Stu1smartcookie

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 .

So I have just purchased a 6” classical cassegrain (6kg) ,( lovely scope) and I have my ED80(5kg)  but I do not have a mount for them . I am 90% visual so generally speaking tracking isn’t required. What mount do I get ? 
Now I am not a newcomer here but the choice , although restrained a bit by finances , makes it difficult to decide . 
My options 

EQ5 , manual ( which can be upgraded) 

Skytee 2 , with steel tripod 

Az-GTix the new dual saddled mount from SW ( yes I know the two scopes weigh around 11kgs) but it can be used with just one scope . 
 

The trusty AZ4 ! 
 

An  EQ3-2 goto , lightweight, convenience of goto bit just about on the limits for weight . Also the way those mounts “scream” when moving in the dead of night may be a problem as our neighbour has two small kids .
 

anyway , thoughts please on the above  much appreciated 

kind regards 

Stu 

On 26/01/2023 at 10:07, dweller25 said:

I think the best solution for most people is 3 scopes…..

1. 4” refractor 

2. 7” Mewlon

3. 12” dobsonian

 

Ok so I took your advice ! 
1 Ed80

2 6” class cass

3 8” dob 

not quite mirrored your three but , hey , they all “work” 😂

4 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

After imaging the comet for the past 2 nights and having a sketching workshop tonight by Mary McIntyre I just grabbed the Skymax 90mm on the AZ5 for a little trip on the visual side. 

I managed to find the C2022 E3 ZTF by locating the kids in the 9x50 raci then just using the slo mo controls to get in the rough area and there it was. So settled in with the 32mm plossl and could definitely make out some structure and the core. Tried in the 20mm plossl but not as good as it was in the 32mm. As the moon rose higher you could definitely see how much the comet faded. 

A quick tour then of some doubles old favourites of mine, Castor, Mintaka, Regulus and now Ursa Major is clearing the roofs now a steady view of Mizar (my first for the year on this) both through the 32 and 20mm then a look at M42 the 4 stars of the trapezium looking nice and the nebula looked good, even in the moonlight. Then finally to the moon for a quick pan around the terminator. 

Just a quick outing tonight. The Skymax 90mm whilst it doesn't let in much light does a stirling job on many targets. Next time hoping to get some clusters in the bag. 

A disjointed and probably wrong in some aspects of visual, but tonight was about fun for me and it was. 

Lee 

There is something very satisfying just putting a scope an a mount and relaxing ,taking in the views 

7 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Royal Mail? 😊

Last week a Christmas card was delivered to me - posted on Dec 15.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS , Jeremy 

So , the 8”Dob was out nice and early … I had a glance at Orion and then found the comet … took a crude but nonetheless decent shot of it with the phone hovering over my 30mm EP 

Hi Greg , welcome to SGL 

On 19/01/2023 at 18:52, Sunshine said:

What? this was done with a cell phone?! I would have done backflips if I had done this with a full on imaging rig! I'm a little knocked over by the result. This is all the convincing I need to get one of these phones used just for this purpose!. Is there one particular google phone that is better than others for this type of work? I will check them out. You say you were using a goto mount, were you tracking? also, is the exposure time set or is that adjustable.

The Google phones currently exel in night time photography although Samsung are catching up ... alas the iphone seems to be a bit behind . i run with a sony 1 iv which basically is a dslr in a phone but the google spits all over it . In fact the google phones have been great at this since series 5 was released . Amazing what software can do . 

Hi , Tezz , 

Welcome to the hobby . And congratulations on your purchase . Everyone has their own opinions but i'm sure we all wish you well with your chosen scope. It seems like you have a clear objective . One thing is certain , you will not be short of friendly and invaluable advice . 

Clear Skies 

Hi James , i briefly owned one but didnt get into astrophotography at that point , what i can say is the construction of the scope was very solid and they get a good reputation for widefield photography . I believe there was a very favourable review in "Sky At Night " magazine . 

Stu

A couple of “almost “ essential  accessories from FLO . I feel I have shares in Bobs Knobs lol and a collimation cap . 

Hi Billy i second what Doug has written ... i viewed Mars last night with an 8" dobsonian and only just made out some surface shading ... The planet is fading in magnitude quite quickly now and, even at its best , visually, it can be a let down . In fact Mars is a planet that you have to view for quite sometime before it gives you too much in return . Don't be too hard on yourself or the equipment .. it really is  difficult  to observe . 

Stu

An unexpected clear spell last night meant a quick set up of the Dob , just to give my 10mm and 6mm Ortho EPs a first go . Not ideal in a way as the scope was not sufficiently cooled but , the moon was rapidly disapearing over the roof so i had to take the opportunity . Spoiler alert , these EPs are fantastic . Clarity was exceptional when viewing the moon , i focused on the Apeninne region , starting with the 10mm . I was a bit concerned that the admittedly tight eye relief would prove to be an issue but , i need not have worried . No black spots when viewing just a lovely bright image , i switched to the 6mm , and the image was slightly softer as the scope hadnt properly cooled , but once again there was no problems regarding brightness . A quick switch to Mars which showed subtle shading , but in truth , the conditions were not condusive ... i really needed to put the Dob out 30minutes earlier. ( lesson to be learnt ) . 

A quick view of Orion , but using a 26mm EP showed the normal nebulosity and the trapezium . I then left the scope for around 30minutes before attempting to find the Comet . After a frustrating 15minutes or so searching in the right area i managed to locate it in the 8x50 finder . It was quite near a star (optically) and showed a fairly bright nucleus with a surround of gas , It was a great sight and one that makes this hobby really worthwhile . One thing i did notice was how quickly the comet is moving . From its starting distance from the star in the EP it had moved considerably . 

Clouds rolled in from the North West  ending the fairly short but worthwhile session . In conclusion , i need to buy the 18mm Baader ortho , as per @Franklin sugestion . 

And its going to be clear tonight too !

One image I took with the phone of the comet

10 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Stop buying astro-kit and it may clear up!😄

lol ok , … for one day only 

21 hours ago, Franklin said:

Excellent eyepieces especially for the money, if you haven't already got one the BCO18mm is a cracker.

I am certainly buying the 18mm  …   

mod course I was clouded out last night and it looks the same for tonight too , so , the curse strikes again. 😕 

A couple of Baader Classic Orthos courtesy of @PeterC65. Excellent condition and packed really well . Looking forward to trying them out . 

Hi, i can only speak of my experience in using 82 degree EPs .. i had three celestrons ... 10mm, 15mm and the giant 31mm ( very heavy ) .. they were all good in so much as they gave nice flat views but i simply couldnt get on with the wide FOV they showed . I found myself being distracted , especially in the case of the 31mm . the widest fov EPs that work for me , so far , are the hyperions from baader which i believe offer 68 degrees . In fact i actually prefer lower more narrow fov EPs . Its just my opinion and i'm sure someone else will comment that the 82 degree EPs are a wonderful addition . 

Stu

1 minute ago, paulastro said:

And yes, I sometimes sit back and enjoy looking at each one of them when it's raining and I can't use them 🤣.

 

lol Paul , you could start another debate with that line 🤣.. although im sure its been done before . 

So sorry to read about issues re;lated to the hobby , but , as has been written already i think most of us have problems, in one area or another . I am not the most patient of people and get frustrated very quickly when things are going wrong . The hobby of astronomy and of course astrophotography has so many variables and at any given time one thing can ruin a session . Couple with that the , quite frankly questionable skies over the UK and frustration and indeed an  almost depression like feeling overtakes . Of course its not a cheap hobby too , the more one gets into it , the more one pays . Sometimes its like throwing good money after bad . I really wish you well and hope you come back re-invigurated . 

A nice addition to my recently acquired Asiair 

this ZWO camera plus ir-cut filter will do me a treat. Many thanks to @wornish. Superbly packed and delivered within two days . 

3 hours ago, Beardy30 said:

How would the 80ED for example match up against the 127 Mak ? 

Hmmm they are so different , if you had one of each then I would say you have the perfect lightweight set up . Mak for Luna and planetary and 80ed for widefield I have the 80ed and I think it's a great scope for a quick set up and go bit the Mak doesn't take too long to cool and gives very pleasing views . 

Horses for courses ,. No one scope does it all , as the saying goes 

56 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

Here are a few DSO sketches made using a 100mm refractor. I'll only post a few so as not to bore the pants off other SGLers who have suffered them countless times.

 

Fantastic sketches , and a great case for the Frac . 

37 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

Another couple of simply processed new captures:

M1 - Crab nebula (cropped wideview capture)

 

NGC2175 - Monkey Head nebula

I just need to practise post-processing to see what I can pull out of the data (I'm pleased with the above) but not sure how much it would improve if the data was properly processed.

 

Great shots mate