Sunshine

Great shot!

Welcome to SGL!

Those are some beautiful scope, i am impressed.

I saw those on Interstellar, they're wormholes!

18 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

That’s quite some central obstruction.

It is a scary big central obstruction, agreed.

Well then let me take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for you selfless bravery during this most challenging time. Considering the risks people like you are taking, you really really are a hero, from all of us here at SGL I would like to whole heartedly thank you for your work, the world needs more like you.

1 hour ago, dan_adi said:

I know, they are expensive. They way I think is, life is short, I work hard, I can make it happen :). For me amateur astronomy is a way to relax, it’s fun, keeps me learning something new and cool about the universe. I need a change of scenary after a full days work in the intensive care ward. I wish I had more time for astronomy but unfortunately I also need to sleep. But after the minimum experience I have with amateur astronomy (just a merely 3 years) I am getting the refractor bug. If everything will go according to plan maybe in 3 months I will do a review of either LZOS 175 apo or CFF 185 apo (fingers crossed)

You’re a front line worker I assume?

25 minutes ago, dan_adi said:

This description makes me want a APO triplet. The more I read on the forums refractors seem to be almost frustration free, giving you more time to enjoy the stars. But I want a 7 or 8 inch one :)). 

Oh boy, a 7/8 inch apo, that’s a whole new level of bankruptcy right there.

7 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

Well the frac will be designed to be used with a diagonal so that's where your lack of out-focus is coming from. Could either use camera in the diagonal or use an extension tube? 

Great point, my mistake was I removed the diagonal and inserted the camera, thanks.

The postman delivered a nice eyepiece today. It’s exciting  because as I have discovered I have slight astigmatism I will be benefiting from greater eye relief for my low power eyepieces to accommodate glasses specifically for observing.

That is beautiful to say the least!

I'm a bit surprised an imager hasn't weighed in on this lol.

Tom Hanks handled it like a boss, i saw it all live on the big screen.

I love my 9mm Morpheus.

Auriga and Gemini were front and centre as i took my new (to me) Orion Eon 115 triplet for a parade across some open clusters of which there is no shortage between these two constellations. One particular and, pleasant surprise, was discovering a double which i hadn't seen before in Gemini, Wasat. Upon training the 9mm Baader Morpheus on this star i noticed a very small and tight double, the gap clearly visible. Using Stellarium i was able to confirm it as a double. Wasat seems to be a 3.5 magnitude star, i was curious as to the apparent magnitude of its close but much fainter companion but Stellarium didn't have that info or i was not paying attention. It seems to me that it is in the 6.5-8th magnitude range, regardless, it was pleasant to discover it for the first time.  Soon after, i was on the hunt for some open clusters, first of which was M37/NGC2099 which was a very pretty smattering of delicate stars, many were on the threshold of my visual acuity, i just love looking into clusters at these most delicate pinpoints at the very limit of my eyesight. From there i spent a good while finding M36/NGC1960, another beautiful sprinkle of stars, i found their colours were more easily distinguishable comparing to M37 who's stars seemed (to me) to be very uniform in colour.

Moving on through the heart of Auriga i spent another heck of a time searching for M38/NGC1912 (Starfish Cluster) which i found to be a less dense cluster than the previous two, very pleasing regardless. Soon after, i found myself searching out NGC1778 which i could not find, bummer, or maybe i had run across it and didn't know it, regardless, my eyeball was surely working overtime looking for some of these faint clusters. M35/NGC 2168 (shoe buckle cluster) was also pretty to look at, i wish it was warmer and, i was out under darker skies, my hands were getting cold, i couldn't pry myself from the eyepiece just yet. NGC 2158 was my next target, i may have been looking right at it but, it seems to be such a disperse cluster that it is difficult to identify unless one knows what they are looking for, regardless, it was a lot of fun trying.  One more before i decided to head inside was M44/NGC 2632 (Beehive Cluster) Unfortunately, my eyes could not discern Asellus Australis, nor Asellus Borealis naked eye which are key to finding the beehive, i wasn't polar aligned as Polaris was not visible from my vantage point or i would have given my setting circles a go, i was already ready to throw in the towel, fingers were numb.  It was a great time, won some and lost some but, overall it was a rewarding session, discovering a new (to me) double was the highlight of the night. My Baader Morpheus showed its value this night, the wide views were very nice and, good eye relief with no blackouts or other eyepiece shenanigans made for some great views. 

Gave Venus a go with the new refractor tonight, the 115mm 805mm FL Eon, using my old Neximage 5 which i used with satisfying results with my 15mm mak with much higher focal length. Unfortunately this camera does not jive so well with my frac, i didn't have enough travel on the focuser but, moving the camera out just a half inch did the trick and i was able to focus. Venus was very small, using a barlow was out of the question as i would have needed another 6 inches of draw tube to focus. I am assuming this is not the right camera for this scope, or, am i missing something? should i be using an extender tube before between camera and focuser to give me extra room for focus?. Also, is there a way to magnify Venus more without running into the  issue where i don't have enough focus travel?.

Very beautiful!! love the music from Interstellar, great choice of music.

Welcome!

That’s a sharp looking and well thought out little Mak, I’m sure you’ll have some fun with that.

keep us posted about first light!

Smashing moonshot!

Nice phone snaps! 

41 minutes ago, Dr Strange said:

Go with the carry handle. It makes a big difference! Seriously! Try it without it then try it with it...

I agree, i certainly would not swap out that carry handle, you will miss it.

Some truly phenomenal work here to say the least.

They are an awesome sight now, enjoy that, i have clouds clouds clouds over here.

How about contact lenses? I was wondering about this, so many use eyeglasses but, for us amateur astronomers glaring into eyepieces, wouldn't contact lenses be far more practical?. My astigmatism has never been an issue in daily life, I see very short  streaks coming off lights and things, nothing that has ever alarmed me. While looking into the issue for the sake of observing only, I do notice they do make contacts for astigmatism which seem to be disposable one day use type of thing. I will visit my eye doctor, if these contacts are an option then maybe I would only apply them on night when I plan to observe.