Captain Scarlet

This was my Orion-Helmerichs 200 newt on Skytee2, after Mars’ occultation but before re-emergence. Quite incredible the image-stabilization and quality of mobile phone cameras these days. They were 2-3 second handheld exposures! Magnus

… and the re-emergence. I missed the actual moment this time as it was a bit further round than I was looking at 170x, but I saw it just after it’d lifted clear. The seeing much worse than the for occultation an hour prior. Back to bed now. Magnus

Yes about the same, I m about to check up in more detail

Amazing! Mars occultation. Best ever view of Mars too. Orion/Helmerichs 200 newt with Delos 6 and PC2. Disappeared about 10 minutes ago, I await the reappearance! Magnus

Just disappeared for me this minute. Omg incredible. Best I’ve ever seen mars too! One hour to re-appearance. Magnus

Something that got overlooked from my recent sister-in-law cross-border delivery, so she simply posted it instead. I really like the Baader finder shoes: Magnus

I use three types of focuser: a Feathertouch Crayford on my 105mm refractor; a Feathertouch SCT microfocuser on my Skymax 180; I have three Baader Diamond Steeltraks: one on each of my newts and one on my Intes 6" Mak. I've measured them all to be able to ascertain how many turns I need to defocus by, say, 10 wavelengths. Their linear-travel-per-full-turn are as follows, with the numbers given being in fully-reduced mode. The coarse modes are x10 ish in each case, I think. Feathertouch Crayford: 1.7mm per fine turn Feathertouch SCT microfocuser: effectively 3.0mm per fine turn (i.e. 3mm movement in focal plane per fine turn, as it's the mirror that gets moved). Badder DS: 2.1mm per fine turn Hope that's helpful, Magnus

Oh no! What is it about Helmerichs tubes? With mine I spent ages carefully calculating taping marking and measuring. And then I used one of the spider holes as centre for the 80mm focus hole 🤦‍♂️ . My solution was to change ends and use my new huge hole as a mirror access/vent. Magnus

I have to say, Dave, those are the finest-looking collimation-locking bolts I have ever seen 🤣🤣. Where did you get them, I seem to be missing a few 😁

Yes thanks. If I choose my sacrificial eyepiece correctly, ie with a focal plane within the nosepiece, I can operate just on the nosepiece and have it detached when I perform the surgery. It won’t be an Ethos though 😁😁

Brilliant well done. I have several eyepieces or nosepieces I wouldn’t mind doing a bit of surgery to, so I might attempt an occulting set-up myself. I’d always assumed without looking it up that those two moons were out of reach to amateurs. A nice little project-let for me. Cheers, Magnus

After 3 months in transit via various family members and across a couple of borders I finally received these: an OO cell for a 300mm mirror to go into my Helmerichs tube replacing my old SW 300p cell; and a 50mm elliptical flat to replace the 63mm one in my 200mm newt, taking its CO from 32% to 25%. Lots of tinkering to come… Magnus

… after my lamenting that the skies hadn’t lived up to forecast, I finally went out last thing to pack it all up and lo-n-behold it was clear! I decided to stay out while it lasted and managed Jupiter with a definite dark patch in the middle of one of the bands, but seemingly not the GRS; Mars with some dark features, Uranus clearly a bluish disc, M42’s Trapezium with just a momentary glimpse of the E and finally as the dew was intruding Sigma Orionis but no C this time. All at 151x with my Intes M603 and Tak LE 12.5 . Nice session, Magnus

Supposed to be clear tonight so I set up my 150mm Intes Mak. The 12” would have been out but it’s disassembled in advance of fitting a new OO mirror-cell. However, the forecasts LIED, in fact low cloud, so all I managed was a collimation test on distant radar-dome lights and some images of Poisson Spots:

From Suiter 2nd edition p23: … and from my own 6” Intes Mak just now: IMG_1116.MOV Elseqhere in the book I recall discussion where certain circumstances yield a vivid bright red spot, and I have observed it, but I can’t immediately recall where or how. Magnus PS the bright objects are a set of radar-tower warning-lights on top of a mountain about 16km from me. Extremely convenient non-moving objects for collimating!

I can’t see a spot in your images, but what you describe might be what I have read as (and actually seen through a scope) “Poisson’s Spot”, a diffraction artifact. It can sometimes be bright red from a white point source. Cheers Magnus

Yes you’re right. My thinking was that because the focus-tube intrusion is a solid edge (rather than a thin stripe) it would be brighter shorter and dirtier than the vane-spikes and therefore make them less noticeable. Having said that I don’t think it’s the culprit. A couple of extra questions: do you wear glasses whilst viewing, which might be fine-scratched in one or more predominant direction from habitual wiping? Really grasping at straws here. It’ll be most interesting to see some star images. M

Very odd. Intrusive mirror clips would produce 3 spikes not two and should not overwhelm the 90 degree ones from the spider. The only thing I can think of is that a protubering (I just invented a word!) focus tube would produce a noticeable spike, and if there is a straight edge on the secondary mirror-silvering at just the correct angle, that might do it. Every non-super-premium secondary I’ve seen has such a straight edge, from where the mirror is held during coating. Can you show us a photo of your primary clips as seen from the secondary? I’m intrigued. Magnus

Could you also maybe show us a photo of your main mirror taken from the open tube end? Cheers, Magnus (another one )

I had a carbon-copy of that just tonight. An entire day of violent VIOLENT squalls rolling in one after another: hail, thunder, lightning, 50-60mph gusts, a power cut. And then, around 1030 it all stopped, the sky cleared and I had to get at least a pair of bins out. Almost the same target list as yours, wonderfully restoring for a few minutes. Magnus

Another word of warning about binoculars being a sensitive topic. I went to Oman a few years ago and upon producing my Leica Trinovid 8x42s, I was asked "do they contain batteries?". They did not, but he told me that had they contained batteries, he would not have let me bring them in. The risk being rangefinders/military use I guess. My recommendation for a very reasonable but excellent pair of bins would be Meade Rainforest Pro 8x42. I've looked through them and they are very good. Magnus

Sudden evening rain squalls prevented any proper prior set-up tonight but it was forecast and actually became clear but very windy, so I sat out after midnight on my sheltered side with my Zeiss 15x56 bins. I promised myself I'd go back in on the first meteorite, which I gave up on around 12:30 after none turned up. Then just as I opened the door to go in, Whoosh! from zenith to West. I enjoyed Orion; the Pleiades; the "S" around Mintaka; I Iooked for M1 Crab which I've seen through these bins before but not this time, I wasn't sure of the location; I noticed the Beehive become naked eye first time this season; Meissa ("Luger" asterism in my own parlance); I hunted around for M33 having forgotten where it was for a while then eventually found it, and in the process noticed a nice Open Cluster and bright wide double near Triangulum which I later ID'd as NGC 752 and 56 And. I finished off with M81/2 and just about found M51 in the lower-down murk. Nice session with bins, same tomorrow without the rain or wind apparently so I hope to get my Helmerichs 300mm out for the first time in 3 months. Magnus

That last photo ... Intes M603? I have one which I restored. Lovely scope. Magnus

Space wouldn’t be the only constraint: you’ll need shelf reinforcement too! I have a set, but need to dig it out of storage. M

… currently for sale on that popular auction site. One an old gold-tube offered for £600 and the other a newer one with start bid at the same level (having progressively reduced it over successive re-listings after no interest). Not mine I hasten to add, I’m keeping that! Magnus