niallk

Great stuff - just snook out there, and wow - loads of detail on view.  There's the finest long black thread joining two of the sunspots right now: I needed very careful focus to see it clearly in my LS50DS.

On 20/04/2021 at 20:13, FLO said:

That's good because we can help. Please email us so we can arrange collection 🙂 

I am guessing it is the Rumak 150 in your signature. 

Steve 

Just have to say - what an outstanding response! 👍

👍 Yeah, lots to see today & yesterday with my LS50DS - pretty spectacular. 

Very nice! 👍

1 hour ago, BCN_Sean said:

It's got a public area on it and there's also an elevator built up to it through the mountain from the railway station underneath the mountain (Jungfraujoch).

Ah-ha!  Like a Bond villain's lair

2 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

There's a couple of ladders up the side, in those images.

Yeah spotted them too - looks a bit dodgy!

Looks like the sort of place that you have to budget for getting stuck there for months at a time in winter!!  Amazing spot for an observatory.

Ignorance is bliss 😆

I had someone come over to me at my 1st star party, who had a brief glance through my scope (15" dob), asked me why on earth I'd bought that kind of scope, and said "well as long as you're happy with the views..." with a derisive tone.

I felt f--- you: if you can't be pleasant, say nothing and keep to yourself.  Everyone else I met that night was welcoming and friendly thankfully.

Now: if I had a scope with pinched optics or poorly collimated and this was obvious - and there was a good chance of improving the views with a little tweak to the setup, then yes I'd welcome the helpful comment.

If I appear happy, and haven't asked for a diagnosis, personally leave me happy in my ignorance... I can't simply drive to OOUK or John Nichol to drop off a mirror for refiguring, being based in Ireland.  To be honest I have never really observed through anyone else's scope - maybe because I don't want to find out what I'm missing;) I have had a glance through a 20", and another peep thru a nice 16": I just enjoyed the generous offer to view through them.  I certainly didn't even try to evaluate zones and turned edges after a feed of cans of beer at the star party 🤣😂 

I checked in Skysafari, and I see HIP 60936 indicated very close by to 3C 273.

Is this the one and same object with 2 names, but for some reason appearing as 2 distinct objects in SS?  Or is there a star almost lining up with the quasar?  Anyone know if this is a bug? Thanks!!

Wonderful report, and something I really want to see with my own eye balls too.  Thanks for the link 👍👍

At the end of a session the other night:

Great report!  Man, I can't even get my wife to look at the magnificence of Saturn's rings from the back garden 😂

What I'd give for a gander through that 20" from a dark site 😉👍

Bresser dob looks the biz too with those alt bearings.

Wow 😮

How do you even get up there?!!!

Looks spectacular- wonder if the public can visit...

I hate to say it, but dual speed focusser is essential imho with the double stack 😉  there's just so much super fine detail with a DS!!  It's a good 1st world problem to have 😂

Went for a cycle and hatched a plan

The new spotlight on the tower at my dark site is at ground level: I may be able to fashion a some kind of a wooden cover or something to safely shroud it while I'm observing... must investigate in daylight   All hope is not lost yet!!

Great report!! 👍

Nice!  I love catching these: I've been lucky to catch a few, and would love to get an all sky camera sometime.

Well I got out for the first time in months - perpetual lockdown here - and I drove 20mins to the end of a headland which is my best local dark site.

2 things were wrong for me: there was another car - ok sometimes this happens and I move on, but then I noticed something bad: there's an old watchtower at the end of the headland, and it was lit up with electric lighting 😖

My heart sank - the spot I'd scouted out and felt fine going to on my own is ruined.  It's elevated, and looks south over the sea - literally no light domes from ESE to WSW.

With a heavy heart, I turned for my backup spot, and found a couple in a Taxi there 🙄😂, but I found a dirt track nearby and set up.

Set up, impatiently waited for dark adaption, then tested the air with a look at M51: hmmm.  Spiral structure was indistinct, the bridge wasn't as obvious as I'd like.  Conditions weren't great, but it has been months, so I ploughed on

In with the N31T5, and sometimes toggling to the 17E (didn't use any shorter focal length EP!) - first up, NGC3115 the Spindle, followed by 3242, ghost of Jupiter: I believe this was my first time on this - wow, I see straight away where it gets its name!!  Bright, and seemed to have a blueish tinge to my eye.

Next over to Leo: M95/96/105, and then M65/66/NGC3628.

Then over to Makarians Chain.  I love the streaks of NGC4402/4388 bracketing M84/86.  Had a wander around the area, just marvelling at the galaxies scattered everywhere!  I remember it took me 5 nights to find my very first galaxy (M31) when I started out, and to randomly point anywhere in Virgo/Coma B and find galaxies is such a treat

Over to NGC4567/68 the Siamese Twins - pretty cool interacting pair.  Next up to the Needle, 4565.  Lovely and huge in the 31T5, but not the best view.  On to another edge-on: 4244.  Then over to the Cocoon Galaxy 4490 - my first time on this pair.  Pretty cool! Could see the curve to 4485 - presume these are an interacting pair.  Finished off with the Whale 4627, and 4657.  Didn't see any of the others in the vicinity.

I checked M51 again - no improvement,  so decided to head home to my wife and a beer As I turned on my torch to tear down, I could see the moisture / mist in the air which was responsible for the poor transparency, and the diffuse brightness in the sky as surrounding light pollution got refracted all around the place.  Oh well, some nights it's like this- you get the opportunity to actually get out, then the conditions aren't the best.  Still, nice to use my scope again, and see all these galaxies with my own eyes - better than TV 😂

Edit: D'oh meant to post in Reports, not Discussion - sorry!! 

Great 2-part report!

Have my car packed to venture out to a dark spot for a wander along Makarians Chain and Coma B/Virgo/Leo.  Haven't been out for months due to lockdown restrictions

Great update

I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on the DS.

Personally, I think it is extremely worth it - fantastic surface detail.  I did go for the dual speed Moonlight upgrade (never ending money, huh?!) and I find it pretty essential for getting that exquisitely fine detailed focus point.

Those 1x 'linear binoviewers' are tempting me - if they'd reach focus in an LS50, it would be fantastic to observe with two eyes....

On 31/03/2021 at 16:34, Lockie said:

Listening with interest : ) and I'm sorry I just couldn't resist... 

And funnily enough, it's the stubby short ones that draw the gasps of admiration for dobs!! 😂

20 hours ago, John said:

I've been telling myself that for years 🙄

I've not bought one since December last year, so that's something !

Good going 😂 I've been pretty good - last EP probably 2+ yrs ago... a 7-21mm TS zoom for my Lunt 50mm.

I keep looking at those 'linear' binoviewers though for my dob + hopefully would reach focus in my LS50DS ... geez a pair of APM zooms would be nice 😭

Missed this! 🙄

Very interesting indeed it will be fascinating to hear performance reports.  However I keep telling myself 'you don't need another EP...' 😂

Great sketches!  Wow you must have really nice skies: you caught G in the Trap - amazing.  Gives me hope with my 15" 😉

On 22/03/2021 at 11:53, Greymouser said:

This has occurred to me several times and a solution that came to my mind, is a big dog with me! Something like an Old English Mastiff?

I go out on my own to isolated dark spots - if anyone comes near me, I'll chuck my N31T5 hand grenade at them... should put manners on them quicksmart getting a whack of that to the head 😂  T'would get a bit expensive though if I were to miss...

I've a 50mm frac for Ha solar on an alt-az tripod mount, and it is really convenient to throw outside for a quick few minute session.

But for night time, it's hard to compete with the aperture and resolution of a dob

There's effort to set up and allow for cooling, and of course collimation - though not a big deal with the right tools.  The mirror box has a fair bit of weight.

I would love to try something like a 100 ED on an alt-az.  Could be a great companion setup.