mikeDnight

Is your tripod wearing clingfilm or foil leggings? It's looking a bit raunchy! Here up north we use coarse itchy wool, due to the abundance of coarse itchy sheep.

It might feel tight to start with as I think they have Shrek on the assembly line at Tak, but I've attached a pic. Hope this helps! Incidentally, I've only cleaned the lens three times in five years. I usually just blow off any potential dust after each observation, before capping.

A "show us your glass" thread on CN prompted a spring clean of my objective.

Possibly Dave, but I have an RA drive that came with my GP when I bought it Second hand, but its temperamental. I also have a second hand Vixen RA motor but that too is intermittent, so buying yet another second hand Vixen motor and hand control doesn't fill me full of confidence. I really like a tracking mount, but I don't want goto, and I love my Vixen GP mounts. I'll keep my eye out for another Vixen RA drive but I might also have a go at bridging the switch as Bryan suggests.

Yours will definitely last longer if you don't use it John. I wouldn't mind so much if it actually stayed on once switched on, then I could have installed an inline switch, but it doesn't. I remember the days when some used home made hand controls, which has me wondering if I can adapt it with some DIY. I'd really like an old clock driven Unitron mount, then I'd probably fall asleep with the gentle tick, or spend more time watching the governor spin. I'm easily distracted!

I bought a SW RA & DEC drive about a year ago, which worked fine initially, but a couple of months ago the on/off switch became temperamental, cutting the power for no apparent reason. Today I decided to open it up to see if there was anything I could do to improve the contact. It turns out that its a cheap, nasty little switch that can't be removed without unsoldering the circuit board connections. I'm reluctant to buy another hand control as they aren't exactly cheap cost wise, but it will be just the same cheap electronics inside. So, does anyone have any idea where to buy a GOOD quality drive system that will be compatible with a GP mount? I'm happy with either RA & DEC or just RA, but I'm not interested in goto.

I've an elderly friend who repeatedly stated "You can't beat a 4" refractor", which is perfectly true unless you have a 5". But I get what he means, when I consider the ease of use and the great views they give for their aperture class. And comparing the differences or similarities between different scopes is fantastic fun. Ive only looked through an old 4" Tal twice and the view was very nice. I'll happily give you £50 for that DC Stu, if you're finding yourself crowded out with 4" frac's. I could couple it with mine to make a pair of bino's. I think I've got a spare strap to hang them around my neck!

Thanks chaps! Neil, I'm not sure how best to advise observing the clouds on Venus. They are almost always the most ghost like wisps extending from the terminator, but the brilliance of the planet virtually blinds them out. Perhapse a variable polarizing filter will help, which is something Peter Grego suggested in his book "VENUS & MERCURY, How To Observe Them" by Springer. Experimenting with coloured filters may help too, but the detail is always at the limit of detectability. To lead you into the subtle detail, you might notice that the cusps are the most brilliant region, then as you study the terminator just next to the cusp, you might detect a slightly darker region bordering the bright cusp. If you can see this, then try looking for very subtle bright spots along the terminator and the contrasting darker wisps leaching out from the terminator. A good size image scale may help, as it reduces the glare somewhat, so don't be afraid to increase the magnification. Best wishes, Mike

A variable polarizing filter would certainly help when it comes to observing Venus. And as regards thin cloud, I find that it often helps me in positioning the subtle cloud top detail. Last night was clear for a while, but clouds did eventually encroach, but as they did, there were moments of excellent definition as the clouds dimmed the view. So although the sketch claims no filter was used, there was briefly a natural light cloud filter, as there often is during my observations of Venus.

I managed a brief look at Venus last night, before the clouds noticed I was having fun.

Two more visual Venus observations. Both are unfiltered (prism diagonal) views.

I find it much easier sketching with graphite pencils, but then afterwards I'll use the edit function on my tablet to turn the pencil sketch into a negative. But as the pencil sketch is actually the real negative, using the negative function actually creates a positive, realistic view, which is much more pleasing.

The Moon really is a wonderful alien world right on our door step. Don't envy the posh scopes too much. It's not the expensive telescope that makes the observer, but the observer who makes the telescope. Just enjoy whatever scope you have.

For terrestrial viewing the 80ED would probably the most suitable. Astronomically, the 100ED and 120ED pack a serious punch. Ease of use is very important and the easier a scope is to set up and carry, the more often youll use it. The 150ED may be used less as it is quite a beast. The 120ED is a good deep sky and lunar & planetary scope without it being too heavy or cumbersome. personally I consider the 120ED to be a terrific combination of excellent optics, serious light grasp and resolution, and portability. The little 80mm ED is a great grab and go scope, but for some silly reason Skywatcher have placed the 3" lens in a 4" refractor tube, so why not get the 100ED instead. The 100mm is longer but its still a great all round performer.

I think that for many, the equipment side of things is as much a part of the hobby as the astronomy itself. I know several enthusiasts who regularly circulate their equipment so as to fund the next purchase. So really its the same money being reinvested rather than new money. I consider them extremely valuable members of our somewhat nutty/enthusiastic astro family. I've reinvested quite a lot of really high end stuff over the years, but only because I needed to liberate the cash for my next buy.

One option would be to adapt an old floppy control into a significantly longer dangley control. I adapted this one several years ago for a longer frac' I had and its dangled on a hook in my observatory ever since, waiting for the day when some kind visitor will bring his/her long focus refractor to play. I cut the spring with a metal cutting wheel about 3" from the hand control. Then using some aluminium tubing I bought from B&Q, I filled both ends with chemical metal, or plastic padding, also from B&Q, and inserted the springs into the tube by 3" either side and waited for it to set. I then polished the aluminium with duraglit and lacquered the tube. All those years watching Blue Peter finally paid off!

Looking on the bright side, it means there's more time to save! 😊

Dear Frank, - sorry - Jon. My heart sank as I read your post, and I began thinking that somebody somewhere is hell bent on stopping you from enjoying this hobby. I have to say that I'd be very surprised if that scope left Vixen with so much dust on both sides of the objective, though I'm also at a loss as to how it could get so dusty inside. Anyhow, I am really pleased you successfully cleaned your objective, and the images were good. The scope looks beautiful on its AZ4, and I'm certain it will give you some very pleasing views. And we've got some great things to look forward too this year with the spring Moon and Mars, along with the other planets being reasonably well placed.

Yes, but how can we believe anyone who uses the term "gotten"? RC should have gone to my school, then he'd know how t speak reyt like wor us duz!

Hi Jeremy, I couldn't honestly say, as I wore what I thought was a green suit for two years, before my wife and others eventually convinced me it was petrol blue. Good job I'm a plumber and not an electrician! I've always been able to see the wraith like clouds on Venus visually with very little difficulty, but its all very subtle. The sketches are an exaggeration in intensity out of necessity really, just to differentiate the various regions, otherwise even the drawing would look blank. May be i should start using filters more often, as i might see more! Attached is the actual eyepiece sketch from last night. (I understand the scribblings even if no one else does!)

To learn more about the Takahashi refractors, including the FS102 and TSA 102, check out sopeviews.co.UK

Thanks Paul, Soon after I'd finished the sketch the clouds moved back in and it began raining again. Strong winds too!

Hope you don't mind Luke, but I flipped your image to compare the cloud detail with the sketch I made earlier this evening. I think there are enough similarities in position to convince me of the reality of the features in the visual appearance. Very bright visually of course!

I'm always amazed by your images Luke. Thanks for posting!