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PlanetGazer

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Everything posted by PlanetGazer

  1. Thanks for sharing! Just found other courses that are astronomy related, if anyone is interested.
  2. My next mission before the end of the week, Thanks! Indeed, the ecliptic plane is well positioned most seasons, in my location. I took a group of people, not interested in astronomy, and they were impressed with the views of Jupiter and Saturn (SW 130), now they'll bring their kids to observe! As for the temperature difference, I was thinking of getting a fan for the 10 inch, but then I thought it's the temperature difference between (and correct me if I'm wrong) the mirror and the the surrounding air that cause the tube currents. The scope is stored in a cool and dry room (my office), and just before packing the mirror should be very cool, and AC is on in the car until reaching the observing site. Then I'll have to wait for aperture to reach equilibrium with the surrounding warmer temperature. It's the opposite over here, outside temperature is higher than home temperature. It makes logical sense, thanks for the help!
  3. If that's the case, then waiting to learn one of them first could be a better option. For both the budget and your patience
  4. Good question, can't wait to hear the replies. I've read that there are special DSLR made for astrophotography named D610 Nikon . Not sure about it though, and it's pretty expensive.
  5. Turn Left at Orion is a famous book, and in it, the writer instructs not to clean the mirror at all
  6. As mentioned in previous posts, you are looking for freedom find feature in a GoTo telescope. I have a 10 inch Dob GoTo, and it has the freedom find, you can manually move it and still it would track and slew to objects. This page explains the freedom find feature: http://skywatcheraustralia.com.au/knowledge-base/ Note that GoTo alignment is not straightforward and will require some time for reading the manuals to understand how to align it and make it work.
  7. Do you find any problems when carrying the 130ps? 2 flight of stairs, at least, is always necessary.
  8. Yeah I wasn't satisfied with the photos uploaded as well, the doughnut wasn't as clear as I wanted it to be. I knew the cross-hairs did not coincide, but I was focused to get the hole centered in the doughnut. Do I have to keep adjusting the primary for the cross-hairs to align? or do I need to adjust the secondary. I will post another picture with the focuser extended. I had a problem before when trying to focus with my 250p, planets were high, I tried using my old SW 130 f/6.9 and the planets looked crisp clear, could have been the collimation or mirror temperature. I was also worried it could be something wrong with the optics. But tonight, I managed to get acceptable views of Jupiter and Saturn, I left the scope outside for an hour to avoid temperature difference, and with today's collimation, it may not be perfect, but it was a noticeable improvement from what it was before, (could have collimated it before with tubes not fully extended). Though I'm eager to perfect the collimation. I have done the star test on AlTair, and it seemed ok to me. Another question comes to mind, is atmospheric turbulence more noticeable in low focal ratio scopes? or is it related of how well collimated the scope is? As I noticed that my slower scope show better views of Jupiter when low in the sky, than my fast scope (250p). edit: Typo
  9. Good Afternoon I have been trying to get my SW 250P (f/4.7) to the best possible collimation as I couldn't manage to focus on any of the planets so far. I just collimated the scope to ready it up for tonight's session. Your feedback is much appreciated!
  10. Welcome FileraBe I'm sure there are great non light-polluted sites in Switzerland. Enjoy the Sky
  11. I have been fiddling with both on android, and I'm leaning more towards SkySafari now. On it, you can set the limits of brightness magnitude for stars and DSOs which will reduce the congestion on the map, more functionality and options. But still, I prefer the general look and navigation of Stellarium. Tempted to have both 🥴
  12. Why not use something like this battery and the adapter in the second link? which I assume have more capacity https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealed-Lead-Acid-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B002S4T0F2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Lead+Acid+Battery&qid=1566424113&s=gateway&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Cigarette-Lighter-overload-protection/dp/B01CDUU536/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=battery+to+car+adapter&qid=1566424150&s=gateway&sr=8-3 I use a similar battery with a different brand (cheaper locally), and no problems so far. Though it's for the best if you wait for more comments on this, as I'm only a beginner.
  13. At which focal ratio do you usually start needing a coma corrector? Sorry for going off topic😅
  14. So I'm referring to the main astro-softwares that you use during your sessions on your phone or tablet, and found that most of people use mainly those two softwares on their phones. Laptop versions of the software are different products and are not the focus of this topic. So which do you use and why? My experience: I personally have Stellarium plus, and the free version of SkySafarai, so I have an understanding of how the user-interface of both works, I have been researching the extra features in the SkySafari Pro, and have figured the following so far (please correct me if I'm wrong): * I'm aware that both let you control your GoTo telescopes * I personally find current version of Stellarium to be more user friendly and easier to navigate the sky manually , could be the configured settings though * SkySafari has more options to the search bar, e.g. "Tonight's Best" based on your location, also a menu of Messier catalog with a highlight of those currently visible at your time and location, others like best deep sky objects * SkySafari has this wonderful feature of creating an observing list, very helpful to plan your session and share and download with/from others * Stellarium Plus has a database of around 1.69 billion stars,while SkySafari 6 Pro has around 100 milion starts (don't think it's important as most of them aren't visible in amateur telescopes, I think I read somewhere that only 25 million stars are possible to observe with our telescopes, up to 15th mag, wonder if any of you have tried to push this limit)
  15. Hello Lenscap Thanks for the reply, I just double checked the free version. There is no observing section. I checked on the pro and the plus version on some videos , and it seems to have an observing section. So I guess that answers my question. Regards
  16. Great work! can't wait to see the final piece!
  17. So I just downloaded a couple of observing lists one of them is the light polluted skies list, it opens on the Notepad++ just fine (on my laptop), I tried to open it up with Stellaruim on PC but I guess it's not compatible, however I heard you can use them on SkySafari App on your phone, which will be convenient if I link up the software with the GoTo I have, I have Stellarium + and Free SkySafari on my phone, both won't recognise the list, do I have to purchase the SkySafari 6 Plus or the SkySafari 6 Pro to access it? P.S i wonder if there is a dedicated observing list for very dark skies, that would be great for my next camping trip!
  18. This videos helped me the most when I learned my way around EQ mounts, hope this helps
  19. May I ask what difference does it make having a 2" focuser compared to the normal 1.25" focuser ?
  20. Don't you think a 12 inch non-GoTo is not the perfect starter scope? sorry I don't want to put you off or sound negative, but I think it's better if you check this exact scope at a store or better the the local club/community before buying. This is a truss scope, which I assume you have to assemble and de-assemble it every time you move + not the most convenient portable scope for a beginner.
  21. Hahaha, I'm amazed how the evolution of your dilemmas matches mine , I was just looking at Cassegrains an hour ago
  22. After reading your latest comments, I can assume you are facing 2 dilemmas: 1. is 10 inch v 8 Inch, 2. having a classical, push to , push to + or a GoTo. I just faced it a week ago and I took my decision. it will come down to the following: For choosing between 8 inch v 10, it'll come down to portability and your ability to carry the 10 inch easily or sticking to the easier 8 inch , the best telescope is the one you most use. As for the technical difference in terms of light gathering, theoretically the 10 inch collects 56% more, yet a lot of members report that the difference is noticeable only for deep sky and faint objects. Not to mention that the 10 inch is a fast focal ratio (F4.7) so will require better eyepieces (EP), while the 8 inch (F6) is more forgiving on EPs, though some members mentioned that you can always mask the 10 inch down. Also collimation is more required in the 10 inch. As for the guiding systems, it's purely personal, if you think you will enjoy learning your way around the sky with maps, you can always save up and choose the manual Dobs, however if you feel that you want to make life easier to get you into this hobby, then you may choose between the three types (Push to, Push + and GoTo) A push to may help you with learning your way around the sky, since it's partly manual. A Push plus requires the use of your phone and is cheaper than a GoTo. A GoTo is fully automated and has the advantage of tracking (not suitable for AP). these are the links for the posts that helped me decide: I hope this helps when deciding what to buy. Good Luck
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