Moonshane

The weather forecast here in Stockport was terrible with rain most of the day so I didn't even bother with a scope. However, just before lunchtime it started to clear in short patches so I drove home to get my gear, timing it so I got back to work for 12.30 and with about 15 minutes left of my lunch. I am glad I did as for about 30 seconds, and just as I put in my second eyepiece into the binoviewer, the sky cleared enough to see part of the transit and then clammed up again. It was worth it though. 

The most scary thing I used to hear was my cat scrabbling up the fence. Got me every time. The most horrible thing I saw was a slug on my beer, thankfully spotted before I put it to my mouth.!

Ps yes both wigs 😂

Well I made the door but not fitted yet. In between the amazing rugby and a Halloween party it's been a busy weekend..........

I'm supposed to be Georgie out of the film It. However I seem to resemble more Brian Cox after a weekend bender.

Got the front and back clad. All cuts on the sides. Hopefully get that done (and a door made) before I go back to school on Monday.

The north one is fixed but hinged ☺

Nah just vIsual but never say never I suppose

Hi Ron

The rear of the obs faces north to Manchester so bad light pollution. 

With the roof open I can just get Polaris and about 60% if the front is open towards the best skies I have while still masking houses. The end of the garden is 25 feet lower than the house so I gave to mask this too. Still worth the effort.

Managed to get the roof on. The bitumen sheets worked pretty well but there's more of a gap than I'd like but hopefully there's enough overlap to prevent leaks. It would take pretty unusual weather to be at that angle and direction so fingers crossed.......

Open 

And closed

On the plus side I just went down in the dark and it's very easy to get the roof off and it will make a massive difference. Might have to make some corner screening for front left and right but that's easily sorted. 👍

Lol @John

Unfortunately a few months after we moved in the 12 year long planning app was finally approved.

We went from  this below to what you see above in a weekend

Ps the black thing in the second pic is not a new black hole but a mixing board !

More pics. I used a garden weed membrane to black out the inside then a breathable roofing membrane mainly to reduce condensation inside. I may eventually add ply to the inside walls.

Also added mesh all round to keep out critters. Will add gravel etc for aesthetics and to weigh down the mesh along with bricks etc.

The obs frame in stealth mode. Added some of the membrane today. It makes a massive difference to the feel of the building. Will upload pics tomorrow.

One that makes someone not interested in the hobby go 'oooooh'.

Ps

For others and future reference a couple of things to consider:

- ensure the secondary adjustment screws are all extending about the same length

- your tube may not be circular. My Orion Optics UK newts are not round (more a slight oval) so each axis has different spider arm lengths.

Sometimes taking a newt apart promotes understanding of how it all fits together 😊

 Well done 👍

I have come to the conclusion that to avoid these issues you need to make a screen which is higher than your eyeline in the direction of the problem. You have to accept that you see less sky but the observing is enhanced by avoiding constantly ruining your dark adaptation.

I am building an observatory and can only look at a portion of the sky but the plan is that I won't be able to see any windows or lamps and therefore will enjoy less frustrating sessions cut short when lights constantly come  on.

Hi Alan

I have designed it to fit 1m long bitumen corrugated sheets which will overlap. 

I have used decking for the floor as this can take water but hopefully it will stay pretty dry. My power will be disconnected in the morning after a session and I am visual only so no PC's etc.

I can always redesign if needed. The roof has been the cheap bit so far.

Some good progress today. Give or take a bit of adjusting, I have a working roof!

It works as I'd hope with capacity for observing the main areas of decent sky whilst masking local and more general light pollution. The front flips down. The middle runs to front or back. The rear section is hinged.

Here's some pics.

8 hours ago, Rob Sellent said:

I've raised a suggestion along this line in the newcomers thread. If there's interest, perhaps we could run a few visual challenges

Speaking of challenges, I've heard imagers say on a number of occassions that one of the problems with visual observing is that under average sky conditions there are only so many targets that can really be seen. After a few trips around the Sun and looking at them a few dozen times, what then?

So a question for longer term visual astronomers, what maintains your interest and mojo?

Thousands of double stars, hundreds if not thousands of clusters, hundreds of galaxies, planetary nebs and perhaps a few dozen nebulae. Same as anyone really 😀

I was never impressed with the monorail I had. It slipped a lot and there was quite a lot of slop which despite several attempts could never remove.

Good luck 👍

I have Moonlite and the Baader Steeltrack and both are excellent. I'm visual only though 

Just advertise for what they are worth to you and/or someone else. The latter will eventually determine the success or otherwise of the sale.