paulastro

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.

2 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Not a genius but very careful when it comes to spending money......😉 except of course on scopes, EPs, etc etc. Can't really bodge those.

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/

15 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

Ha, same as the one I use.....and yes, it was me who suggested it....😉

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

I wanted a waterproof cover for this scope to take with me to Kelling.  After much searching on SGL and Amazon, I found this on the latter.  Apologies if someone else has suggested it, and I missed your post.

It looked to be the right size and a reasonable spec, and an even more reasonable price at £14.95 !!  I ordered it last night, around  10pm and it arrived mid-morning today.

I'm familiar with the Oxford material, having used other covers of the same material.  It does what it says on the box, and has a good but not over-heavy weight.  

I've just been outside to 'try it on' and it's just about perfect.  As I hoped, it not only covers the scope vertically on the rocker box, but also with the scope elevated to an angle of around forty-five degrees.  I would think it is probably also large enough for the 10 inch version  which has the same focal length of course - and also for other makes of similiar Dobs.

Under the pics of the scope is a screengrab with the link to Amazon.  If you go onto it you will find all the I information you need, including the dimensions and detail of the materials used.  There is also a pic of the zippered pouch it comes in.

I'll be attending from Sept 20th to 27th along with Andy from The Astronomy Centre  nr Todmorden.  Pitch T138.  You can't miss it, Andy usually erects a 30 foot aerial.  We are not TV addicts -  Andy is a radio ham. 🙂.

I'll be taking along  my  Celestron Starsense Explorer 8 inch Dob.  So if anyone is thinking of buying this game changing scope, pop along and we can arrange a time so you can see it in action.

1 hour ago, powerlord said:

hi chaps, does anyone know if it's ok to sell yer old gear there ?

seems like it would be a good place to stick a table of stuff in from of my motorhome - save postage, and make easier to sell/buy big stuff like old mounts, etc ?

 

stu

Yes, it's fine.  You can put i things on a blanket on the floor or take a table or two, many people do this, I've done it myself.  You can do it at any time but there will be more potential customers around when the trade stands are set up on the final Saturday.  

For years, I've used a binoviewer for the Moon and planets, for me the improvement is significant.  The great thing is you don't need expensive eyepieces.  In side by side comparisons a pair of Orthos in a binoviewer has always given better views than when using single high quality expensive eyepieces, including Monos and Ethos for me - and other experienced observers viewing at the same time.

6 hours ago, BRADLEY 1953 said:

Hi  cat lovers, I am reminded of an incident which occurred many years ago when Paul and myself were doing a Perseid meteor watch one night on Clee Hill, not far from Ludlow. We were surrounded by heather moor and intermittent gorse thickets, which proved useful as a windbreak. Then well into the watch we heard the sound of heavy breathing in conjunction with a continuous rasping like noise from the bushes nearby. Paul was convinced it was nothing more than a sheep with asthma, there are plenty grazing on the hills round about, but I was not so sure. In the winter months that followed I received two seperate reports from friends, of strange happenings in close proximity to this spot.  The first was when a close friend, in company with his wife, were walking near the summit of Titterstone Clee, when they came upon the tracks of a large feline in the freshly fallen snow which then carpeted the hill, apparently they soon made their way back to the car, quite unsettled by the event I would imagine. The second incident involved a friend of my fathers,  who sadly as since passed away. He describes an encounter he witnessed from the comfort of his car, once again it was on a snowy afternoon, when a large cat, he thought it might have been a Lnyx !  was seen pursuing a brown hare on the heather clad moorland just above the main road. Coincidence or what? I will leave this to members of the Astro Lounge to decide.    Keep your eyes peeled,    Chris .  

I think after reading this Chris, what with the lions as well, I think sone  members of SGL might think it's safer to avoid this part of the Midlands 😅

On 18/08/2022 at 22:19, Alan White said:

Mum’s the word Paul….

Phew, thanks Alan 🙂.

5 hours ago, dk101 said:

Tiger shop sells some cheap showercaps. They are flowery and my wife now calls my Dob "Betsy"

I think your wife should be reported to the RSPCT.

Thanks for the heads up.  The BBC weather after the  evening news told people to look out for aurora tonight. The forecast indicates it might be clear here from 2am, if I'm still awake I'll be sure to look out.

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Makes the Badgers snuffling near me when observing feel quite tame now.

Thanks for sharing the story Paul, made me grin.

Alan, your experience reminded me of something that happened to me years ago when observing in my mums garden - I think I was about 11/12 years old.  I've never told anyone before, so promise not to tell anyone !

It was very dark in the early hours, and I hadn't taken a torch out with me. I suddenly heard some heavy breathing close behind me, I turned round and I couldn't see anyone or anything - I was terrified.  I turned around again and it happened again.  That was enough for me, I ran indoors and locked the door behind me.

After I had been indoors for a few minutes and had calmed down I just had to check what it was. Out I went with a torch. Again, I heard something breathing behind me.  I steadied myself and wheeled round with the torch - nothing.  That is until I lowered my gaze, and there by my feet was.... a hedgehog!  I'd never been so pleased to see anything in my life.

If I hadn't been curious to go outside to check, I think my astronomy adventures might have ended right there!  😱.

Remember Alan, not a word!

That's great, thanks for that, at least i know a little more about how lions roar now 🙂.

I stayed with my friend Chris for a few days in Wyre Forest last week, for deer watching and astronomy.  Nothing new in this, we've both shared these interests for over fifty years.  

He lives with Sylve in an old mill cottage  adjacent to a brook in the middle of the forest, the brook being on the  boarder between Worcestershire and Shropshire.

Anyway,  we were observing with Chris's 130mm triplet, when I heard what sounded something like a beast roaring which made my hair stand on end.  To me it sounded as if it was only a few hundred yards away!

Oh, that'll be a lion said Chris, rather casually I thought. A what ?!   At this point I was wandering if there was time for us to run back to the cottage before the lion bounded down the far bank above the brook, leapt the water and landed on top of us!

It turns out it was a lion roaring in the West Midlands Safari park which is about three miles away as the crow flies. Apparently, it can be heard sometimes when the wind is in the right direction during the night.  In all the years I'd been going to the forest I'd never heard it before.

It was a most primeval and haunting sound, no wonder the deer are always so alert!  Next time I observe with Chris, I'll be a bit closer to the cottage - just in case 😊.

4 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

I agree Paul.  I was merely extending someone's comment that starting with AP was "going in at the deep end".  Ergo, having zero interest in AP, I am happy to stay in the shallow end.  Never suggested it was easy!  😉

Doug.

I did realise that Doug, no offence intended, and I apologise, it wasn't aimed at you or anyone else for that matter.  Most imager friends I say this to find it rather funny 🙂.  For me it's just my pathetic attempt to counteract the minority of imagers (Ive met one or two) who think that visual observing is something one does and grows out of before  becoming imagers.

Perhaps I should stop digging....😊

2 hours ago, matelot said:

Thanks for all your responses: much appreciated and all considered.

For the time being, I've sequestered a corner so I can leave it upright (minimum footprint) on its mount, resplendent in shower caps and fitted bedsheet. Once I get settled down and find how and where I site it most, I'll review.

Thanks again, peeps.

I agree that shower caps are good for fitting to both ends.  Though, it is embarrassing if you can only find them with flowery patterns - for the telescope of course, not the owner 😊.

Also some tubes are too big for shower caps.  Instead of shower caps I now use stool covers - there are endless designs and sizes to fit all scopes on a well known mail order supplier 🙂.

On 15/08/2022 at 21:09, cloudsweeper said:

Yeah - after doing this a number of years, I'm perfectly happy in the shallow end!  😉

Doug.

Doug, I don't see visual observers as being 'in the shallow end.'  Indeed, to be a good skilled visual observers you need to home your skills over many years, as pointed out by the great William Herschel.  

Contrary to what you said, I've always thought of imagers as being failed visual observers. 😊.

On 15/08/2022 at 15:54, Stu said:

Looks like Mike hasn’t been on since July 8th. @paulastro is he ok, have you heard from him?

Hi Stu.  Yes, Mike is fine, I spoke with him just over a week ago.  He's been busy with various things for some time and hasn't been observing for a few months.

Sorry Mark, you said what scope you were using 😏.

On 27/07/2022 at 09:37, Mark at Beaufort said:

I decided to have a look for this Comet which was nicely placed in Ophiuchus. Using my 6" Newt + 24mm ES68 + 7-21mm SvBony zoom I tracked it down. It was faint although it was estimated to be 6.88. Although it was not astronomically dark it was very clear at about 11.45pm.

A good observation Mark.  What approx mag is it, and what scope we're you using?

On 03/08/2022 at 19:23, col said:

With the weather stopping my new Dob from looking up, I decided to give solar viewing a try, as I came across a small circle of solar film a friend gave me years ago which I kept it in the pages of an astro book. 

Anyway out came my startravel 102 mm refractor, which I originally got as a grab and go. 

Removing the centre reducing cap of the aperture dust cover, I zip tied this piece of solar filter over it and found it to be very secure. 

So pointing the scope to the sun until it disappeared behind the tube of the scope, I found the sun easily and was immediately grabbed by the muck on my 25 mm eyepiece. 

After checking I realised it wasn't muck but a nice solar spot with a few smaller ones trailing off upwards and to the left at about five o'clock of the sun's disk. This was at approximately 16.00pm.

I'm sure you can imagine how I was feeling with this being the first time I'v ever looked at the sun. It was almost the same wow feeling I had with my first view of jupiter and saturn 20 odd years ago. 

Over about half an hour the sun spots move up and to the left a little i think, but I was that taken with the thought of actually seeing the dark centre and lighter outer of the spot that I wasn't really paying attention to any movement. 

So that's just from my memory after nipping in to get a zoom eyepiece to try. 

It is a 24x8 Astro Engineering one I was gifted by a friend a long time ago. 

I was pleasantly surprised how at 24x it was just as crisp, but moving up towards 8x the field of view got narrower. 

I found at about 20 to 18 mm the best view for me. 

I'm still buzzing from what I saw with it being my first time, and already have a full solar filter that will fit this scope and also my tal100r  if i want to track. 

Hopefully I'll have some pics when I get sorted with my nexyz mount. 

 

 

Congratulations on your first solar observation col. I hope it's the first of many.  The Sun is a very dynamic object in white light and Hydrogen Alpha.  It provides endless opportunities to see changes on its surface.  As activity picks up in the current solar you couldnt have chosen a better time to start !  🙂

4 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

I guess many who've never looked to customise the OS and aren't maybe on XDA have never paid attention to the phone's boot up screen where it'd show the Samsung designation for the device. Always useful to note this however when you want to confirm a specific accessory will work with your device - glass screen protectors and even cases. The device ID can also be found in the phone's settings, about screens as well as on the OEM box. So I guess Celestron used that as it would clearly ID the variant of the device they've tested as confirmed to work as there are likely a number of variants of a model like the A52, A13 etc and they may vary according to the market they were sold into.

At least you now know yours is, what's the exact device ID of your friend's A13? Is that also on the list?

Thanks Dave.  I phoned him to ask him to look, but he was not available so I don't know yet.

The app was updated to version 1.1.7.2 yesterday, August 4th.

When I was searching details of the new update I came across something very useful for finding out if your phone is compatable with the app.  Previously I thought the Celestron list for compatability was the place to go.

However, as most people know by now, it only includes the phones they have tested and also it can have your phone on the list  but under another name so that it appears your phone is not on there when it actually is!

Go into Google Play, search for Starsense Explorer and press on it. You will see the following.

It shows the date of the app update. Tap on the arrow to the right of What's new, and this appears.

Scroll down to the bottom and you will see this.

You can see that underneath compatability for your active device, it shows your device, in my case SAMSUNG SM - A528B.  In the UK its better known as the A52s 5G.  The former is presumably the name it comes under on Celestrons list, which is why it isn't there and I was told by Celestron it wasn't on the list!

More importantly, it clearly shows the app is compatable with my device - whatever of the names it comes under.

It seems the answer as to if our phones are compatable with the app has, literally, been in our own hands all the time 😄.

Jbn1, I've actually found out the latest update, so I can check with my friend now.  Thanks again.

Many thanks for that, it could be good news.  I presume the app updated automatically?

Can you kindly tell me what version of the app you have now, and I can check it against what version my friend has?

Many thanks for your help.