Stu1smartcookie

33 minutes ago, gtrin said:

My new set up 🙂

 

Very neat .

5 hours ago, Captain Scarlet said:

Just in from a moderately satisfying night with the new Stellarvue 140, curtailed in the end by creeping haze, everything suddenly seemed to have developed nebulosity.

Highlight was a new object for me, Ceres, the brightest of the dwarf planets, currently a bit north of M88 which is how I managed to pin it down.

Only third light for the new scope, full report tomorrow in that section.

Magnus

 

I "looked " at Ceres on stellarium early evening and really wanted to get the chance to see it through my 150 frac ... Alas clouds and rain prevailed . So glad you were able to see it Magnus . Nice one  

Stu 

Wow , my first clear evening in about 2 weeks . As I am having a bit of bother with my Mak I decided to put it on the AZ5 and show it to the masses  out the front of the house ( which I hate doing ) because Venus and a very low Jupiter were around . Of course the Mak required cooling but 35 minutes later and with cloud menacingly building we were all set to go . A low power EP was used and Venus showed it's phase ... Nothing too interesting of course as it was brighter than 10 Stephen Hawkings put together , bit Jupiter was surprisingly sharp considering it was very low in the west . I switch to Sirius and was pleasantly surprised with the lack of disco ball colours , whereas Betleguese showed it's lovely orange colour . I did a star test and collimation is definitely off a smidge , the rings are concentric but twisting the focuser the other way showed the mirror needs a bit of adjustment . Still it's not far off and a lot of what I saw was very pleasing . Orion Nebula was as usual a fine watch . Mars is laughingly small now but I didn't push the mag tonight as I was just happy to be outside and looking at stars . It's actually still clear outside now ... Unless it's a mirage ! A surprisingly impromptu early evening . 

Just a case in point , Eyepieces are supplied with a dobsonian , usually (25mm & 10mm )  ... they are fairly decent to get one started in the hobby although i have to say those EP's recommended by Mike are very good . 

Hi , Welcome ... 

Firstly do you live in a flat or a house with a garden ?

If you have easy access to a garden then i am going to say that a 200mm Dobsonian would be an ideal starting scope . In fact for some a scope like that can last a lifetime . 

The Dobsonian design usually means manually finding targets , but that also means one gets to learn the night sky . Although there is no telescope that is best for everything , a dobsonian comes pretty close . The only very small downside is the fact that the mirrors need re-aligning every now and then , but this really isnt that complicated .

There is a saying in this hobby that Aperture is king so an aperture of 200mm is a sweet spot . 

Anyway its my suggestion , ... be prepared to be bombarded with many others  

Oh , and the Dosonian is priced around your budget area too . 

Stu

4 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Now the proud owner of a 10" dobsonian!  Base.

Tube never made it to the depot.  Last update seems to be it's still in hinkley.  Hopefully it'll make it here tomorrow.

Wait for the tube before you build the base ! But isnt it annoying how one parcel can reach you and the other one comes later ?

5 minutes ago, Moonshed said:

That is funny I have to admit 😂 but I’m the sort of idiot that would protect my dog first and foremost, 🤓 but then a Bichon Maltese standing 10” high isn’t much of a deterrent anyway.

 

 

a real mean beast !

On 28/02/2023 at 16:54, Franklin said:

Get one of these.

 

Yeah , you could certainly give someone a whack with that frac  ... oh and the dog helps of course 

As above , the ST102 is a tried and trusted Achromat that shows star clusters and bright dso's very well ... but of course there is no substitute for aperture and the Dob also excels on planetary viewing . With NO chromatic aberation . I have a 127 Mak ( bresser ... true 127 mm ) that shows stunning planetary and luna views so i do get where Jules is coming from . The Maks do have their own issues though of narrow FOV and longer cool down times . 

Remember the saying .... No one scope excels at everything . 

I  have an 8" Dob , which i honestly love ( hope wife doesn't read this ) ... and ive had an 80mm APO ... the 80mm is a fine scope but the Dob is so much more , in fact i have a 150mm frac but the dob still gets more use at present . Mind you if i was to give advice on what Dob to get then i would certainly say that the StellaLyra dobs offer the best "extras" in the package . 

Dual focuser , Fan , nice bearings on the base and a decent 30mm EP . 

I certainly used a 130 pds on the AZ-GTi without any issues, ive also had an evostar 120 on it !!!!( although it was only to see if it could carry a long scope ) ... it worked but i would not recomend long scopes on that mount !

The counterweight system does indeed take the strain . 

I also bought a weight arm from TS optics ( Germany ) which sat the scope above the mount , with a counterweight underneath ... it seemed to work fine . 

But , there is a reason why the mount is listed as a 5KG  payload ... I think we all want to believe these little mounts can carry more but if you look at the construction and , lets face it fairly weak motors , reality kicks in . 

Hi Francis ... this has got me very interested ... especially as flo are now selling the 80mm at a reduction of £44 ... i have a couple of scopes on a skytee but also use an 8" dob ... so interchangeble starsense unit would be perfect . and , it seems a fairly simple mod . ( luckily i have an engineering place opposite where i work , who are very keen to help in such matters as i am completely useles at DIY) 

thank you for the post .. very helpful 

Stu

I hope the OP is following all the above , or , doesn't think he's reading an exert from a topic on Cloudy Nights ! ... all getting a bit heavy , isn't it ?

Pretty simple question of a suitably widefield EP wuithout breaking the bank !  two suggestions , Nirvana or Explore Scientific , both proven . Just personal choice ! Reviews can be gleaned on this forum , somewhere , i imagine . 

16 hours ago, Marc1964 said:

Be interested in your review of the Bresser Mak... 

Hi Marc , i am hopefully giving the Mak its first light tonight , although we have a hundred mile round trip and a chinese buffet to negotiate first , so i wont be home until after 8 ... who knows what the sky will be like then lol ... message to everyone , leave a bit of clear sky for me pleeeeease ... report to come on both the Mak and the 152 Starwave

So the postman has been busy again ( got to get in before the next strike ) 

Actually it was the DPD man who made me wait right until the end of the working day before delivering an ADM clamp for my skytee 2 and a nice little Bresser 127 Mak which I have been busy upgrading with a 2"baader clicklock and a decent red dot finder of course the obligatory clouds were present in the box zzzzz

53 minutes ago, Captain Scarlet said:

Possibly the most ridiculous packaging I’ve ever seen. In a good way. Quadruple-boxed and cubic feet of styrene buffering. To say I’m excited would be … accurate.

It’s a bit of a monster. Only problem is, this was package 2 of 2. No 1, still in transit, contains the Losmandy plate and something else which various people on here will also get excited about.

Magnus

 

 

seems like you are losing your head in one of those photos Magnus 

So like others I have been conscripted to a restaurant where I have spent precious astro money on , admittedly, a decent meal .. 

I was desperate to get the new scope (starwave 6" ) out but as we know , rushing stuff isn't advisable in this hobby so I contented myself with just a quick peek . Almost stumbled on the Beehive which looked fantastic , a couple of bright stars did show a bit of CA but it's expected . Can't wait to see how it fares with globs. 

As with all purchases it looks like clouds are guaranteed for the next few nights  zzzz 

I need to upgrade the saddles on the skytee as although it held the scope , I am a bit nervous with the stock saddles . .  Can anyone tell me if there is a knack in removing the slow motion knobs , after removing the grub screws they still feel like they are welded !!!! 

Looking forward to a proper nights viewing . 

So , let’s see what arrived this morning ! DHL , thank you ! 
Altair Astro , many many thanks for your help . 

A bit of a beast but a beauty at the same time 

152 mm Starwave … and a small bag of Haribo … a lovely sweetener . 

Nice report , Lee …. I’ve been clouded out all weekend zzzz . The ST80 is a great little scope isn’t it . I rate all the ST “gang” … really great value . 
Stu

So. , trip to Widescreen Centre , and a delivery from Altair Astro ( although a few niggles to sort out ) has got me a new scope and mount . 
A 6” Classical Cassegrain and a skytee 2 mount ! Of course the skies are cloudy … and I think the scope has arrived slightly out of collimation , plus I am waiting to hear back from Altair regarding a rather annoying dust spot on the primary and some rather rough areas around the edge of the mirror . But all things being equal it will hopefully have 1st light tomorrow evening . 🙏

EDIT ** 

Altair Astro , take a bow ... after emailing yesterday , Ian from Altair emailed back , great service ... and on a sunday too . In the end and from a discussion this morning Altair are taking the scope back and replacing it with another ... although if i can add , watch this space for what turns up . 

In an era when companies very often do not care about customer satisfaction and service , i have to say Altair Astro have addressed a problem and rectified it , no arguments , no issues , just good old helpfulness and positive action . 

2nd EDIT** 

So , New scope arrived , 6" CC , will be returned today . 

23 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

My latest astro purchase courtesy of @FLO ordered Thursday night and delivered by the lovely dpd driver today.

This will make my visual sessions much more satisfying if that was even possible. Seen rave reviews for the st80 and you hardly see any on the used market which tells you something. Just tested it out whilst aligning my 9x50 raci and Rigel qf. The views were so sharp and nice contrast in the daylight. I can't wait to get this one out for a visual session now. Here she is on my AZ5. 😍

Lee 

Nice , Lee …. Glad you have clear skies too… very cloudy in Cambridgeshire… which is my fault .. details soon . 

So , despite  the advice I have gone with a skytee 2 … as I indicated I am very much visual only and like the idea of having 2 scopes on show . But , watch this space … the Dwarf Labs 2 scope is due out soon . 

14 minutes ago, Carbon Brush said:

Only 4 weeks to the show at Kettering.
More mounts than you you could imagine.......

I would t be allowed home if I spent there 😂

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

I use an EQ5 with RA & Dec motors. Fairly easy to lift, even with my slipped disc.

For any kind of high power planetary you need tracking. So much easier just to study the object instead of having to tweak or nudge all the time.

Yes I agree , and it makes perfect sense as the 6”cc ‘s forte is planetary . 

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

Skytee II on steel tripod and half pillar, that way you can mount both your scopes and have double the fun. But for high power lunar/planetary/double star type viewing a mount that tracks in RA is very handy, so in that instance and EQ5 with a single axis RA motor would do the trick.

I had the same dilemma with my scopes and ended up biting the bullet and getting an Alt-az and an EQ. Must admit though, the Alt-az gets more use for those quick sessions between the clouds.

Many thanks and to be honest my thoughts really , I kind of want the skytee as it’s a really solid piece of kit but as you write the EQ5 with motors , NOT goto, is probably the best choice overall .. I must add though , weight is an issue as I am trying to  keep things as practical and light as possible ( not easy with the scopes I have as they demand stability and that usually means weight ) , the EQ5 is fairly manageable as I remember .