Roy Challen

You could also try sending your CV off to the various engineering companies in the UK that build satellites/equipment relating to the space industry. https://spacecareers.uk/?p=job_search

I only used hand force when tightening, just enough to stop any rattling.

Yes, it's a bit strange. I don't know how it came to be that loose. I use a Tal diagonal, which is collimateable to some degree, so that could be of help.

Hi John, Good point, I haven't checked the collimation, but the lens cell isn't adjustable anyway.

I've been getting back into my visual astronomy since Comet Neowise graced our skies, buying new stuff and whatnot. I got my astro stuff out of the loft, the big Tak mount is now in a place where I can deploy it without necessitating a visit to the chiropractor, and the Tal is ready to go as well. I also got my Skylight out of the loft, but on inspection, I found there was a rattle from the front end. It turned out to be one, or both, of the lenses rattling about in the cell and I could see they had moved relative to each other as the marks left by the foil spacers were in different positions. On unscrewing the cell, I found the retainer ring almost completely undone, however, it seemed to be just a case of move the lenses so that the marks line up again - I just went to the nearest marks - tighten it back up and crack on (jeez, don't say crack near a lens, please!). So I did that, and checked the view on a tree branch about half a mile away. It seemed ok, but at higher mags - more than x120 or so, the view didn't seem to come to focus properly - it didn't seem as sharp as the same view through the Tal. However, this scope used to provide sharper views of stars than the Tal, so I think something isn't right. It could be that I have moved the lenses to the wrong marks, or they are correctly aligned to each other, but not with the cell. Another problem is there are no marks on the side of either lens. I think before taking anything apart, I'll check the view with an actual star a night, just in case. But if it isn't that, I'll have to take the cell apart. The plan would be something like this. 1. Mark the positions of the spacers according to the witness marks (luckily, both lenses have marks on them-I didn't clean them). 2. Try each combination in order against a star, Polaris for convenience. 3. If the diffraction rings look good in any of the 3 positions, consider myself lucky. 4. If the rings look poor, mark the crown and flint, say, position one and then mark one or the other every 45°, and check each position. When the best is found, refine from there. Obviously, this will have to be done in the dark, but it doesn't have to be done all in one night if I keep a record of what I've done. So, what can go wrong?

Happens in every hobby... ...and I never thought I'd see the day when someone said this!😂

4 years and 241 pages, and now I can finally post something here! DHL dropped off a Hyperflex 7-21mm zoom and Baader Q turret barlow this afternoon. I think these are the first new items I've bought in at least 5 years!

I had this one a few years back. https://www.astroshop.eu/amici-prisms-90d/baader-t2-90damici-prism-with-31mm-free-aperture/p,10577 Great bit of kit, bought second hand, no problems with it whatsoever, wish I never sold it.

Hi Michael, welcome to SGL. I did this introductory course in 2013 and thought it was well worth it. However, was also doing an engineering degree with the OU (only two modules left), so didn't continue. If I recall correctly, you'll need to do more than one module per year to get the degree, due to the number of modules.

What Peter said, although I would take binoculars too.

Very nice, would be good to have some updates and photos.

Same here, I thought I could see the GRS, but wasn't entirely sure most of the time. Jupiter and Saturn were too close to a roof to blame the seeing though. Mars was fine a few hours later.

I was inspired by the appearance of Comet Neowise earlier this year, to do more real astronomy. So, with that in mind, I brought the Tal, the mount and the box of eyepieces down from the loft. I had one target in mind - Mars. However, that didn't become easily visible to me until around 3am, so I decided to set up earlier in order that I wouldn't have much to faff around with that early in the morning. At around 8pm, on the 9th Sept, I set up, did a polar alignment, and pointed toward Jupiter. Centred in the crosshairs of the finder, and my Vixen 30mm in the diagonal, I found Jupiter well within the field of view. And what a sight! I had forgotten how big the disc of this planet is. Even with the 30mm (x33), the disc was resolved, and three of the four Galilean moons were visible. Using a 9mm eyepiece (x111), the equatorial bands became easily visible. It's been so long since I last looked at the King of the Planets that it was almost as if I were seeing it for the first time. The scope hadn't cooled properly yet, and the planet was only a little way above the roofline, but it was very impressive nonetheless. I knew that Saturn was close by, and there was a point of light to the left of Jupiter, so I swung the scope over and centred in the finder. Looking through the eyepiece, immediately I saw the ringed planet. I couldn't make out the Cassini Division, but could see some banding on the disc, and Titan was easily visible nearby. I asked Aliya to join me in the garden. When she looked through the eyepiece, I heard "wow" and "so beautiful" many times. I agreed. I should thank my neighbour for cutting the tree that now allowed me access to that part of the sky. This was just a warm, though, for the main event. I left everything set up, but put the covers on all the lenses, and set my alarm for 3am... ...and woke up at 2:55. I got dressed quickly and went outside. I looked up straightaway and saw Mars in optimum position. I centred in the finder and, as expected, found the red planet well within the field of view (this is good because it's been years since I last adjusted the finder on the Tal). The last time I viewed Mars for any length of time was in 2003, so this really did feel like looking at it for the first time. Back then, I had a cheap 60mm telescope, with rubbish eyepieces and a rubbish mount. Now I had the Tal, on a Takahashi mount, although the eyepieces are still mainly rubbish. I could make out the tiny polar ice cap, a dark region mid-latitude but slightly off-centre, and lighter-but-darker regions than the main disc both surrounding the dark region, and toward the 'top' of the disc'. Every now and again, the seeing allowed the darkest region to be better resolved, and appear a bit sharper. I stayed at the eyepiece for an hour, just adjusting the mount each time Mars left the field of view, allowing the wonder and joy of being able to do this to soak in.

Why not just state "Offers invited" then?

Parking space...

At least that would have dealt with one piece of space junk!

Car-sized? Not really worthy of the word asteroid, is it?

I've answered no, but my normally annual holiday is to Kazakhstan to see the in-laws, also coincides with some of the planets darkest skies, I don't need to have the decision influenced. What am I talking about? Mrs.C decides when and where we go on holiday anyway😂

I am not an imager at all, so my question might be somewhat irrelevant, but what advantage would any of those refractors offer over the 150PDS, as from what I've read on this thread, it is an f/5 scope with a focuser that is suitable for DSLR imaging. Just an interested non imager, with no advice to give.

If that's true, I want one! Can you imagine turning up to inspect it? Mirrors ok, check, eyepieces present check, rifling good, check. Back to the OP though, great job! The colour looks great - I might think about doing the same to my 100RS.

Ah, beaten to it! As I am an Aston Martin fan (used to work on them as a mechanic), I was going to say the WO Ferrari edition is the least desirable scope, but an Aston scope would fall apart just as quickly😀

I tend to have quick binocular sessions, very early in the morning, as I'm out of bed by 4am for work anyway, getting up at 3am isn't too much of a struggle. But, as John and Paul have said, it's just a hobby and if I get one or two good nights per year, then I'm happy - I just try to make sure they're good nights.

Looks like you caught an early Perseid (maybe) in the Milky Way image.

For the comet, I agree with Dave - any will show it well. For general use, do you mean general astro use, or daytime use as well? I have Pentax 12x50 which are very capable astronomy binoculars, even if the field of view is on the slightly narrow side. The comet easily fits in this field. I also have some Helios 8x20, which has a much wider fov, but is somewhat dimmer. On bright targets (such as Neowise) this doesn't matter. Not much use for galaxy spotting though. For day use, I never regret bringing the Pentax out, but because they're a lot bigger and heavier, I don't often do that. The Helios, on the other hand, fit into almost any pocket, and are good enough for the job.

😀, Last night; Mrs C says: "There's no room left in the freezer". Me: "Hand me those tubs of ice cream".