glafnazur

Sounds good to me too

I've got one of the old blue tubes and for the price I paid I can't fault it. I use it mainly as a grab and go scope for double stars.

I'm getting that message every time I click on Unread. 

5 hours ago, Ags said:

Same here. I can - barely - make out the Hercules 'keystone' asterism on a good night.  Four nights out of five it is undetectable. It was easier a decade ago I think.

sadly I have to say it is the same here  

3 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

I am mostly a double star man I do look at clusters and planetary nebulas 

Same for me. I think I've only known one other member of my local astro society who liked looking at doubles,. For some reason or another most people just don't seem to like looking at doubles 🤔 

5 hours ago, DrMike said:

Thanks, but whenever I move house/flat they’re a [removed word] to pack, but I’m loathe to get rid of them. Some have been with me nearly most of my life, and they’re very good friends, so to speak. 

Great collection. I know what you mean by them being 'good friends '. I remember giving a book to a friend back in my teens and I regretted it straight away, since then I've never given away, swapped or sold another one, much to my wife's bemusement and consternation. 

My books hold so many great memories, it's not just about the content. My books tell a tale of when I bought them, who I knew at the time, and how my life was at that moment. I love books, you can keep you kindles, etc, give me a proper book 

7 hours ago, Naughty Neal said:

I did just that bought an eye patch , I found it so much more comfortable then keeping an eye shut.

I bought an eyepatch a few weeks ago. I've only tried it once but it definitely helped (once I'd got used to it. )

That's brilliant, really special  

Great shots, so many sunspots.

I started imaging mainly because of the ever increasing light pollution where I live. I don't drive and I am my wife's main carer so I don't have many opportunities to get to a dark sky. I take images (when I get the chance) so I can see objects that I have no chance of seeing visually at my location. I am not bothered about producing an APOD, I just get the satisfaction of knowing that I produced the image from my light polluted  back garden.

I like that a lot, nice one 👍

That's a good list, thanks for sharing. Reading through it, I think I should apply many of them, if not most of them 🤔 

From S@N mag

'A red torch enables you to check charts without ruining dark adapted vision. Red light torches help you see in the dark and won't spoil your night vision. As such, they are among the most important accessories in an astronomer's arsenal. A red torch must provide a dim red light that enables you to read.'

and from Astro Night Astronomy Torches website

'Human vision is produced with the help of Cones and Rods inside our eyes, cones for daylight and white light, while rods are used for low light and our night vision.

To preserve our night vision a red light is essential for your telescope accessory kit, the red light wavelength is hard for rods to absorb, and at this wavelength the cones will not be functioning which leaves the rods to work as normal and our eyes to stay dilated.

Within the rods and cones are photoreceptor proteins which differ in their sensitivity to different light colour and wavelengths, it takes time for these proteins to activate and absorb light in dark environments.

We want our eyes fully dilated and our pupils to allow as much light in as possible when stargazing, which takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes in darkness. At this point our eyes are at their optimum for night vision.'

9 hours ago, josefk said:

Small boxes have always got cheap things in them. 😂

TBH I am honest domestically it’s just that some things are harder to explain the need for than others “haven’t you already got…?”

I've heard that one more than a few times 

That's a fantastic image, it just shows what can be done at this time of year without truly dark skies.

I don't generally use filters for visual, although I did try an astronomik uhc filter on the Orion Nebula this winter and it gave me my best ever view. I've got an oiii filter but not had chance to try it our yet.

Fantastic images 👍

Good stuff, I really must try doing some sketching myself sometime. 👍

Super sketches👍

Lovely colours 👍

48 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

2-inch UHC filter and solar specs courtesy FLO

That's a great filter,  I had my best views of the orion nebula with mine last winter. 

Finally on Saturday 14th May we had a clear night on an evening I was able to stay up late 🙂 I had ordered a 12.5 Morpheus eyepiece in the May sale and it arrived that morning so I was eager to get out and test it. I had also recently received a Sky-Watcher SynScan WiFi Adapter and a Baader 2" Semi APO Filter, both of which I hadn't yet had chance to use.

I set up using my Skywatcher Evostar 150 on the EQ6 R Pro. Both are heavy beasts but I managed to get set up without putting my back out so result there 🙂 I aligned the finder and scope on a distant TV aerial and waited eagerly for the sky to darken. I attached the Sky-Watcher SynScan WiFi Adapter and as soon as a few stars became visible I decided to try and polar align using the polemaster. I was delighted to find that the Sky-Watcher SynScan WiFi Adapter connected without a hitch and I proceeded on. I was quite surprised that PA went so well considering I'd not been out with a scope for a few months. 

I attached the Baader ClickLock 2" DiElectric Star Diagonal and selected my ES Maxvision 2", 68° 28mm eyepiece and started a 3 star alignment. Although it seemed strange at first I found the Sky-Watcher SynScan Pro app very intuitive and got along with it almost straight away. My first alignment star was way, way out but the second appeared in the field of view and the third was practically in the centre. 

After alignment I selected Vega and attached another of my recent purchases, a Baader 2" Semi APO Filter. Viewing Vega there appeared to be very little CA 🙂 I decided to have a bit of a shootout between my LP filters, Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow Filter, IDAS LPS-D3 Light Pollution Filter and Optolong L-Pro Light Pollution Broadband Filter. 

I had great views of M57, M13, Epsilon Lyrae (the double double), Albireo, M92 and a few other doubles and clusters. Although there was not much in it I found that I kept going back to the IDAS D3 filter so that will be my preferred choice from now on. 

The only problem I had with the Sky-Watcher SynScan Pro app was a user problem. Around 11pm I helped my wife to bed and when I returned out I found that it had disconnected 😞 I was a little puzzled at first as to why this had happened then I realised that when I went in to help my wife I had left my phone in my body warmer pocket and it had reconnected to my BT wifi - Doh! 

Overall it was a great night, it felt so good to back out observing, the Morpheus 12.5 was pin sharp to the edges and I can see it becoming a firm favourite, and all the rest of my new kit performed as good, if not better, than I had hoped for 🙂 

Dave

Duplex Moon Atlas has just arrives from FLO, and at first glance it looks pretty impressive. It's ideal for me as someone who has neglected our nearby neighbour. I'm actually looking forward to viewing the moon  

that's excellent 👍 

I've just ordered a copy. I've neglected the moon somewhat so hopefully this will give me an incentive to view it more.