Craney

14 hours ago, callisto said:

are thinking of getting something similar to your van... any recommendations 😉

Well,  a similiar question to " recommend me a small quality scope" ..... there is an immense range of styles, sizes, quality and.... (importantly) construction methods.

Some of the questions you need to firm up before searching.  

Is it going to be your only vehicle ...hence will it be suitable on a day to day basis ? 

Do you have space on the drive ? 

Campers of a small size do not usually have toilets/showers... is that acceptable ? 

They are, like a good APO, expensive, and the likelihood is that you will go second hand, but how many years ??..... eg mileage and wear and tear.

** Be wary of old trade vans ( 2006 etc) that have been pimped with a new set of cabinets and LED lights.  Looks great but it is a essentially a 20 year old builders van **

Lots of makes available, but VW have the history, available parts and the on-line help is amazing.  ( We avoided some tempting Japanese imports due to this).

...... and the list goes on.

The biggest thing I think is peace of mind.  I mentioned "construction methods" above.  There are an awful lot of vans that have been put together by competent amateurs following a plan. Most of the time these will be fine, but there are lemons out there and they are usually private sales with no come-back upon purchase.  The more you look, the more you will be able to spot where a compromise has been made with a van. ( note: if the advert has only 5 photos attached.... there is probably a good reason)

eg. Things like revolving 'captains' chairs up front are great and make a camper much more usable, but they are an expensive add on to a DIY build and you will find the constructor have kept the original cloth bench seats with no frills to keep in budget. As soon as you sit in another van with fancy chairs... you will want them.

... and remember if it has been built by a third party then you will not have a overall "user-manual". It will be literally built up from bolted on parts.     This may become an issue when you try to fix an internal problem like electrics or plumbing.... who knows what craziness lies behind those lovely looking cabinet drawers.

Vans at the moment seem to be priced at  £20K+ regardless of anything !!!!.... so make up a tick list of what you want and wait until it comes up.

( sods law it will be on the Isle of Wight !!).

So.... the solution,   we went for a factory built VW California. ( 11 years old  80,000 miles).  Well thought out, well equipped, well looked after.... as you would a Takahashi.

Pricey.... yes, but no nonsense quality. 

Hope this helps ... and good luck.

Sean.

@Macavity Does it have a NAME yet?

Informally it is known as "the Bear" or " the Brown Bear" .   So the picture shows the Bear under the Great Bear.   Others have called it "Yogi"... which works.... or the "Mystery Machine".

@maw lod qan   What's the chance a meteor would come along at the right moment?

Since I was lying in a ditch for 30 mins trying to get the right exposure and composition...... err.. not as amazing as it at first seems...   but I don't tell people that.

@JeremyS  Looks like you will have lots of super camping trips ahead 👍🏻

- Here's hoping.  Might have to visits some castles as a compromise.

@RobertI  with envy as I huddle under my £130 paper thin tent

- I've done enough camping for a lifetime.  Headroom and the ability to move on quickly is a gamechanger. .. and my back suffers without deerskins and cushions.

@happy-kat Could watch that view for hours

- I did with a few Pimms.

@clarkpm4242   I cycled past there (and you?) about 8 ish this morning!

- Small world. Good effort around those parts, it aint flat. Your pictures of Swaledale were part of the reason we thought a van was the way ahead for walking and astro.  So thanks.

@FenlandPaul  I suspect you’re going to have a lot of enjoyment from that van!

- Already started.

@Giles_B     I hadn't thought to put a camper van on my astro wishlist

- Is does equate to a lot a great gear, but it  opens up a lot more international ventures / dark skies / eclipses....etc....  

Thanks for the comments everybody.  The adventure begins...  keys in, second star to the right, and straight on till morning.....

My partner and I took the plunge in August and bought a campervan.  As well as extended foreign travel it will open up more opportunity to journey out to remote sites and enjoy low Bortle number skies..

This weekend we went up to Tan Hill Inn ( the highest pub in the UK).  Essentially a walking trip but I could not resist taking a tripod and compact camera to christen the new vehicle with a portrait or two.

20sec exposure Canon G7X  at ISO 1600. F1.8

That's the A66 in the background, a meteor a bit further away,  and Ursa Major even further.

The skies were impressively dark. The pub was busy and was lit up, so we found a good layby about 1/4 mile around the bend.

They were serving a very nice brew named "Dark Skies Stout". Thought more than one may prove detrimental to handling camera gear in the dark.

As well as the Milky Way, we had a rising blood red Crescent Moon and flashes of thunder storms out over the North Sea.   Just wish I had brought more gear... maybe next time.

Sean.

That is quite something to behold.  Well done.

" the Chianti database "  !!

🤩🥳

.... more double stars observed this year...  12% increase.....

Guessing  that it will be a psychedelic outcome if at all possible  ( whatever the reduction  0.63 x 0.63 ~ 0.4x ).

If it could be done well, somebody would have described it.

There is a thing called a Night Owl  ( Starizona) that does 0.4x    ( https://starizona.com/products/night-owl-4x-sct-reducer-corrector )

3 hours ago, The60mmKid said:

This is a "why do you monoview" thread.

Tell me, please...

I only have one fully functioning eye.  So I'm mono all the time.

That Bahtinov mask could double up as a clothes airer   😉

Hello from Yorkshire, UK.

What beautiful skies you have in the mountains between Italy and Switzerland.

This is a picture I took from high up in the Arolla valley.

These are fun to do. Good luck.

I was pleased with the results I got.

This was Sept to March.

Very nice capture.

Is that Mars photo-bombing the bottom left  ??

Astro-art  ......  Art of Astro-photography

A non-standard representation  of an astronomical phenomenon captured by camera. 

OR .... Using artistic techniques to create a visually striking image of an astronomical phenomena

eg.   alternative crescent Moon....

I certainly saw more stars when I told my other half about "the next purchase".....

I would go with dew as well, especially if you take the scope or reducer from a warm house and take it into coolish Spring night.

The camera would be the first port of call to check  ( the chip 'window')   but the reducer might have at least 4 surfaces that could mist.

1 hour ago, gorann said:

I have to admit that I have not used it yet since my RASAs appear to have kept their collimation. Now I have lost astrodarkness so it will not happen for a while. Sorry!

No problems.    I see that you can buy them from RV Optics.    Might give them a ring and see which ones best for my 6" RC.   Worth a go.

Sean.

Hi Goran,

It's been over a year since I posted this question / discussion.

Did you have any success with the Tri-Bahtinov  ??    Would you recommend it over other methods ??

Cheers,

Sean

M13   with a touch too much  Topaz and NoiseX .....

2 hours ago, niallk said:

It's not visible on Gong, but defo worth a look!

The Big Bear site daily animation shows some similar activity on the upper limb.

https://gong2.nso.edu/products/scaleView/view.php?configFile=configs/hAlpha.cfg&productIndex=5

5+ billion dollars to charitable causes is quite a legacy. 

I tell my pupils at school about this law, but alas I do forget who said it.  Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Indeed.

One thing which irks me ( especially on a dark night ) ... is not knowing if a fitting is M42, M48, M56, T-Thread, SCT thread .... or the fifteen other variants.

A small cost improvement at the manufacturer would be to emboss/ label some form of indicator on it.  Then as a minimum at least I can sort them out into some form of order.

Thanks @Philip R.

Makes everything a lot easier if the scope has standard fittings.

Sean.

Hello everybody,

Hoping somebody might have an answer to this one.

A student at the school where I teach has got himself a Celestron Astromaster Newtonian.... like the one shown below...

He has had a spot of bother setting up and understanding polar alignment etc, so I have decided to help him out and lend him a few accessories.

Does anybody know what the eyepiece diameter is on the focuser ?  (  I would guess at 1 1/4 inch ..... but it could be a unique one-off gauge).

and

is the red-dot finder sat on a normal finder-shoe base  that a 8x50 finder scope would fit onto.

Thanks for any info.

Sean.
 

AP  equivalent of an Oscar.

Well done.  Great image.

Design classics  ?? !!