paulastro

If you nake it to Kelling in the Spring, pop by and say hello, I'll be on T137 for the week 🙂.

The Sun only came out, through cloud, from 12.38 to12.59. I wouldn't have bothered if I hadn't wanted to continue the sequence of AR3112. You might think I shouldn't have, but having taken the trouble I thought I'd post it anyway 😊. Single frame with Altair 80 ED-R and Olympus E-M5 Mk11, 1/125 at 200 asa.

No doubt about it, ET. I know this because he winks at me every time I look at him. Also he doesn't look a jot like the local Tawny Owls which frequently call to me when I'm observing.

That's a great report Robert. I'm particularly keen on OCs, and there's not a better place to look than Cassiopeia. I took my Celestron StarSense Explorer 8 inch Dob to Kelling had a great time, its a real treasure chest for them. In the evening at this time of year I always start off looking at NGC 457 (Owl or ET cluster) and it always makes me smile - for me it's ET every time, and I'm sure he winks at me 😊. After that I always take a look at the Double Cluster nearby. As every year, I always have my best views at Kelling. You have some fine objects in store for yourself, clear skies.

Grabbed some snaps early this morning before it clouded over. Taken with the Altair 80 ED-R and Olympus E-M5 Mk11. Two single frames, and a crop showing AR3112 from each of them.

Thank you Mark. Yes, it should be very impressive by the time it arrives at the CM.

A single frame taken with an Altair 80 ED-R, 9.41am, Olympus E-M5 Mk11, 1/320 sec, 200 asa. Crops taken from the same frame.

You're a very brave man bringing that home Garry 😊. I wish you all the best and many years of observing with it.

Those are really exceptional images Nigella, many thanks for posting them.

I noticed that the mirror on mine fairly soon looked like yours, covered in specs etc. However it depended on the way the light was shinning on it. In the right light they all disappeared. Of course the worse thing to do is to shine a light on any optical surface, which makes all of them look awful. Despite the numerous spots however, it has kept working as it should. I'll let it stay as it is until it affects the performance. Over the years I've learned optical surfaces takes quite a lot of debris and look terrible and you o can't tell the difference in use. Though of course if you have pollen, it's best to get shot of it.

I'll be on T138 along with Andy from The Astronomy Centre nr Todmorden. I'll be bringing a Celestron StarSense Explorer 8 inch Dob. Andy is a radioham and a radio astronomer, not sure what he will bring, but it will almost certainly include a very tall aerial (around thirty feet tall), so we will be easy to spot! We will be there from 20th to 27th.

For anyone who is thinking of buying either the 8 inch or 10 inch Celestron StarSense Explorer Dobsonian - there is a review of the 10 inch in the October issue of Astronomy Now by Ade Ashford. I've just received mine in the post today.

Because of my horizon and the low altitude I knew I couldn't see Uranus before 10.20 at the earliest. Heavy skies at 10.00pm but went out anyway at 10.10 to set up the 8inch Starsense. There were some small clear areas developing, and with the dob nearly horizontal I picked up Uranus just off the lunar limb at 10.25. The limb was scintillating quite badly and there was thin cloud intervening, but I did manage to see the occultation - though it wasn't a very 'clean' view due to the conditions, and the difference in magnitudes. Still pleased to see it at all when it had seemed very unlikely just before the event. I missed the reappearance due to cloud coming in for a complete obscuration just two minutes before the due time.

I was out with the Starsense Explorer 8 inch dob last night, from 10.10pm to 1.25am. Started out with some deep sky, mainly OCs and doubles due to the bright 84% illuminated Moon. Despite the bright sky and thin cloud at times, the SS performed admirably as usual so the majority of time was spent observing rather than finding. I used a Baader zoom as it allows you to adjust the mag and hence the sky darkness to get the best out of each object in the prevailing conditions without swapping over eyepieces all the time. Mags used were in the range of about x50 to x150. Objects included Kembles Cascade, ET aka Owl Cluster, M13, Rasalgath, M92, Sarin, kappa Her, M27, M57, the double double, the Dble Cluster, M56, Steph1 (large OC), M11 (Wild Duck Cluster), M29, M39 NGC 6811, and Albireo. I left the hazy stuff for a better night. It was a bit more hazy by around midnight so I turned my attention to the Moon and planets, and boy, was I pleased I did, the seeing was exceptional for my site and this lasted until 1.25 when the seeing deteriorated a little. I used my binoviewer, 24mm Orthos and x2 barlow element with the Baader Contrast Booster, giving around x200. First up Saturn with its main rings, Cassinis, the rings crossing the planets and the main belt looking like an engraving, quite stunning. Neptune was a small blueish, m7.8, 2.5 arc seconds disc - moved on quickly to Jupiter, and wow, the detail was just fabulous and I spent at least 45 mts taking it all in. A shame the GRS wasnt on show. On to an excuisit gibbous Mars now at m0.3 and 10.6 arcseconds showing some nice albedo features with the wonderfully subtle colours that make it such a beautiful object as it heads towards its opposition in December. Finally on to the beautiful Uranus, the m5.7, 3.7 arcseconds disc looking greenish to my eyes. Fingers crossed for the occultation this evening - Wednesday. The five planets observed I turned to the Moon, again, it was startlingly sharp and full of detail along the terminator. The highlight for me was Janssen, one of my favourite craters. I couldn't recall seeing more detail than that I could see it its rubble strewn floor and the sinuous rille system crisscrossed its floor - mesmerising to and avid lunar observer what a treat! What a wonderful night, accompanied for most of it by the wonderful sound of our local Tawny Owls.

Greymouser, I bet you wish you never asked now! 😅

Greymouser. Dave, F15Rules, is absolutely correct, you should ignore everything he said and buy the used one if it's still available! 🙂

Tuesday is 13th 😊.

That's a great book Jeremy, I've had mine for ages and was happy with it until I saw your post. Alas mine is the 99 object edition, and now I'm wondering what I'm missing with not having the new 10 objects! 😒.

I'd go ahead and buy one! 🙂. I've had one and the CA didn't bother me, less than I expected, good on the Moon and planets, and great on deep sky. Better than most f5 achromats I've looked through. Very well made. Just be aware it's heavy, a bit over 20lbs if I recall correctly. It needs a mount capable of taking that weight.

I needed a case for my Starsense Explorer 8 inch Dob for transporting it when observing away from home. I searched the options and the Oklop range seemed to have one that fitted the bill. I was concerned however that the 200/1000 size, the obvious choice, wouldn't in fact accommodate it. This was due to the phone base unit which is permanently on the tube, and the phone holder itself which detaches from it. I emailed FLO asking their opinion, and Alex got back to me suggesting the 250/1000 might be a better bet. Anyway I could order it and return it if it didn't suit. This is what I did. I've had Oklop cases before, and was pleased it's of the same quality, nicely padded, hard wearing and good zips. There is no external pocket(s), but this wasn't a problem for me. The scope fits in the bag nicely, it's not a tight fit but I prefer havinga bit of extra room. It's much easier when getting a scope in and out in the dark. The case can be zipped up with the phone holder still in place on its cradle fairly comfortably. I will only use the bag for transport rather than storage, so will remove the holder when I'm using it. I wouldn't want to arrive at Kelling in twelve days time to find the cradle was damaged! I think this is unlikely to happen, but why take the risk? There's room in the base to have the detached cradle go inside it in a smaller bag if you wished. As users of these scopes will know, the cradle can be removed without upsetting the alignment of your phone with the telescope. I also removed the two tension adjuster knobs from the tube for the same reason. Again, if you want them inside the bag, they will fit inside in a suitable small padded bag. In summary, I'm very pleased with it. It is fine for how I am going to use it. It fits comfortably, gives the degree of protection I need and is easy to access - with a shoulder strap supplied as well as the handles. I would recommend this size over the 200/1000 version, which I think would be too small. Of course this may not be the case if you have a different make 200/1000 Dobsonian. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescope-bags-cases-storage/oklop-padded-bag-for-250mm-1000mm-newtonians.html

Have a great night, cloudy here.

We have a caravan pitch with electric hook up, and it's a biit pver£100 for 7 nights if I remember correctly, so it is presumably less than this. The discounts are really good. Though, I'd be surprised if there was a pitch available at this late stage.

A man after my own heart 😊.

Below is a link to a thread I started earlier re a great scope cover for the starsense explorer dos - only £14.99 ! https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/398895-celestron-starsense-explorer-8-inch-dob-waterproof-cover-0nly-£1495/

You're clearly a genius! Thank you, and sorry it didn't register with me, it would have saved me a lot of time 😏.