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Dixie

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Posts posted by Dixie

  1. Got to say I can't agree that SCTs nearly always produce sub standard views. Between an 8 inch Edge and a four inch refractor under anything but the poorest conditions the former will provide  more detail.  The example I bought second hand provided some absolutely stunning views of Jupiter at Kelling last year, as did two C11s nearby.  

  2. Really good thread.  After years of using apps my only conclusion is that the only forecast that really matters is the video one either by the BBC or Met Office on the morning of the day in question.   I find the Met Office's 10 Day Trend on YouTube useful for getting a handle on the big picture. But quite often the apps get even my current weather conditions wrong.  Mind you, since I have not seen the sun here since for 10 days with no clear nights (seriously) and with a particularly poor forecast until at least the first week of Jan we are not stretching the talents of the forecasters too much. 

  3. This has been a bleak spell of weather.  Last time I saw the sun was a week a go and last night I stayed up beyond 3am on the forecast of clearing skies. True I could just about see the moon and one of two of the very brightest stars, but transparency was so terrible it amounted to a joke. Now more cloud for the foreseeable, plus fog.   Hmm, time to bring the big scope insides for a little while. Suspect we may lose yet another dark sky period.  How many times has that happened in the last few years?  For anyone else living in Yorkshire - I feel your pain. 

    • Sad 1
  4. Sorry take that back.  Just discovered it another box - yes there is a M54 female threaded spacer which can serve as the output to a filter wheel. Apologies.   To help others here's a comparison of size - the QHY268 and Atik 460EX

    IMG_20210201_155441.jpg

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  5. Capture software - like most things astronomy - goes through fads and fashions.  There is more choice out there now with NINA and CCD Ceil, plus others, which is great. I've been using SGP for many years and it's had bugs along the way, but for the money I really rate it.  The V3 I have is the best ever. I keep looking at other programmes, but none in my opinion has such an intuitive interface as SGP.  I don't expect the two developers to keep working hard at it for just a one off price and furnish me with high grade software for ever.  I'll be sticking with V3 unless there's a compelling reason to upgrade to V4.  But for the $100 or so I paid for it I've had more than my money's worth.

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  6. I've got the AZ GTi and put it on a Vixen Custom tripod. The result is a much firmer base and better go-tos.  The one the mount comes with is ok'ish, but the upgrade is very much worth it. You can use a handset with the AZ GTi if you have one kicking around. However, I use the Synscan app which works with Sky Safari to really open up possibilities.  The tube is a Skywatcher 127 Mak, which I'm pleased with.   I run the mount with Eneloop rechargeable batteries no problem.   I have used the same tube with the SLT mount, but prefer the AZ GTi.

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  7. If it helps here is my log entry for a night last year.  As I said, a really decent scope which you can throw in the back of the car. I have other scopes for the big wide field view. 

     

    Monday 20 January 2020  20.20 – 21.45
    Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire.  Skymax 127 on AZGTi  Cold and breezy. Transparency very average.  SQM about 20.8 – 20.9. Seeing quite poor. 
    A tour of familiar targets and lasting impression is that this is a very capable little scope, very easy to set and up and tear down.  M42 looked really excellent, especially once the scope had cooled. Plenty of detail seen especially in the Nagler 16mm, which was a really sweet eyepiece with this scope. M78 also spotted – very clearly, and over in Andromeda NGC891 revealed itself in the 30mm Ultima, 25mm ortho and 16mm Nagler.  Whilst in the neighbourhood, spotted NGC1023, very easy indeed. A few clusters in Auriga done, including M37 and NGC1907. No joy looking for Comet Panstarrs, but Hubble’s Variable Nebula easy object in all eyepieces - 9mm ortho (Volcano topped) showed a nice fan structure.  Over to UM for a nice view of M82 and whilst slewing to M81, the third member of this triplet hoved into easy view, NGC3077.  Over in Taurus, M1 was very good and even suggested some structure. Very near bright star.

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  8. I've got this scope and use it for outreach and also an easy grab and go.  I really like it and the quality of the view and construction belies its low price.  In normal times these tubes are a steal second hand.  Mine has a good star test as much as I can tell, collimation was off a bit when bought it new, but tweaked after I worked out which screws do what.  You'd be surprised how good the DSO views are under a dark sky - 22mm LV Wideangle works very well on M42 and M27 is nicely framed.  Needless to say double stars work really well.   I've had a look at two other 127s Maks (bought for a National Park) and optically they were just as nice. 

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