Sunshine

I too love the seagull in the Cak image,  great images!

28 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Tessa’s night out tonight (Tak TSA120 + AZ100 + BB Uni 28)

That scope/mount/tripod combination are all anyone could want in a setup of this size, the best of everything on display here. If I could go back and visit Galileo I would bring him this setup, imagine that!

With all eyes on JWST it is easy to miss other NASA projects in the works, one in particular is the Roman Space Telescope set to launch some 3-5 years from now. This telescope is geared towards dark energy studies and has an interesting way of visually acquiring exoplanets in the overwhelming glow of their parent stars. In the link below you can see a video (scroll to bottom for instrument videos) which explains the coronograph, a rather complex bit of hardware which uses adaptive optics but in a different manner than usual. This telescope will have an incredible FOV comparing to Hubble, one hundred times larger.

https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery-videos.html

It's beautiful!

Going to be nice and clear overnight! and -33 so no way I’ll be out, brilliant.

I love them, they’re very realistic! and there’s no crying involved like when doing AP 😂

It's huge! just that secondary mirror catches more photons than my refractor can 🤣 I would love a peek at M13 through this beast.

While I have my refractor on an alt-az mount which has its own tripod it freed up my GP mount for a last min wide field setup I put together on a whim. Using a spare Vixen dovetail I secured my Manfrotto ball head with a screw I ran out for at the local hardware shop. For longer exposures I have an RA motor which tracks fairly accurately for short durations, a few min assuming my tripod is level and polar alignment is good which I’m a stickler for. It is balanced well but I just have to remember never to loosen the DEC knob cause the camera is not balanced on the DEC axis.

this may not be the lightest and most practical mount for this but I do like the slow motion controls for making adjustments to composition. Wish me luck!  😂 now I have some time to start my journey into wide field then hopefully DSO’s later as I gain experience with this little setup. Suggestions are not only welcome but encouraged 😃

21 hours ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Thanks Sunshine, much appreciated. Difficult during the winter as the sun is so low at the moment but there are moments of good seeing.

Any chance you are having a peek at the sun this morning? a poster on CN says the sun has numerous proms this morning, like ten or so, you immediately came to mind as the SGL sun whisperer lol.

I think I’ll name mine Cleopatra, she wants only the most expensive accessories which is straining but if I let her go I’ll forever be filled with regret thinking I’ll never find another like her.

4 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

Yes? And?

Easy, We’re not judging, we’re just as crazy about our refractors!.

ah I read this wrong lol, interpreted as you named all your refractors and were challenging any judgement haha, you mean you’d like to know the names. 
 

my bad

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

Not new. Had DZ since late 2020. 
The TSA 120 is having a rest inside 

Gotta let the littl’uns play from time to time 😊

This is an interesting thing that you have your 120 inside and are using the 100, I say this because if I had a 120 I could not ever see myself using the 102, especially considering how close they are in weight and size. Being a photographer I could never bring a small camera substitute to my large camera anywhere like a vacation or such, it’s just the way I am as strange as it may sound. Even on a short trip where a large camera would be cumbersome I cannot fathom using anything like a point and shoot pocket camera. It seems I would feel the same with a TSA120, I would be asking myself if I want to see less tonight, it is a silly way of thinking, I admit.

4 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Very true 🤣

My FS102 is about the same size as your TSA102. The 102 presumably a bit heavier due to the triplet. The build and weight I find to be reassuring 😊👍🏻

I do envy your 102 😊

Thanks, even though I wish it was a bit lighter and smaller, it does feel like its weight and size give it that heft which says "I mean business" 😂 that part I do like.

and I do envy your beautiful herd of Taks, they should invent a name for a herd of Taks, a Takle!

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

Funnily enough , earlier I was carrying an FS102 in one hand and and the FC100 in the other. The difference in dimensions and weight is remarkable 

Really! so many times I've seen the FC100 scopes online and had the impression they were quite a bit lighter and just smaller than my 102. Sometimes when carrying my 102 it reminds me of my Eon 115, quite similar in weight and size, what was Tak thinking? were they designing the TSA102 for military use? I understand a triplet weighs more in the front end.

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

The AZ75 looks promising too 

New? I'm clicking on their site pronto, astronomy kit will leave me on the street but I will be a happy man.

3 minutes ago, Franklin said:

With a 95mm diameter tube the FC100 is very dainty compared to other 4" scopes.

This I did not know, so the DZ is a fairly compact 100mm? this is great as I'm sure it weighs less than my 102, you get portability and performance in one package, can't ask for more.

Just now, JeremyS said:

Yes, that’s the BB UNI 28. I can carry the tripod +AZ100 combo in one go.

That's great, I have looked at an AZ100 online before as it seems to me the ultimate AZ mount with slow motion controls which my AZ lacks but it is quite a pricey mount.  

10 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Tak FC100 DZ + AZ100 tonight

It's deceiving, next to the AZ100 it looks like a 70mm, wow, beautiful setup on a berlebach no less!

Just WOW! is this image on Astrobin? it is stunning!

AP bits are usually very pricey, as mentioned above they tend to be cared for very well.

Superb images! the last three Calcium k (I think) are so sharp!

How about if NASA uses Hubble to take an image of webb, at least the back of its sun shield, if anything.

Just wonderful!

31 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

I love how, whenever they talk about latches on the live streams, they always add "it's like what you have on your bathroom door", just in case we weren't sure.

So that bit won't have eaten up much of the $9.7billion, then.

I’m not so sure I would want to live with people who would justify having such a latch on a bathroom door.

Almost deployed! just a few feet to go but its moving.

UPDATE: DEPLOYED!