Beulah

Try Shropshire Astronomy Group: http://www.shropshire-astro.uk/events.html

They have events about 40 minutes' drive away.  (Little Ness/Rodington)

Great group - I was never a member as I moved but loved their outreach events. A very enthusiastic bunch of folks!

2 hours ago, DaveS said:

Seeing all these replies is making me kick myself for wimping out at 1.30 last night. Could easily have got another hour and a half on Mel15.

Kick, kick, kick.

But hearing the guide star problems people have had makes me glad I do encoder guiding.

I had no choice but to chicken out at midnight as the most rolled in...last night was variable; moments of great transparency with a lot of humidity and 'mushiness'. NGC7789 (Caroline's Rose) looked spectacular, in addition to observing the Veil Nebula without an OIII filter. Managed to study plenty of targets in a couple of hours.

Yay, welcome back, @Photosbykev! Some of us are still around...   

I've recently had a 20" dobsonian mirror and secondary coated/overcoated with SiO with VCSM coatings. http://www.scientificmirrors.co.uk/vcsm-Aluminising.html

I was pleased with the service and Terry keeps you updated. For £218 including return shipping and attention to detail it really was a no brainer for me.

The whole process from door to door took 6 weeks as the old coating was tough to remove..

Amazing work! 

So wanted to get out last night but again, early start, work, yada yada... 

Shropshire is a fab place to relocate for dark skies; the south west of the county going into the Marches being the darkest. If the street light gets on your nerves you can always abscond to even darker skies which would be a short drive away...

I don't know if you are aware but a lot of Shropshire is now part lit so you'll hopefully be pleasantly surprised if that pesky light extinguishes at midnight...this website will given you an idea of the status of your locality: https://shropshire.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Minimalist/index.html?appid=fa2afc7ab61a40d8a499684e3dba8374

Congratulations on your move.

From my experience the colours of Albireo are a little more intense under light polluted skies. 😊

Thanks for this. It's interesting seeing the different types of bases used to support the building. 'Tis a shame you had to move after all that work - I look forward to seeing any future build threads. Hope the new house is a keeper! 

Fabulous report - you've really whetted my appetite for the low southern targets - I cannot wait to look at these targets with the dob once I get my mirrors back!

I've been using the Affinity package for a while (Designer for professional projects) but have found a bit of a discrepancy with the Affinity Exports to TIFF/png/jpg - they seem to be more 'blurry' at the same resolution (300dpi) than the Photoshop equivalents. Still trying to work this one out so sany suggestions would be helpful before I hop over to the Serif support forums...  :)

However, Affinity does a super job of panos...

I remember going to a star party once and a hobby astronomer brought along a 22 inch telescope. To make it safe for public outreach he had made a portable wooden set of steps and a small platform at the top, with substantial amount hand rails. It did feel very safe! 

Bought this last month...I'll see how I get on with this one as I need to reach around 8.5ft to the eyepiece at zenith...  

Yep, I'll be taking the 25x100s out with the self built parallelogram mount on my rounds - as Mr Niall states above, late summer observing will hopefully include the glorious Sagittarius region! Also M27 M33, and M57 at a push. Spoilt for choice in a dark sky!

3 hours ago, barkis said:

Well folks, I am into hospital on Tuesday morning at 8:45 to have my left eye procedure.
I am really looking forward to it. If the result is as successful the first one, I can't wait to see a  world
twice as clear ?.

Ron.

Good luck, Ron. Please let us know how you get on.  

1 minute ago, bobmoss said:

Pretty happy with my results... 

AWESOME!!! I managed 21.75 in Mid Wales a few nights ago....your 21.9 is nothing short of breathtaking!  :)

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

SQM

21.97 mag./arc sec2

Brightness

0.176 mcd/m2

Artif. bright.

5.24 μcd/m2

Ratio

0.0306

Bortle

class 2

Elevation

345 meters

 

So far I've measured only 21.8 repeatedly and as very few 21.9's.

Those are really impressive results.

What time of the night do you take the readings?

Interesting that it's made it to local media...maybe there aren't many applicants.

As someone said before, it's going to be tough to find someone with all the desired credentials. If you can handle grant funding in third sector environments, coordinate and manage projects, run events, have good marketing skills with an interest in astronomy, I think you'd be in with a good chance of making it to interview.

There might be people who fit the bill, but this is such a niche subject, Snowdonia might have a problem finding the right person if they stick to the strict person spec...

As it's a local authority post, thse two years might be extended, funding and service needs dependant...

12 minutes ago, Swoop1 said:

Enjoyed reading both yours and Astrokevs thread whilst stuck in hospital (7 busted ribs due to epic mtb fail) since last Tuesday.

Stick to tricycles next time!

Seriously, that must hurt. Hope you have adequate pain relief and a fast recovery.

Fab! Good to see some familiar faces there.

Do you issue day passes? Haven't got any annual leave to spare at the moment! 

OoOooh an osby build. Bookmarked. 

10 hours ago, Dragon_Astro said:

10swg? Hmm maybe I need to look at thicker gauge tube...I'd originally thought 16swg

Yeah, I was just being uber cautious....

Heat shrink is also fab for cold aluminium tubes...if you have a hot air gun (hair dryers won't work) :https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-HEAT-SHRINK-TUBE-ELECTRICAL-SLEEVING-CAR-CABLE-WIRE-HEATSHRINK-TUBING-WRAP-/160809668245?var=&hash=item0

1 hour ago, mapstar said:

The uppers are fixed with bike skewers so there's no rattle or movement on any of them. 

Yeah, hoping to upgrade to them, too Don't fancy losing wing nuts as they fly off into the ether after furtive attempts to tighten them with cold hands... 

I used around 10swg (3.25mm thickness), just under an inch diameter (roughtly 22cm) tubes and they are pretty sturdy. If you are planning to connect the 8 truss tubes as one unit, make sure you don't overtighten the fixings as there needs to be some flexibility and movement when you construct the telescope. Once connected to the primary box and secondary cage (those fixings should be hand tight), the truss tubes are sturdy, trust me!.

The great thing is that parts can be replaced as you have made them and mods are never ending! I'm using metal wing nuts and have promised myself to replace with ergonomic plastic ones as soon as funds allow.

Pics, please!