Paul73

Just stand staring at the sky! People will generally ask you what is going on up there. You then have the option of pointing out planets / iss or heading down the alien invasion route......

I can’t believe that there is anyone who hasn’t looked up and wondered at the night sky.

Paul

Given that Saturn barely gets above the horizon at the moment, anything that clearly shows a disc and the rings is a good result! You are shooting through a lot of wobbly light polluted atmosphere when it is that low.

Is this a single frame? If so try stacking multiple frames. I’m new to imaging so I’ll leave it to the experts to advise on stacking.  

Paul

7 minutes ago, Stu said:

Personally, provided the price is right, I would choose an Orion Optics scope for the guarantee of optical quality and the lighter aluminium tube.

2nd Hand only! Their new prices are rather aggressive (in my financially challenged opinion).

Paul

Don’t worry. The moon drowns out so much. I rarely venture out when the moon is anything more than a quarter full. In two weeks time, the moon will be out of the way and you will see more.

Paul

Plossls are nice in the same way that a classic car is nice. Simple, uncomfortable, charming but uncomfortable and limited on the performance front (except on axis).

60° to 70° gives a very useful increase in fov. Haven’t tried the ES 62°, but have owned their offerings at 68°, 82° and 100°. They make quality gear for the money.

At your focal length / f ratio a 24mm a 15mm(ish) and and 8mm would be a good starting range.

Paul

Really enjoyed the read. Thanks for posting.

Paul

31 minutes ago, estwing said:

Pencelli sorry...or one that a few have been raving about is Forest field which is closer to you.

Just in case of cloud, Pencelli has a pub within 5 mins walk!!!

Maybe a little Dob kennel in the garden??

You could get an even bigger scope then....

4 hours ago, MoonNut said:

Quote:    I recently found out a Hubble optics 40" mirror costs around $US30k so that's got me thinking "hmmm if I spread it over five years and build everything myself and keep my old car and don't go on holidays and eat frugally yep totally doable"

 

Hey Mate, don't forget, you can always sell a kidney 

Looking at the scope collection, this gentleman ran out of kidneys some time ago. I’m loving the outrageous bino-scope. A big scope for each eye!

There is a reason why everyone wants to look through the big scopes at star parties.....

If you love DSO and can easily get a big scope under dark sky, why wouldn’t you?

Paul

Two eyepatches? What could possibly go wrong?

All on 12 months!! You’ll have the obsey dome in a weekend!

Good luck with the build.

Paul

1 hour ago, L8-Nite said:

ended up in the Pub instead of bringing our scopes out.  

True. But we did talk a really good game about scopes, mirrors, etc etc etc.

Paul

ps. The Jura malt (and Dob Mob emergency vodka rations) lubricated some very animated scope discussions back at the camp site until really quite late........??

Thanks for posting. The diagram seems to sum things up nicely.

I’d be surprised if the nice people at Daystar aren’t having a look at this.

Paul

16 minutes ago, Steve said:

we respectfully suggest you mention the equipment you are using, otherwise it might cause confusion. 

To be fair. That is exactly what is happening. Currently, zero confusion.

At least, and unusually, I’m not confused.?

Responding to John’s thoughts 2 posts ☝️☝️☝️

True. But you do stick it in the focuser (with eyepiece attached) and stare into it. Rather than plugging things in, booting things up and looking at a laptop screen.

Re. Doubling the aperture. Good example. Take the Veil, OIII filter and 10” scope under ok sky = Naked 20” Scope under dark sky? Yes. That is only one type of target, and an extreme one at that. However, NV responds to some types of targets better than others.

Paul

We do seem to be broadly in agreement that NV observing threads don’t belong in this section???

Live (or near live) Observing reports in the Observing section. With an appropriate title. What could be easier??

I choose old school visual as my preferred path, but enjoy reading reports from other forms of observing. Partitioning things up will only deepen divides, when we should all be treating those exploring new ideas with respect and thanking them for sharing their journey.

Paul

Just now, GavStar said:

But from a practical, in use, perspective, no - it’s completely different. (And from a practical ‘how it feels’ perspective NV is very very similar to viewing through normal glass eyepieces)

As Stu (a dedicated visual chap) pointed out in his comprehensive NV observing report earlier this evening.

I really can’t understand why people get sniffy about NV as an observing tool. May as well cry foul that someone has got an Hbeta filter to view the, massively underwhelming, Horses Head.

Paul

1 minute ago, John said:

But NV is EAA isn't it ?

It involves electricity, provides an assist and, here, is used for astronomy.

It seems to me to be like racing push bikes vs powered bikes - both go around a track but the powered ones will have much faster lap times so the two forms can't be directly compared in terms of results.

 

I’d hazard that NV is a lot closer to Visual than imaging. And that EAA is closer to imaging that observing (imaging for impatient people??). No processing involved in NV. Some serious processing (near real time) for EAA.

Paul

48 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

I would have the Questar too over any other scope even those TAK thingies, I do have its poor relation though...

Alan

They have a great reputation. Still never looked through one. Maybe I’ll be at a star party where we get to use scopes one day.....

4 hours ago, Alan White said:

And in that box was..........

drum roll please................  

For my dob, replacing a Rigel Quickfinder.
 

They are great devices. They are beggars for dew, but can be covered / heated well enough.

Paul

12” ultra light, ultra rigid f4.5 Collapsable Dob. ?. I could use it at home. Or, carry it up a mountain. It could sit on a gourmet wedge for imaging. I see no reason why, given the right materials & guiding, it couldn’t rival a traditional EQ Mount.

Look at what McLaren have done with road cars and bicycles.... I wonder if they could be persuaded to build me a scope?

Paul

Thanks for posting. Fascinating stuff and a great way of comparing eyepieces.

I’ve just got in trouble for spending the last 20 mins staring at my phone when I “should be doing useful stuff”.....

Paul 

Don’t worry. I did the same. The eyepiece case will slowely recover. 

Paul

1 hour ago, Star101 said:

What about Sony? ? Can't leave them out  

Or, Pentax....