Nyctimene

Replying to FAQ's, Hofheim Instruments suggest for their 12" traveldob, to go without the transport boxes in such cases. They recommend to take the primary, well protected in bubble wrap, into the hand luggage; and to store the mechanics, again without the transport box, in a well padded hard protective case. No measurements about the dimensions given; but you might contact them; very friendly and helpful people. Stephan

Hofheim Instruments offer a set of shortened tubes for their 12" f/5 traveldob, for use with a Baader binoviewer (+ correctors 1.7x or 1.25x). No bungee cords, but a additional counterweight needed; works down to 10° elevation. The price is in a similar range as the Sumerian Alkaid 12". Have a look (only German text available): http://www.hofheiminstruments.com/bino-stangen-set.html No own experience with the 12" (and of course, no affiliation etc.) Hth. Stephan

My first modern binocular (the Vixen Widefield SG 2.1x42 doesn't count fully, IMO) arrived yesterday - a Fujinon 7x50 WP-CF marine glass: Very solid build quality, easy to use with glasses, and giving excellent, bright and contrasty views in daylight and at night. Had a lot of fun with it, spotting the Pleiades, M 31, M33 (despite the bright moon close by), M 11, 13, 92, and cruising the Milky Way in Cygnus. Auriga clusters later on, as M 42 and 7789 (Caroline's Rose); finally the moon - tack sharp without colour fringes. I was impressed by the excellent reproduction of star colours. A very good acquisition for the special price of just 290€. With the central focusing, it seems to be a perfect allrounder binocular. Have to try this mounted. Hoping the buoyancy neck strap will serve me once when I should take up again sailing...;-) Stephan

The paper version is sold for 80€ by oculum; not too expensive, IMO. The field version was produced only for supporters of the crowdfunding project - 517 persons; the price was 180€. Stephan

Freshly released (Sept. 4th) and arrived today: the "Interstellarum Deep Sky Guide", a companion to the Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas (the same size; at the moment, in German language only) 1729 two-colour composites (blue-red) from the POSS II/DSS, 821 drawings, matched with the pages of the IsDSA, as shown below: Added are short descriptions, the localisation of the DSO's on the IsDSA (bottom-right corner); scale indicators (1 arc min) at the b.-r. corner of the POSS plates, recommendations of filters and magnifications. No data as magnitude, surface brightness, size etc. The very detailed drawings were made by Uwe Glahn and Ronald Stoyan (the publisher), two German doyens of Deep Sky observers, at large and very large scopes: I'm hoping for some clear nights during the new moon week to put the guide into good use. Later on I'll post a more detailed review. Stephan

Not at all; it's a very sophisticated product, developed by a group of avid stargazers, and it's build oozes quality (e.g. all fittings stainless steel)! A real joy to sit on, moreover for guests in outreach situations, or children. Good value for money. Stephan

One of my best buys 2012, the "Füssener Astro-Stuhl" in the magnum version: Extremely sturdy (Birch plywood and mountain ash (used for traditional sleighs)); the retailer, a man of heavy weight, has been reported to demonstrate it's stability by jumping up and down on the seat board put in the top position!), doesn't topple over; I'm seated safe and comfortably in the highest position when pointing the 18" towards zenith. Easy to handle; you can change the height of the seat within seconds without looking and (it's well balanced) shift it with one hand. Stretched out (using the rope shown), it serves excellent for binocular or meteor observation. Folds down flat to 45 mm thickness, so easily to store and transport. Bought this from here (website in German only; of course, no affiliation etc., just a pleased owner!); https://www.intercon-spacetec.de/zubehoer/astronomie-zubehoer/stuehle/4889-ics-astro-stuhl-magnum-grau-hoehe-115-cm-beobachterstuhl.html at 248 Euro not cheap - but just the price of a better 2" eyepiece, and much more useful! Stephan

Peter, I guess, you have this in mind (and it still exists): https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=11&lat=6387596&lon=998499&layers=B0FFTFFFFFT With the toggle menu function (right top corner), you can enable the "SQM/SQC overlay and filters" menu, to find a lot of SQM/L measurements for Europe (and worldwide). You can also add your own SQM/SQM-L values by clicking the "tool" icon in the left top corner. The "+ SQM" box of the extended toolbar changes the cursor symbol; you then direct it to the measured area and click again. The menu that opens now lets you choose between SQM and SQM-L entries. Name, date, value and comment are asked for, followed by a verification. IIRC, it will last a few days, before the new measurement point will appear on the map. The SQM "down-up" way of sky brightness evaluation is a very useful tool, as it complements the satellite's "up-down" view displayed on the map. Hope this helps. Stephan

Read first before ordering.....; you will want to make an "informed decision", to avoid disappointment. Neil English's review (I linked you this before) is very informative (you can skip the paraboloid maths, as I did) If light pollution isn't an issue, I'd go for the Flextube version, because of it's compactness. The collimation, in my experience, stays spot on even after several extraction/retraction manoeuvres. And you can add a DIY light shroud anyway. The focuser slop can be cured easily with some PTFE plumber's tape. The Seben 8-24 mm zoom or one of it's clones (still within your budget) works well with the 130 P. Add (later on) a Baader 2,25x Barlow lens, and you can split double stars at 188x mag. You will be very pleased with this scope, as I am (Dobsonaut since 1986....;-) ) Stephan

Review of the Light Shield "Red Eyes XTRA Dark Cling" (Sirius Astro Products) Since using SkySafari, running on my two Sony Android smartphones, I was always annoyed by the amount of the grey-white LED backlight disturbing my night vision, even in Night Mode. Following the usual suggestions, I tried to block this backlight by using a deep red sheet of acryl, applying two layers. The results were not convincing, and I was always struggling with the stubborn sheets, when using the smartphone directly at the scope. About ten months ago, I stumbled across an article on the CloudyNights forum dealing with red light issues, and found a member's vote for the abovementioned light shield. There are two sizes available; a smaller size suited for cellphones (3"x5,25"), and a larger version for iPads and other tablets (6"x9"). Prices are affordable: 5,95$ resp. 13,95$. I at once ordered the smaller sheet directly from this website: http://www.siriusastroproducts.com/index.html Payment (by credit card) went without problems. Delivery (to Germany) was within a week, in a small extra envelope. I cut the sheet according to the display size of my Sony Xperia Z Compact. The soft and flexible vinyl material immediately clings (one side) to the display and stays there without slipping during use, even in a jacket's pocket. Yet it can be removed without any residues, and put on repeatedly without losing it's "clinginess". Fingerprints and dirt, which seem to impair the adhesive function slightly, can be washed away with water and some detergent, restoring the "clinginess" to it's default state. I'm using SkySafari Pro with my smartphones. For optimal function with the light shield, I switch to the Night Mode (which displays the toolbar comfortably), and adjust brightness using the smartphone's display settings. You can go down to very low (almost "Namibia-suited") light levels. Alternatively, there is an app: "ScreenDimFull" with even more functions available for Android. The light shield suppresses, contrasting to red acryl or SkySafari's Night Mode, completely any backlight (LED-) illumination of the display, which is of immense value, when observing faint, extended Deep Sky objects as galaxies and gaseous nebulae with low surface brightness. Even the typing of numbers and letters, when I'm using the "Search" function, highlights these now just in a somewhat brighter deep red colour (in SkySafari's Night Mode, they appear shortly black on white!); not really annoying. The display's sensitivity to fingertouch is in no way impaired by the light shield's vinyl material. During use, I almost forget the existence of the light shield. It clings unremittingly to the display; only during one cold night (-6° Celsius) it was within an hour slowly losing it's "clinginess" and behaved finally similar to an acrylic sheet (recovering rapidly in higher temperature). Within nine months of use, the vinyl surface has got some scratches, but they don't affect the view. The corners show a very slight delamination (about 1 mm), resulting in white light transparency, again not visible any more in the dark. At the scope, the combination of smartphone, SkySafari and the "XTRA Dark Cling Light Shield" replaces more and more the traditional paper atlases and maps (so my very nice collection is gathering dust....); but I still need the comprehensive description of objects and the drawings found e.g in the Night Sky Observer's Guide. Below a picture, comparing the"XTRA Dark Cling" (above) to a deep red acrylic sheet. Very recommendable! Thanks for reading Stephan

German amateur (semi-professional) Klaus Wenzel, Wenigumstadt, has been observing very successfully for more than 20 years DSO's and especially QSO's (at the moment, more than 100 visually!) from his roof observatory, which is fitted with a sliding window. He is equipped with a 16" Dob; the room is unheated. Contact: wenzel.qso@t-online.de Could be a solution to be considered... Stephan

Had a first look at Comet Lovejoy this morning (5.00 to 5.20 CEST) with my 80/400 frac. Slight haze, NELM about 5.0. With 50x mag, a small (about 4 arc min), slightly NW-SE elongated patch, DC about 5, the false nucleus could be glimpsed. Total mag about 7.2 (compared to HD 215445 nearby). No tail could be seen. A nice little visitor; hoping it will get brighter when approaching the sun. Stephan