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Silent Running

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Everything posted by Silent Running

  1. Amazing! I was fairly delighted to get barely perceptible smudges of M101 and M51 with my refractor last night. Reading your and others reports, I am starting to understand the allure of large Dobs...
  2. Thanks, it felt fantastic just being able to see M101 and M51... even though of course no structure visible. Looking forward to more
  3. Living in lockdown like everyone else, I haven't been able to return to my work in the Middle East. All my astrophotography gear is over there... so frustrating when the last few nights have been so clear. Luckily I had a refractor scope in the attic and put it on an alt-az mount. No motor, but I do have Nexus digital setting circles. Fortunately i have a binoviewer and a pair of 8-24 zoom eyepieces. I downloaded an e-copy of Stargazing in Suburban Skies from the Patrick Moore series, and decided to try and work my way through it. Armed with these i have been rediscovering the joys of observing from my Bortle 5/6 back garden on the edge of Glasgow. Although the Clear Outside app gave heavy cloud cover, the reality was a gorgeous crystal clear night... but cold. Starting with the gorgeous crescent Venus at dusk, I spent a long time looking at a Planet I had never really studied before. I concentrated on the circum polar regions mainly. I really enjoyed simple things like splitting Polaris, Alcor/Mizar group, Castor and Archid in Cassiopoea. Then a few star clusters in Cassiopoea and Perseus. NGC 457, the Double Cluster, alpha and the nearby Muscle Man Cluster. Sadly, zoomed out to 24mm (magnification x34) was too much to see the whole figure of the stick man. And my favourite, the Owl Cluster... many of these I had never seen before. With rising ambition, I homed in on M51 and M101 expectantly. With averted vision and slight movements of the scope, I could make out faint nebulosity in both galaxies. They were at the edge of perception given the LP. M51 was slightly more prominent. I hope there will be more nights as clear as this. Clear skies and keep well everyone.
  4. Hi Gerry, Please do keep reporting. We all need distractions from the current situation in order to maintain our mental health, which contributes to a better functioning immune system and therefore reduces our chances of transmitting infection Now with flights cancelled, I'm 'stuck' back here in Scotland and couldn't return to my work in Saudi Arabia. One has to try and see a kind of silver lining I suppose. Only problem... most of my astro gear and all my imaging stuff is over there in Saudi. Actually I do have a 5" refractor up in the attic, which I've not really used yet, which was waiting for my final return from Saudi. Although not in your big scope league, I will try and get it up and running for visual use. Clear skies, Jo
  5. Hi John, Welcome to SGL. Wow you've made quicker progress than me. I love your image. I must try harder! Clear skies, Jo
  6. Hi, I enjoyed hearing about your early progress. You begin with one thing... phone app... binoculars and become quite expert in a small way, then branch into something new, and find you're back on the bottom rung of a new ladder, and it's the same story again and again with the steps always beckoning upwards and onwards... I guess this is the joy of our infinite hobby. There will always be something new for each of us to discover. I keep making new 'discoveries' at my basic level that I'm sure are so obvious and familiar to the old hands here. But everyone is so supportive of your steps along the way, and I think relives their own discoveries in reading your account. Enjoy your voyage to the stars...
  7. What a fascinating thread. I am feeling inspired. I haven't so far had the chance to look through a large dob, and can't quite imagine seeing the HH neb with my own eyes. Looking forward to more reports...
  8. Thanks for info and opinions. I guess it will be a little while before I can justify more gear!
  9. Congratulations on the purchase. I have a 32mm TV Plossl also second hand at great price and am hoping to find a 25mm.... Actually I think you made a big mistake, are you sure you really want yours? I could offer a good home Clear skies!
  10. Hi, I would be grateful for some up-to-date advice. I'm wondering about going for a dedicated Solar telescope. I wonder how the long term solar hands feel currently about Lunt 80 or 100 single or double stacked versus an F8 100mm apo with say a Quark Chromosphere (or even a front mounted etalon!). Is a consensus emerging. I have read that some people found a lot of internal reflections with the double stack Lunt 100, and preferred the 80. I should say my current experience is with my Tak FSQ85, with a front ERF and Quark which I borrowed. I know its not the ideal setup but I got some OK images. Any advice would be welcome Clear skies
  11. Re: True FOV v Apparent FOV again

    Hi digital_davem,

    Out here in the Arabian desert, one can feel a bit astronomically isolated! I was out camping in a beautiful area of rocky and sandy desert last weekend. Amazing because recent rain had led to a brief sprouting of grass and the Bedouin had brought their herds of camels into the area to graze. I set up my small refractor on top of the huge dune we were camping on only to see clouds beginning to obscure the view!! Out here, clear skies are the norm, (but you do have to be careful when the wind whips up the sand and dust). I did get some nice views of Jupiter at least. A (photographic) friend queried when I explained that I was changing to an eyepiece with wider AFOV. I trotted out the stock answer about the difference between TFOV and AFOV, but quickly ran into difficulty when he persisted in asking why!! French philosophers used to say if you keep asking why about six times (or ten... can't remember!) you always run into God!!!

    I loved your questioning thread on this topic a couple of years back... By the end, I think you were theorizing that a telescope objective optic (lens or mirror) may produce a maximum illuminated circle. That the real difference between EPs with different AFOVs was how much of this maximum illuminated circle they could usefully use? With better quality (more expensive) optics and size, their field stop could be set wider giving the wider fields of view? Did you ever get to the bottom of this? Could you summarise your current understanding of the 'real' difference between TFOV and AFOV for us relative newcomers who still struggle!

    Thanks again

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