Sunshine

4 minutes ago, Jasonb said:

Great idea for a thread!

Given that I'm a complete newbie to this hobby, I'll be able to take my picture next week when my telescope arrives! 😀

Thats exciting, cant wait to see! i recall loosing sleep waiting for delivery of a 4.5" reflector my dad ordered for my birthday.

1 hour ago, Debo said:

My first big scope was this 10'' from Astro Systems.

I don't have a photo of me but do have this one of the scope accompanied by my son (taken in March 2000).

You know you’re a serious amateur astronomer when your child can comfortably fit inside your telescope.

Well, just like the OP I don’t have a picture of myself with my first scope back in 1986 but, I do have a “first” picture of me with my telescope.

Telrad and that little bulb that blows dust off mirrors and such, THE Tetrad is a reliable workhorse and theres something satisfying about squeezing that rubber to blow dust off stuff.

Welcome!

Fantastic image, the hours on Ha really paid off as those regions really pop.

Beautiful!

Incredible images as usual!

20 minutes ago, MarsG76 said:

AAAAAWWWW dont try and kill my hopes 😉

I'm not talking about re activating or adding heat.. I'm saying that science has no clue about what really inside a planet, they're only educated guesses which a constantly updated... even on earth, the deepest man has drilled into the crust is about 13km... below that it's all seismic echo interpretations... and when they basically say that between the crust and core "it's mostly the same stuff" than i'm skeptical.... and hopeful to see Olympus mons explode in my eyepiece during my life time.... call me gullible, meh.. than I'm gullible...

 

I totally understand, if you knew how much time I spent at the eyepiece glaring at Betelgeuse waiting for it to blow, you would say I’m just as gullible haha.

On 21/11/2020 at 11:36, Drifter said:

Remember this vapour plume on Mars?

No eruption that time either unfortunately. There is seismic activity ... so possibly one day Mars might reawaken??😄🤔

 

First off, your images are amazing, such detail.

I don't think it is possible for any planet which is largely geologically inactive to suddenly become more active. Geological activity such as volcanoes, shifting of crust etc are driven by heat within a planets core or, gravitational forces acting on the body therefore creating friction and heat. In the case of mars it does not suffer such gravitational forces enough to cause enough friction.  If it were geologically active enough to cause active volcanoes in present time it would have to be due to internal heat and upheaval which so far hasn't been enough to cause such violent phenomenon as volcanoes. Mars has cooled to a point where it has passed that phase in it geologic history, any recurrence of such events would have to involve a reintroduction of heat which (i am not a geologist) but, i cant see how that could possible happen. To clarify, i don't mean Mars may not have enough stored heat for a volcanic eruption, what i mean to say is if Mars were inactive, it cannot suddenly reawaken.

if i am incorrect  feel free to weigh in and school me., anybody out there. 

Those are WIDE field views! amazing images, I too am curious as to which 180mm lens.

Thanks for pointing that out, it fascinating having looked at the Pleiades a thousand times yet I had no idea there was a most distant galaxy tucked away in the FOV. This must be the case with every object as much more distant galaxies litter the background of most objects but, to see it here is wonderous.

There’s something special about the Pleiades, the mostly uniform cool blue of its stars gives the Pleiades an almost mystical aura about those sisters.

Looks like a wonderful scope, I would love to have a closer look at Vixen fracs, I hear their older fluorite models are somewhat legendary.

1 minute ago, Jasonb said:

Thanks for your advice. I'll definitely look up Turn Left at Orion. Yeah, I've been learning a bit about Focal Lengths etc., stuff I haven't heard since university!

A pleasure to have you with us! maybe search up the 130P on YouTube for some hands on advice, it is a great resource. Have loads of fun discovering this great hobby! 

Having a view of Polaris certainty helps, as you mention SkySafari is a great tool for navigating the night sky. Do you have any books for amateur astronomers like “Turn Left at Orion” I highly recommend this book for beginners. You need not worry too much about having a pile of accessories/eyepieces off the start, two or three eyepieces, a moon filter and Skysafari will have you on your way nicely. An FYI when calculating the power of a particular eyepiece, you divide the focal length of the scope (650mm in your case) By the focal length of the eyepiece you’re interested in.

ex: if you’re buying a 10mm eyepiece, to determine its magnification in your scope just divide 650 by 10=65x magnification.

Welcome to SGL! i am sure someone here will have experience with the scope you mentioned above and will assist you with what you may need to start.

Nice scope!

I just love this image of M45, usually i am on the fence about diffraction spikes but, they seem to make this image. Beautiful contrast and, noise seems to be very well controlled, a wonderful image.

Those spikes give it a mystical look which is very pretty.

WOW, very beautiful! which begs the question I've asked before, is there no end to imageable nebulae up there? it seems every time i open SGL theres a nebula i haven't seen before.

Welcome to SGL!  congratulations on your first scope, it is never late to join in this great hobby. In your post you mention it comes with moon and sun filters, is the sun filter a front mounted solar filter made of a thin membrane?

I ask because some older solar filters which fit on eyepieces should NOT be used.

Gorgeous!

As mentioned in this CN post regarding the same issue, the screw i would suspect adjusts the friction should be near the middle of the focuser bottom, i have never encountered a friction adjustment screw off center (at least that I have seen before). Below is a link to the post, have a look at it.

Sky-Watcher Esprit 80 focuser is kinda loose - Refractors - Cloudy Nights

 I have had the same issue with my 115 Orion eon when using heavy eyepieces pointing near zenith, i have discovered a small screw under the focuser which adjusts  tension/friction. By turning this screw inward slightly I was able to stiffen the focuser, it is a fine line between stiffening the focuser and, snagging the fine focus where it slips. Maybe the Esprit may have such a screw under the focuser? there must be.

Spying the moon through thin clouds on a surprisingly warm November night through thin clouds.

That is just beautiful!