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sheeprug

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Everything posted by sheeprug

  1. I struggled manfully on dispite the music, which was really terrible and pointless. After a while I was half expecting the major discovery of a man with a digital music workstation and 70s 'rototom' drums being revealed behind the interstellar dust. The trouble is that once you notice it's presence, it's impossible to ignore. It's annoying, pointless and more importantly, can make it difficult for watchers with hearing impairments to understand.
  2. I have a love-hate relationship with my laurel hedge, It is about 20ft high, and a very effective screen and light blocker. But otherwise it's complete PITA. i keep it under control using a lopper on a 4m pole, but really, laurel is a potnetial monster! Use it, but do keep it to your required hight and don't let if get too big unless you have space.
  3. Thanks guys. Info duly passed on. I'll let you know how he gets on......... SR
  4. The young lad (approx 8-10yo) living next door to me was vrey impressed by some of my astropics he saw rcently.. Any suggestions for online astro resources that might be good for feeding his interest? I get the impression he's inquisitive and very sharp but I'm not sure what to suggest for that age. Any ideas welcome. Best, SR
  5. I was quite pleased with this one, shot over a couple of nights this week. I like it with with the colour saturation kept quite high, but as usual any suggestions welcomed. WO FLT110, ASI1600MM. 35x120s Lum, 19x180s each RBG. Processed in DSS and Startools. SR.
  6. My eyesight keeps improving! Over the last few years my worst eye has gone from -10 dioptres to -8. In practice this makes little difference since I still need glasses anyway, but it does mean I no longer qualify for free eye tests. (Bummer, except I now get free tests again because I'm over 60.) I gather this is quite normal, so do go and see an optician. It could be that simple. SR.
  7. I've always loved loved loved stereo 3D photograhs, and some years ago I ran across the fantstic stereo astro photograps on the Astro Anarchy website: https://astroanarchy.zenfolio.com/p272573124. In the absence of a stereo viewer you need to learn how to view them as stereo pairs by de-converging your eyes so the images overlay each other. It takes some practice - it's a bit like looking at the random dot stereograms that were popular a few years ago. But once you've mastered it the results are rewarding! Obviously the scale of the images is massively out of proportion - it rather assumes you have eyes several light years apart. But the images, while being only partially scientificly accurate, can be quite instructive and visually stunning. Anyway, I downloaded the latest beta version of Startools (1.6.386) last night and discovered there is a new stereo feature which can create stereo astro images from 2D images. In their own words from the online manual at https://www.startools.org/modules/3d " The Stereo 3D module can be used to synthesise depth information based on astronomical image feature characteristics.The depth cues introduced are merely educated guesses by the software and user, and should not be confused with scientific accuracy. Nevertheless, these cues can serve as a helpful tool for drawing attention to processes or features in an image. Depth cues can also be highly instrumental in lending a fresh perspective to astronomical features in an image. The Stereo 3D module is able to generate plausible depth information for most deep space objects, with the exception of some galaxies." So this is my first attempt at a stereo image for parallel viewing, using mostly the default settings. To be fair the basic image is not without it's faults (its LLRGB, with only about 2hrs of data and I've only just begun working in mono anyway), but I'm quite pleased with the result. Note that normal CPU viewing distances the images may be too far apart to easily free-view, so step back a few feet to make it easier. It can take some practice to 'see' at first, so don't give up if you've not done it before. Best, SR
  8. They're usually refracted into a free-standing prizm, if i recalll correcly. SR
  9. Thanks. I've been considering uprating to an EQ6 for a while now. Once you add in the guide scope it is a tad over the HEQ5s recommended AP weight, but provided it's well ballanced it seems to cope fine. At the moment my guiding could be a little better - I'm getting about 0.8" RMS - so that's another thing to address and could be related to the weight. Anybody got a good deal going on a good EQ6? Get in touch...... Best, SR.
  10. I slashed out on an ASI1600 plus Baader LRGB and 3.5nm Ha filters back in September and finally got a chance to use the Ha this week. Obviously I'm feeling my way into this and I can't fit in the whole Heart nebula with my 770mm FL, but pleased with the result never the less. WO FLT110, HEQ5, ASI1600, Ha filter. 10x 300s and 3x 600s exposures. As usual any feedback welcomed, but in particular any pointers to the bst ways of combining LRGB+Ha would be really useful. Best, SR.
  11. In the UK don't underestimate the danger of the tiny deer tick, bites of which can carry Lyme disease, or as recently reported, the tick-borne encephalitis virus. I never used to take too much notice of warnings about ticks here in Suffolk, but I recently discovered that 2 work colleagues had contracted Lyme disease whilst walking in the local heathland, and one didn't notice it until he'd become quite ill. I guess at nighttime we're pretty well covered up and it's dark, so the risk is small. But since it's not a problem you want, make sure your legs are covered! SR.
  12. Whilst doing some unrelated research on the online British Newspaper Archive I stumbled across the following article from the 16th December 1749 issue of The Ipswich Journal. A letter from Stoke, Gloucestershire, of Dec. 4th gives the following account. “Last Thursday sennight between five and six o'clock in the evening, it being then pretty dark, many of the inhabitants of this neighbourhood, and other parts of the county, as well as some travellers on the road, were very much surprised at a sudden mighty opening of the heavens, northward, in the midst of which, such an amazing light appeared, as rather surpassed that the sun so that, for short space of time, it looked as if the sun had shined out in its full lustre and glory : and it was equally as astonishing behold this prodigious opening to closed again, and shut in the bright illumination that appeared from it. This had no resemblance with the northern lights." I can’t find any other references to celestial events observed on that date, so has anybody heard of it before or have any thoughts on what it might have been?
  13. I like it. The stars are a little red,but the great thing is it's got DEPTH. The galaxies actually look like they are much further away than the stars. SR.
  14. Yes, Suffolk. If you see a yellow/grey laser dinghy give me a wave and pop into the Deben Yacht clubhouse for a beer! Skies here are pretty good looking north, but the sky glow from ipswich and Felixstowe's washes out a lot in the south. SR.
  15. Thanks Jimbo, interesting points to think about. Re the asi224mc, it has a small 6mm sensor, so probably a too small angle of view for deeper sky stuff where I think the most interesting work will be. Are there any larger sensor cameras around in a similar price bracket? I can't see any, but I've not tried very hard yet. We
  16. Sadly, no. I'm assuming I'll have to do manual tracking, and s/w alignment. SR
  17. Hi Everybody. This is a really really interesting thread, so thanks for all the images and conversation, and as a result I want to play too. Now regarding kit, I have an 14" OO dob, but as it stands no suitable camera. However, there will be budget for one by Xmas so research is already under way. Normally my inclination would be to go to Canon since (a) I've always used Canon cameras and (b) I gather they have better support/features for astro. However, in another thread on the 'cameras' part of this site it has been pointed out that the sensors used in Nikon cameras have a better noise performance. Now I appreciate that the Nikon vs Canon debate is well documented on this site, but I'm wondering if in the alt/az scenario, where exposures are shorter then than for eq, does the low noise performance become assume a greater importance? Secondly, regarding the scope, i'm assuming a 14" aperture is good, but a FL of 1600mm may be a little long. Is that too long in practice? SR.
  18. Professional pride kicked in and I've mended it. I had to break it apart and drill out the LED which was smothered in leaked gunge from the batteries - which is presumably trashed it. Unfortunately the only replacement LED I can find at the moment is green - quite a cool colour, but maybe not the best from the point of view of night vision. I must have a red one somewhere to replace before I glue it back together again. SR
  19. I can't help thinking that as an electronics engineer of 40 years standing I should be able to repair a simple device like my Telrad, which has died - probably not unconnected with some leakage from the battery. Grrrrrrr! Unfortunately the main bit with the LED and target in appears to be a sealed unit that is firmly glued in place, so despite only being a diode an a resistor I can't get in to even attempt a repair without probably trashing it. So, since my used Dob came without an optical finder you might say I'm now somewhat aimless. Given available funds are limited, what does the team think - splash £60+ on a proper finder or get another Telrad. I have to say, I do find it easy to find most of what I'm after with the Telrad but I can't help thinking an optical finder would be generally more useful. SR
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