Stu1smartcookie

34 minutes ago, Bogmonster said:

Any tips or tricks on getting the best views? Or what time of the year is best?

Hi @Bogmonster... the "trick" with Mars observe it as much as possible . It doesn't give up its secrets too easily and is a difficult planet to view ( even more so now ) . Even at opposition  details were not that forthcoming on the planet , although with patience surface detail was apparent , but , when the planet is at opposition is the best time to view it . 

50 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

So much for the BBC's temperature forecast at 2°C minimum. I started the night at 4.6° and finished at -0.5°; minimum for last night was -2.6°...  One of the coldest April nights I've recorded.

Agree ... flipping freezing !! 

6 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Won't you bang your head where the Starsense is placed?. Nice scope by the way.

It would have been a problem but I angled the EP a full 90 degrees and it worked a treat . To be honest Ian I actually prefer the starsense on a dovetail but then I can only utilise one scope ( first world problems eh? ) The  brilliant thing about the starsense is that  it doesn't mind what scope it's paired with ( what a tart !!) I think I might go down the EQ route the same as you and add some motors for silent tracking as I found the SkyTee a bit clumsy . I suppose describing it as "industrial" just about covers it  

Clear skies mate 

Stu

8 hours ago, bosun21 said:

I gave the Starfield a short first light tonight. With the moon being so prominent and high it was the obvious first target, but I quickly slewed to the fast disappearing Sirius to check the optics on the scope. I focused and defocused to check the airy disc each side. All was well in that respect. When focused the star was suffering from atmospheric dispersion due to being so low. For this reason I moved up to Procyon to check for any CA. None detected. Now to the moon. I started off with the Morpheus 4.5mm for 157x. It was tack sharp and the terminator was stunning, at this moment i realised why I wanted to replace my refractor. I then upped to 247x with the 6.5mm Morpheus barlowed by 2.25x. I viewed both Clavius and Tycho respectively and the image remained sharp. I will need to get a 1.25" diagonal as I normally use a variable polarising filter when viewing a bright moon and this wasn't possible with the 2" diagonal I was using. I then caught the Beehive cluster which was nice, although a bit washed out. I quickly split Alcor/Mizar and Castor before I checked the ascending Vega for another CA check on the scope. Again none detected. I wrapped up with a quick look at M13. Whilst it was pleasant the outermost stars were somewhat washed out with the moons presence in the sky. For some reason my fingers are frozen while my feet are toasty hot. All in all I'm pleased that this Starfield is as sharp as my previous one. Time to break down my gear and make myself a coffee and cream.

Lovely report Ian ... Cold out there wasn't it ? But totally worth it . Tonight and Tuesday night is forecast clear . We are a hardy but incredibly enthusiastic bunch aren't we  

11 hours ago, Marki said:

Got no view to the west, so I've been enjoying some doubles in and about Com Berenices/U Major/Bootes. Tried to see some fuzzies, but given up and the sky is pretty washed out. If you can't beat it, enjoy it, so now I'm seeing how high I can push the magnification on the moon.... . Clavius is a treat in my LZOS 130/1200 . Hope you are all having fun too!

Me too , regarding no view  to the west ... Unless .... I set up at the front of the house which I rarely do because there  are numerous houses around . But Monday evening I'm giving it a go because most of the "action" in the sky is there. Targets will inclued Venus and I might have a small window to view mercury . 

So, the next three nights all forecast to be clear... Setting up the large and the small with another hybrid bracket for the starsense... Got to line everything up before darkness.. the wind has dropped considerably which is nice... Hopefully everything goes according to plan... Good luck to everyone setting up tonight.. we've earned these clear nights . 

Stu 

10 minutes ago, paulastro said:

Stu, I'm not trying to tempt you or anything, but I think I've seen a SW 200mm dob and a stellaLyra one recently, either here or on astrobuysell for good prices 😊.

I sold my StellaLyra on here ... so it was probably mine you saw for sale lol ... but i reckon i would be looking at a larger size maybe a 10" or a 12"

34 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Decided to get silly and popped in my SVBONY 3-8mm zoom

Interested in this EP ... seems its performing really well , nice one , and a nice report . 

Stu

9 hours ago, paulastro said:

Out with the Starsense Explorer 8inch from 7.45 to 8.10 when very threatening black clouds closed in. I went out for the Moon, just as well as nothing else was visible.

Clavius's W walls were snugly against the terminator, lovely contrast of light and dark patches and shadows along with some fine floor details.  Eratosthenes showed good detail under excellent lighting.  Not far from Clavius Tycho was very favourable, with the central  mountain coming out of the shadows and the W walls well lit with lovely detail in the terracing.    The E outer rim of Copernicus was just coming into sunlight on the terminator. It was nice to see the shadows starting to cross the floor of Plato from hills on the E wall also. Other features showing well included the Straight Wall and some of the rille systems close to the terminator.

I used my binoviwer, x2 barlow and 24mm Orthos giving x200.

Very enjoyable  despite the session being on the short side.

 

 

 

Very nice Paul ... i kind of regret selling my Dob , and now you are confirming it .. 😂.

On 27/03/2023 at 08:42, fwm891 said:

With the recent stretch of bad weather I decided to make a mount to aid PA alignment with my AZ-GTi which has until now been done with a 3way pan n tilt photo tripod. I’ve now taken the 3 way off and put the new one on…

This set up makes the skywatcher wedge llook like a toy  , fantastic . 

On 29/03/2023 at 00:52, paulastro said:

Great report Stu, I really enjoyed reading it.

It really doesn't matter if you move the scope a bit fast.  However fast you move it, when you stop the scope within the vicinity of the object it will take a pic and plate solve and you then just move the scope to the centre of the bullseye.

It will nearly always take well less than a minute, perhaps up to a minute if there's a lot of cloud or haze.  When you're used to it, you'll be amazed at the conditions in which it works - in some conditions not good enough for a visual finder.

It's a great feeling to know you will never have a problem finding any object - if its bright enough to be seen in your scope. You'll spend far more time observing than searching.

I'd love to see a pic of your scope with the SS 🙂.

Thanks Paul 

I wanted a computerised GOTO mount at first but because we have families with very small chidren on both sides of us i was worried about the noise that a motorised mount makes ... especially in the summer time when we (might) have warm weather and windows are open , so the Starsense has proved a game changer . 

@StevieDvd has printed another bracket for me so the starsense can now be fitted to individual scopes which will allow two scopes to now be used on the skytee . 

Oh , and another plus for the starsense is that it can be used with a non GOTO star tracker if its attached to the scope/camera  which will mean easily finding non visible targets , saving a lot of time . 

Stu

Our First clear evening for about 2 weeks saw the "real"first light of the 152mm Starwave on the SkyTee , along with the modified starsense unit . 

Aligining the starsense to the scope and RDF was a simple process that literally took 2 minutes . The starsense needs to be pointed at a clear sky , and it needs to "see" stars . That may sound obvious but i noticed it was almost 8;30 before the final callibration was complete ( Damn you BST ) . Once complete and the starsense had done its plate solving i slewed to the first target . I chose an easily visible one ( Mizar) just to make sure everything was working . Absolute breeze to use . One has to move the Scope or in this case mount quite slowly otherwise the starsense gets a little confused but the arrowed area remains and to be honest i found it soon caught up with my eagerness and speed . Right on target then ! The plus point for waiting for darkness was that the scope was cooled and ready to go ... a 6" frac does need a decent cooling time . 

Ok i went on to view a couple of other visible stars ... and then set about the challenge of finding some  dimmer objects . I had a northern , and sothern sky to aim at so M81 & M82 were next on the list ... straight to the target , no faffing about . The onto the Beehive cluster and then to M67 , which i had never seen before . I was switching between a 28mm EP and my "new" 18mm ortho EP . Finally i wanted to view the Leo triplet which was due south . My first ever view of these and a great sight . The thrill of seeing a small fuzzy patch will never wane . 

So , a successful evening all made possible by the starsense and the lovely Starwave . , Happy but a bit cold lol 

Stu

A nice post lady brought me this lovely EP courtesy of @F15Rules (Dave) . Really looking forward to using it tonight . I now have the 6mm, 10mm and the 18mm .  

12 hours ago, Stu said:

Lovely! One day I will buy one of those, in red of course. Biggest problem being the red! All my other scopes are white so look the same. As long as they don’t gather together in groups, few questions get asked. A red one though, now that would get some attention!! 🤣

Don't worry Stu , they all look the same colour in the dark ... having said that my Starwave has been sitting in our spare room on show instead of being under dark skies due to weather . 

It looks lovely on a white skytee mount . 

13 hours ago, Greymouser said:

Not from the postman, but went to a nice gentleman near Stoke and bought his rather lovely Starwave 152mm from him. Lovely telescope, nice to look at, ( to me, )  but his dog stole the show, a lovely border Terrier/ Jack Russel cross, who thought I needed a face wash! I need to get me a new dog!

I tried to get a shot of the lens, beautiful and a slight green tint...

Now I intend to do as @Stu1smartcookie has done and apply it to my SkyTee along with my Starsense. Maybe a lighter mount too.

I tried to resist this, even started a thread asking for help to avoid, but seeing this on ABS in as good as new condition, I couldn't resist. It Hardly looks like it has been used.

 

Maybe we can start a 152mm Starwave club  ... tonight is forecast (almost) clear ... sooooo looking forward to putting the starsense and this scope to the test . I have a dual fitment for the starsense so it can even be deployed in the finder bracket on the scope , but its a perfect fit for the skytee with the dovetail . 

Not the best scope in the world , but a very important part modified by @StevieDvd (part one with the second part to come ) a lovely starsense module robbed from an LT70 AZ .. just need a clear dark sky to finish the alignment, guessing that will be the most difficult part... The clear sky bit !

Early evening near Ely , Cambs looks promising. So I set up my az5 out front where Venus and our moon are making a fine pairing . Moon looks great in the 127 Mak but despite a counterweight keeping the tripod weighed down the wind is at its menacingly at its worst . I persevered for about 30 mins before giving up … that’s the problem , the first proper clear night for ages and the wretched wind spoils it . Zzzzzz  But it’s such a quick set up , I’m ready for the next opportunity. 

52 minutes ago, Grump Martian said:

Wonder what part of the country astro biscuit lives. It looks like London, but never sure. He does seem to be plagued with light pollution. I liked his video going to the countryside with his binoculars.

I really liked his early YT vids,  ... the funniest when he blurted out the cost of a scope and his wife heard . Priceless ... and something we all fear lol 

Actually , on a serious note .. his stuff was so engaging for people just entering the hobby and showed that astronomy doesnt have to be expensive .... where did i go wrong ?

1 hour ago, CraigT82 said:

I would absolutely love one of these to go on the AZ-EQ6 opposite the 102 f/7 ED.  Gorgeous scope 😍

i would love to use it Craig ... it seems  the weather gods didnt like me buying it 😂

Thought i might add a photo of my 152mm Altair Starwave ... Its a bit heavy at 9kgs but reasonably short (750mm ) with the dew shield retracted . 

Alas its only been on my SkyTee mount for two very brief sessions as the weather has been quite shocking ... still i like looking at it when its stored in our spare room 😂

What a great post ... many thanks Ags . Such an interesting world .Fascinating . 

42 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

Well it is the BBC !!  They're experts at that.

How very very true .

12 minutes ago, Carbon Brush said:

I had the Sony Betamax machine

I had the sony F1 which included a Betamax video recorder ( in two parts ... linked by a thick cable ) and the Sony F1 camera ( which was akin to the size of the old tv cameras .. but somehow listed as portable !!!!) My back still aches just thinking about it . Having said that Betamax was the better system but the power of multiple companies producing for the inferior/cheaper vhs market (spit) won out . 

I aggree , David , knowledge is now more easliy obtainable and the S@N has stood still , so to speak . Its become nothing more than an occasionally interesting watch , but in effect has become even more niche . The program should imo concentrate on attracting new people to the hobby , have a section on astro photography and one based purely on visual astronomy . 

A  real shame . 

On 20/03/2023 at 22:02, Space Hopper said:

I bet they are loving it out in Australia. And they might actually get to see the night sky !

Great ...for them ! But , no disrespect , whats the point of a program being made for a British audience , being filmed in Australia . Its a complete waste of our money . Far better to concentrate on  northern hemisphere skies, clear or not . Also they could revamp the program to include things that actually matter to ametuer astromomy enthusiasts . Thats why i like their monthly video on YouTube which gives us a guide to most of the interesting celestial events happening in the night sky . A very interesting 25 minutes . Its far better than the Sky At Night program , incorporating that into the SAN would be a worthwhile addition ., imo . 

As a keen "watcher of weather " ...even more so now , for obvious reasons , i doubt whether the weather ,be it wetter or better , will listen to any forecaster . But full marks for giving us all hope .