Sunshine

Well, the details are out for imagers to decide on, I love to hear opinions! 

https://williamoptics.com/wifd

23 minutes ago, jetstream said:

 

Thanks guys!

Lots to do here for sure if you love the outdoors- some might get bored as life slows down out here in Northwest Ontario. Last night I heated the wood fired hot tub up before going out observing. There was a raw, humid wind ripping down the bay into our place so after another great H130 session we headed for a fantastic hot tub.

And I must say the views from it laying in there and pitch black out, was out of this world. I stared up in amazement at the constellations knowing exactly where the objects were I just observed.

The sky never ceases to amaze me.

Oh! on my phone I can’t see where others are located when using the SGL app, if I had noticed you were in Ontario’s beautiful north I would’ve have understood why you have so much fun stuff to do. 😂

Fellow Ontarian here, I have spent so many years camping all around the beautiful North, enjoy!. Wait a min, wood fired hot tub? how? I just happen to be a service tech for a large and well known pool company, I have seen countless tubs (though they aren’t my specialty) but a wood heated one I would love to see!.

When I read about the trip to Namibia I had another one of those close the book for a moment and wonder, I tried to picture your surroundings, I can’t imagine what the sky must have looked like but I had fun imagining. 

That tripod…pierpod…tri-pier argghh

looks like it could handle the weight of my Toyota Corolla.

This is one I have never seen, it's interesting! 

6 hours ago, Paul M said:

Excellent review!

I've been following the discussions about this book, wondering what it's like. I'm now inspired to grab a copy

I really, really can't read for very long, never could but as I get older I'm done after a page at most. I just fall asleep! so books rarely get finished. But this book sounds like I might just stay awake! 

So long as there are pictures... 😂

There are no pictures, your imagination is called upon for this one, much more exciting.

Hi Kevin! I wrote a review of your wonderful book, I only wish I was a more talented writer, I hope I was able to do it justice. 
 

Recently I purchased a book on Amazon authored by our own @kev100 called A decade in stargazing, I love astro related books and I read quite a lot. When Kevin explained what the book is about I couldn’t resist, who wouldn’t want to read a decades worth of observing notes and adventures? I couldn’t wait. As soon as the book arrived I was laying on my sofa, book in hand. A decade in stargazing is not a long book, it is a relatively short read compared to the 600 page behemoths I’m used to reading, it’s 70 pages make it very attractive as not all of us have the time to dedicate to large books. 
 

A decade in stargazing is a whirlwind tour through twelve constellations and a myriad of wonderful objects adorning each one, I expected the typical textbook like descriptions of constellations and objects within, but what I got instead was a refreshing and personal tour. Throughout this book I felt as though I was not so much taking in information but was sharing in his experiences, waiting for the next constellation and what lies within. It’s times like this where I wish I was a more talented book reviewer, it’s difficult to explain why exactly I felt a connection to this book, Kevin not only describes the objects within these constellations but he lets us in on what makes them special, why they fascinate him, how many times he has tried and failed to see one before finally seeing it, and we share in the excitement when he finally saw what was so elusive. 
 

There were times when I found myself closing the book and pondering about what Kevin was describing, he would imagine what what the sky would look like to inhabitants of another galaxy, one so different from ours but colliding galaxies! or one with light years long jets shooting from a black hole at its core, what would their night skies look like? imagine. This is a book which was made by us, for us, what I mean is it is the conversation you’ve had with a group of friends in the middle of the night around a telescope, when we reminisce about our favorite objects, when we first saw them and how they’ve changed us. Before I drag on too long I would like to include a paragraph from the book which when I read it, I closed the book for a moment and wondered, a paragraph which basically sums up what amateur astronomy means to all of us.

“it’s truly the case that the social side of stargazing is as much a draw as stargazing itself. The shared sense of awe, and the technical discussions regarding the merits of this or that scope or eyepiece. But surely it’s the sound of human companionship, laughter and voices in the darkness, against a backdrop of the universe, that makes social stargazing so special” 

Could it have been said better? It doesn’t need to be, A decade in stargazing would make a great guidebook for any one of us, I will surely be taking it with me to Starfest this summer where I’ll have my dob under dark skies for a few nights. Oh, I forgot to mention about a new object Kevin brought to my attention, two for one’s! here is a man who lives for those objects which give context, those galaxies which fit within one FOV, I have never specifically searched for such pairs but I would love to see them. My memory fails me as I try to recall a particular pair but reading Kevin’s excitement at seeing pairs of objects in one FOV was palpable. 

Thank you for such a great book, Kevin. 

Nice report! sounds like there's no shortage of fun stuff to do around your parts, a big welcome back!.

Which 102 refractor did you have in mind? 

Wonderful detail!

Agreed, that's a wonderful full moon!

Great image!

8 minutes ago, guillaumetmt said:

It is certain that I will post the entire restoration with pictures

It would be amazing to watch the restoration as it goes, it really is a beautiful, classic looking mount/scope setup.

I’m glad you are finding info on your mount, it seems to be a top notch piece of engineering and it is beautiful to look at, I was sure pointing you to SGL would produce interest and answers. SGL is a special place and my home base, we hope you stick around and share in the great threads here. With a little TLC and maybe even some restoration work, you could have a beautiful collectors piece!.

Welcome to SGL!

Brilliant! I love wide field images like this.

Last nights session was hurried as clouds were on the horizon and getting closer, giving me an hour or so but in that hour I had a great time. Right away I trained my sights on M42 and the trapezium, it seems no matter how much I would like relish in whatever nebulosity a 4”er and good seeing will allow, I always just end up saying Meh, and reaching for higher power as I am strangely drawn to the heart of M42. It’s those E&F stars that I find fascinating, I love the challenge of looking for stars at the threshold of my refractor and eyeballs. Seeing was pretty good, it didn’t take long for my eyes to adjust and there were E&F stars, just barely visible but stable and unmistakable in my 5mm XW. 
 

Once I was satisfied with having seen the elusive (in a 4”) E&F stars I remembered a nearby double which I enjoyed many times before, Eta Orionis is a pretty double with it’s slightly smaller companion  being so close. A quick peek at SkySafari reveals this is actually a quintuplet system but the others are beyond the reach of any telescope, it seems. Some say that the smaller component of Eta Orionis appears purplish, I would have to agree! I have seen this star before but never have I noticed the slight purplish appearance of the smalller component, it was wonderful.

A hop and a skip nearby just a  was comet C 2022 everyone has been raving about so I just couldn’t pack up before seeing it, I have been so frustrated about two months of unrelenting clouds, combined with hype in the past week I was going to see this comet of I strained my eyes to the point of myopia. It didn’t take me long to find it, but I have to say that short of a tiny smudge with a pinpoint of light at its center,  I was happy to see it but I didn’t fall out of my chair.  Last up was Mars, just as the clouds were minutes away, Mara looked impressive for such a small dot it is. Mars displayed a wonderful orangy bronze-ish color that appeared so natural, I was able to see some faint surface detail but the planet is so small,  I could have totally Percival Lowell’d that observation. 😅 by now I decided to head inside and be happy with my first session in weeks, have to take what we can get and be happy.

An enjoyable read, what a session! those are few and far apart but when they happen it’s bliss, trinity is beautiful!

8 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

Starfield 102ED F/7 (FPL-53 doublet), on an AZ4 with EQ6 tripod.

Baader T2 Zeiss prism a with Stellalyra 30mm UFF in it.

All set and waiting for tonight's forecast cleariness.

Edit: Reader, it was not clear. 

🤣 I can see your head dead center in the objective, I heard of a star test but never a head test! Looks like you’re collimated perfectly!

19 minutes ago, markse68 said:

Trying out new astro-stool. Very comfortable 👍

 

With a stool like that who needs a telescope!? 

First decent night in weeks!

11 minutes ago, Nakedgun said:

~

That is a nice instrument, no question.

I sold mine after getting the FC100DC. I sold-off my larger, heavier scopes some years back. No more triplets.

 

 

 

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I have to agree with you about the weight, it is a surprisingly heavy 4" scope.

In a recent post I said I would just as easily sell my 102 if another refractor came along and stole my heart. As fine as the other refractor may be, I believe I would sorely regret selling this 102, if Sarah knew the things I've said behind her back. 🤐

Congratulations! the Stellarvue 140 will be a beast of a scope, can’t wait to hear about first light and some images of that beauty! I have seen a lengthy YouTube video about Sky and Telescope visiting their facility to see their lens making process, it is impressive, they are definitely top tier.