

I am not sure why you are having issues with the pushto, I found it very accurate so my initial thoughts are you may be off somewhere. 

You should switch it on and the instruction, "point vertical" should appear. If pint vertical does not appear the menu should allow you to get to this, it's a common mistake. Put your dob in the instructed "vertical" position and before you do anything, scroll through the alignment star menu and decide which two stars you are intending aligning on. This last bit helps make the process of aligning more streamlined.

I used to try to get at least one star near direct east or west, Mizar was always a favourite due to it's brightness and ease of finding. Then find another in a totally different part of the sky.

I used a crosshair eyepiece for accuracy in getting a good alignment. Or you can purposely defocus so you get a large ring which is easier to centre.

Now carry out the alignment as quickly and accurately as possible. One other thing, try and get your base fairly level, this does help.

If you cannot see bodes even on a near full moon my guess is your not pointed at it but it is just a guess. However it would be quite faint anyway.

I used top quality eyepieces in mine and it still gave bad coma, BST would be at least as bad but more likely worse.  I did start using a coma corrector which made it liveable but it wasn't a mega expensive one. I no longer use a CC, just simply live with the coma. As Mike says, check your collimation.

I did find collimation some of a pain with mine, needed a tweak each time I used it but that was because it went into a car each time it was taken out for use. 

HTH

Steve

On 12/02/2022 at 16:08, AstroNebulee said:

Hi

I have a chance of purchase a FF reducer for my 72ed ds pro. The FF is for an Ed80 so would this fit my scope, my imaging train is a rotator screwed to the focus tube. 

Then atm my ovl FF the the 21 and 16. 5mm spacers fhen the tilt adjuster then 294mc pro. 

So a) will it fit my scope and b) is it worth the upgrade 

Cheers 

 

Lee 

Might be worth asking this in the imaging section Lee, a lot of guys should hopefully know the answer to this

Imaging - Discussion - Stargazers Lounge

Hmm  Swore blind it said fpl53 but now I look and it says comparable to, badly laid out and that confused me, apologies.

So it is 51 and lanthanum.

twice, 🤣

10 minutes ago, NVDW said:

Hmmmm so no FPL53....

dunno what your reading but the teleskop express blurb clearly mentions fpl35

Lovely image mate, what camera are you using. 

I don't remember who put this up but I was using it earlier then came across the observer experience part.

I wasn't sure what to put so just went down the middle, certainly don't class myself as an expert. Although 10+ years in this hobby would certainly mean I am no novice either.

I mean how does one define experience, time behind the eyepiece  would seem the most obvious but I have come across a couple of people whose experience was many years time spent but seemingly relatively naïve about some aspects of astronomy.

Mind you, I am sure we all learn that little bit more each time we get the scope out to cool. I still get the "Well I never knew that" moment on a fairly regular basis.

Telescope Limiting Magnitude Calculator (cruxis.com) 

On 30/01/2022 at 16:43, Don Pensack said:

After your UHC filters, the next filters to get are O-III filters, which are useful on planetary nebulae, Wolf-Rayet excitation nebulae, and supernova remnants.

An H-ß filter has an even narrower bandwidth, making the field quite dark.   It does help make the large faint nebulae like the California Nebula more visible,

but it won't make the horsehead visible in that aperture.

I have held one up to the eye (it was mounted in a small tube to block all peripheral light) which allowed me, at a dark site, to see Barnard's Loop and the Lambda Orionis Complex with the naked eye.

 

So I would advise O-III filters first, then the H-ß filters last.  You have to be completely dark adapted to use them (45-60 minutes outside, away from lights), and use very low powers, like 3-5x/inch of aperture.

One additional comment: your Astronomik UHC filter passes the H-ß line.  If you cannot see an H-ß target in that filter at all, an H-ß filter won't make it visible.

All H-ß targets are visible in the UHC, albeit with a slightly lower contrast.  The H-ß filter helps, but doesn't make visible what was invisible through the UHC.

Good point Don.  Given this, which had crossed my mind but obviously not enough. I think I will simply try again with the UHC filters and leave the HB consideration as just that for the time being, cheers.

46 minutes ago, Simon128D said:

I set the scope up last night to do a dry test of the DSC system and also to find an assembly and disassemblely routine. 

I am so impressed with the build quality. The action of movement in RA is incredible, smoothness like no other. The scope feels like it was balanced for the heaviest of eyepieces. Even with a 31mm Nag in the focuser balance is excellent, yet the base allows for three different setups so the primary mirror acts as a counter weight and yet you can buy a full counter weight system for these scopes. Maybe its needed in the smaller apertures but certainly not here. 

I took some photos when I got all set up, it was an impressively imposing beast, making my living room seem very cramped lol. 

Thrilled to say the DSC appeared to be working perfectly, I couldn't get it to connect to Bluetooth but I think that is more to do with my S21 Ultra security not liking it. It worked fine over the WiFi connection. 
I was hoping Stellarium Plus would have worked but sadly it seems that app only supports NextStar and LX200 scopes, so I went and bought Sky Safari Plus and that worked just fine. Not a fan of the latter app as I think Stellarium has a much cleaner and professional look with a nicer UI to work with but that's just a personal preference. 

Some good news regards the mirror. I am having a box sent over so I can return the mirror, either for repair or replacement. From my own personal experience with cleaning several mirrors, it looks like permanent damage to me. 

Here's a few more photos of the setup. 

Still hoping I can get a cheeky first light before the mirror gets sent back. Looking possible for a good clear spell tonight but with strong winds and as damp as a shower rooms sponge, so not sure on that. 

My android phone won't connect via bluetooth either, however works like a dream via wifi.  I have had odd occasions where wifi disconnects then reconnects, this isn't a problem. Seemingly the SS6+ app recognises the slight time lapse and corrects for it.

Regarding SS6+, disable the  compass in settings. Otherwise it auto activates when you turn your phone a certain way, something easily done and it is very annoying trying to switch the damn thing off and get it back to where you want it every few minutes.

If you have a bedtime mode on your phone, deactivate that too otherwise your screen turns from red to B&W when it activates.

Finally subscribe to Livesky, it is worth every penny. It allows you to build viewing lists on your pc/laptop because if you try typing an objects name into PP6+ search out in the field, even with night mode activated on the app the letters are all red but the numbers are white light (on my phone anyway). Much easier to simply hit observe tab, then lists, then the dso you want.  The good thing is you can build as many lists as you want too. 

On 01/02/2022 at 20:52, 200pman said:

Manual controls .for alt/az.i wouldnt go back to how it was before.

Interesting. Are they something you put together yourself or did you buy a kit?

On 31/01/2022 at 23:57, DhamR said:

Struggling for responses from the seller on the Nirvana I've been looking at. 

Someone else is selling the Celestron X-Cel LX 25mm for a good price though, which is appealing. The UFF was mentioned in here but not the x-cel range. Any thoughts? 

I have had the x cel 25, i liked it as i remember but i had far less experience back then (10 years since) and i was more planetary then as they were easier to find 🤣

Finally got my scope back from the paint sprayer, thanks @Peter Drew for doing such a great job of the OTA and Finder. Purple and Black works well.

Then I wanted a contrasting colour that also worked and decided red was the next colour so the mount was got via a certain online store, liquid head, very sturdy and I hand painted the tripod and pillar. 

I replaced on 0.956 focuser with a 1.25, slotted in a Svbony dielectric diagonal and this is the finished product. 

Total weight is 5KG which is easily one handed.

3 hours ago, TerraC said:

Have a few ideas to band about.  I have a raspberry pi spare which i'm thinking of going with astroberry and linking things up. 

I'm considering buying a 72ED in the future (probably next year) and turning the 50ED back into a guidescope. 

I also have the option of playing around with a mini guider on the top of the 50ED and trying to utilise a bresser camera my son has on his microscope setup.  Wondered if I might be able to use it to PA and guide the 50ED. 

Ray

 

Stick with the 50ED and get one of these to mount a miniguide scope

Bracket system for Skywatcher Evoguide 50ED - Astrokraken.fr

Hope you guys enjoy. Decided to give it a miss and instead hired a caravan for end of march down on the Galloway south coast. Worked out far cheaper than hiring a campervan.