Stu1smartcookie

8 hours ago, iantaylor2uk said:

Not sure I agree. An astronomer is someone who does astronomy, which is what we all do. Calling yourself an astronomer doesn't imply you are doing research. Those who do such things can call themselves professional astronomers if they wish, but I think most of us (and most of the public) regard ourselves as amateur astronomers and we're not misleading anyone in any way and we don't need to justify it either. 

I agree with you … let’s take sport as an example here … if you play football you are a footballer … you may play full time for a club in the national league but you are still a footballer.. if you play in the premier league you are still a footballer. The difference is just doing the same thing but at different levels . Astronomer encompasses all levels , although the word ameteur usually means you are not getting paid it also lends itself to being a hobby . 

I bought and quite quickly sold the seestar . For the first few nights it was aweinspiring ... amazing ,"look at what i can see ". But i didnt see it , did i ? A camera saw it and was able to give me an image on my phone in seconds . Still very impressive of course and something i should have embraced as i dont have the patience to sit teasing details out from Photoshop or the like . I found it all a rather soul less experience in the end . Having said that , putting a camera on a star tracker and manually pointing at an object you hope is going to be in the FOV ,painfully trying to get the iso right and more importantly the focus ,and then back to the computer to process the image , trying to get the colour scheme right to concur with photos from others . NOT FOR ME . 

I do have a dwarf 2 scope but it rarely gets an outing . My astronomy is built on visual , call me old fashioned , call me what you like come to think about it lol. 

The above is not a rant , but a personal experience that i went through to end up with the way i embrace the hobby . 

On 06/02/2024 at 12:44, Richard N said:

A few months ago I started my EAA journey. I have ended up with an Altair 290M camera, and a SVBony SV503 80mm scope with reducer. Plus AZGTi, heavy duty tripod and mini PC mounted by the scope. Thing is, everyone locally seems to be getting SeeStar 50s. I wonder if I have gone down the wrong route really? I quite like the fiddling around with my setup and its flexibility for changes. The scope will be great for grab and go visual. So what can I do that the SeeStar users can't?

So , back on track ... if you like a bit more of a challenge , and a greater choice of targets because the Seestars has issues with framing . If you like heavily processing your images , sometimes for hours on end and if you like a bit of G&G Visual , you've already made the right choice . 

If you think you want to just level the scope turn on the Seestar/Dwarf etc and let it callibrate , press your phone or tablet a few times and then sit back in the warm watching , i must admit , magical photo build up in front of your eyes without too much input , there is NOTHING wrong in that at all . 

I reckon you made the right choice when you bought your gear . 

Just my opinion of course . 

12 minutes ago, greglloyd said:

..until you proudly answer "Yes, I'm an astronomer" in a serious tone, and Joe Public follows up with "So.. have you seen ur-anus?"

Cue Carry On Spaceman movie . 

Ok so lets look at both terms 

Stargazer ... a media favourite word ... conjurs up a person open mouthed looking up in awe . I can see the headline " stargazers in for a treat as Meteors set to light up the sky " ... i hate it ! 

Ameteur Astronomer ... a nerdy term for some but a term that implies seriousness and gives our hobby credability . ... I love it ! 

A walk in Ely this evening , the clouds parted just enough to see some stars 

3 minutes ago, LaurenceT said:

Having sold my EQ5 Goto a few days ago I retired my Az GTi from EQ mode last night with a few hours on the Pleiades, it's going back to AZ mode because today I welcomed the replacement. After much painful research I decided on this mount to fulfill my modest needs using my small imaging refractors. I decided to buy new because of the QC problems associated with the earlier versions and this morning it passed it's first test, I shook it and nothing rattled! It's marginally lighter than my Az GTi and WO wedge but considerably lighter than my EQ5 which is important to me now. 

A big thankyou to FLO, 22 hours from placing the order to it arriving at my doorstep. It's also a great day for other reasons. After being stuck on the drive for 6 weeks due to MOT failure my elderly but lovely Mercedes is going in to be repaired, a victim of the worldwide Mercedes subframe corrosion fiasco, Mercedes Germany are forking out over £2,500 to replace the subframe. I didn't have to argue the case, they agreed immediately, good for them. It's also our youngest daughters birthday 🥰.

nice one Laurance ... something i am looking at as well

14 minutes ago, Saganite said:

This Lyra Optic 102mm f11 was collected a week ago but had first light last night.  

I recognise that scope ... its certainly found a wonderful home 

Just to add to this thread , I used to use a counterweight even in Alt-Az mode with the GTi , and also i have used a "z" bracket which i bought from TS optics . This enabled the scope to sit above the mount and i had a counterweight on the other end giving perfect balance . 

There is cause for concern if you add too much weight , especially on such a mount as the AZ-GTi , however . 

33 minutes ago, Space Oddities said:

I can't help but feel a bit like a vulture, when someone sells their equipment due to health issues... At least the camera will be put to good use. 

No need to feel like that ( although understandable in the circumstances ) , i'm sure the seller is very happy that you will get the use from the camera

Hi Martin 

The mount is the same for both scopes ... in fact the 8" SCOPE (IMO ) is a bit big for the mount . I think the 6" is just right . The issue i found with the Nexstar seies is the fact that they are overpriced . The mount can only be moved electronically , whereas the evolution series mount can be moved manually . 

Stu

20 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Just in after a successful first light with the ED102S and HEQ5. Captured a load of SER's of Jupiter with the 250 go to dobsonian, also some in IR. Then spent the rest of the night doing visual with the Vixen. The scope is excellent and sharp. I wish it had a dual speed focuser though. I'll do a report tomorrow as I haven't even eaten yet 🙄.

What’s the F ratio of that 🛒 Ian  

great set up mate. Good to chat with you yesterday too 

Stu 

As a follow up to my first set up using the 180 Mak I centred on Jupiter first last night . The views were “almost”the best I have seen of the planet , only the views in a 12”dob were better . One thing I discovered is that I usually observe with my right eye , last night I used my left eye and the image was noticeably brighter , although it felt awkward . I soon got used to it . I decided that last night I would only use one EP(26mm ) which gave me around 95x mag… I put in the 2.5 x power mate but if I’m honest it was too much for last night . Sometimes the seeing was good , other times not . I looked at a few of the favourite stars . Aldeberan ,Bettleguese , Rigel . I did a star test to check collimation and was happy to see everything was ok . I used the new dual speed focuser , brought from FLO and I have to say it’s much more precise than using the original focuser for fine focussing .Weight is no issue on the sabre mount and the focuser actually helps with balancing due to the very heavy corrector plate on the scope . Switched to the Orion nebular which was getting a bit washed out by the moon but of course it’s still a wonderful sight . The “wings” showing up particularly well. I packed up reasonably early due to the cold . The scope took about 45 minutes to dry out . I have today been given a long dew strap to use with the Mak instead of the old celestron c8 one which is obviously a tad to large . 
All in all a very positive evening allowing a gentle start with the Mak.  Need a tracking mount though.

Stu

Set up complete … first light of the Monster Mak with the dual speed focuser . Just using an 1 1/4  diagonal tonight as I intend to use the TV power mate . Cooling the scope will take about an hour I’m sure , just time to have some food and then get settled in a chair looking at Jupiter and possibly Uranus . ( no carry on humour please ) before the moon makes an appearance. For once I’m glad of the new house directly behind my garden as it blocks the moon for a couple of hours . But I will welcome seeing it in the Mak later . Looks like the only clear night of the coming week IF you believe the weather “experts”

Stu 

2 hours ago, bosun21 said:

Lovely scope Stu. I am considering buying one for myself for the planets next apparition. What are you going to mount it on? 

This is my next project Ian , as I don’t have a tracking mount . At present I am using the sabre mount which is brilliant for visual and holds both the 200 newt and the  Mak . I need a quiet mount . The AVX I had was far too noisy and would have disturbed the neighbours kids especially on those late summer evenings . I also want something light in weight . My mate has an AM5 and I was looking at the AM3 , maybe the option equivalent? .. a bit too expensive at present so I thought about an EQ5 with motors as I am not into AP . I have the staresense unit so I can manually slew to the target and then start tracking .Anyway enough to ponder 

Stu

10 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

What? You get eyepieces and a diagonal thrown in for 'free'? 😁

I'm surprised, on a scope of this calibre, that you get any of that. My iOptron RC6 had none of that and not even a finder of any type. I actually prefer that they do not supply me with these cheap accessories, so I can put the money saved towards quality ones. I understand supplying the complete kit when it is a beginner scope, but this really isn't.

Hopefully, you will enjoy it.

Absolutely, this scope isn’t aimed at beginners so just lower the price and let us choose the accessories. 

Enough of this snow talk ! ( although I do prefer it to rain … hey, I’m talking about it now zzz)   

Anyway back to business. The parcel butchers that are DHL or as they will now be known as DropHideLose your parcel ! Slung my new scope off the van as witnessed by a colleague , but luckily everything survived, including my new 180 Maksutov from FLO . 
Already tried it out in the moon , which is all but full . And I was indoors , the views were predictably brilliant . However , a couple of gripes … why do we still get the 2” visual back without a compression ring ? Why include the two pathetic EPs ( you know the ones you get with an st80, and why do we have to suffer the cheapo 2”diagonal which seems to be thrown together using a couple of pieces of old iron?

sort it out Sky-Watcher ! 
especially as the scope looks so beautiful

I have used the SW SA-GTi and found it to be very reliable . I had an ED80 on it and whilst the scope was a bit heavy for it ,everything worked fine . 

Don't forget good  polar alignment is needed for stable tracking . 

Maybe a touch over budget but FLO are selling the WO 81 at £ 599 at present ... thats a great price as its only 20 pounds more than  the WO 61 . Maybe one to look at .

Just an update to my initial post . Last night i followed the advice and managed what seems like a spot on collimation . Of course no way of actually testing it due to the weather but it all looks back to normal . I really dont know why i messed around in the first place !!!! 

Thanks again 

Thanks to all the above for the advice .

8 hours ago, NGC 1502 said:

Are you absolutely certain  your laser is collimated and does it fit the focuser without any slop?   It’s always possible to accurately and precisely decollimate your scope with an iffy laser….

Thanks for the advice guys ... I used the scope last night ( actually viewing from inside the house , in front of a radiator through the window ) and despite the rising heat from the radiator the moon was really sharp , also when it got darker many stars were visible ) but its now obvious i havent got it set right . 

As for the Laser , i use a twist EP holder to make sure the laser or the cheshire is firm and central . 

Despite all of that i am going to follow the advice from above and use the cheshire first and then the collimation cap for the primary . 

Many thanks to both of you for your help . 

I'm normally ok with collimation ... Not sure whats happened this time . Lets just call it age related 😂

Stu 

late to this >>>> I have the resser Mak ( a bit poorly cos i dropped it ) but i found it quite heavy compared to the skywatcher equivelent 

Hi all experienced people out there . 

I have a very weird situation in that i found the urge to test collimation on my Newt only to find that through a collimation cap everything seemed central , but , through a long cheshire tube only half of the primary was in view ! Even more wierd was when i put my well collimated laser in the focuser it showed that collimation was miles off when first using the collimation cap , and when i rectified the secondary and finally got the laser dot to disapear when i put the collimation cap back in only half the primary wa visible , however the cheshire at least had the primary in view although the cross hairs were way out to the right when looking through the focuser . The crazzy thing is , i was able to obtain focus , although ive not been able to do a star test due to the quite horrendous weather 

So to sum up ... what do i believe , the collimation cap or the long cheshire and laser ?

KR 

Stu

Wow … a lovely early evening out with the Lyra and 200mm on the sabre . The moon was the best I have ever seen it .. ( some statement) but I put it down to the new baader prism diagonal and the half set of Hyperion's I bought from FLO . A beautiful still evening which has made me realise that I have two gems of scopes . The other highlights were the pinwheel cluster and the stunning orange stars Aldeberan and Belelgeuse and Uranus ( it may be a small bluish green spot but it’s fascinating ). Back to the moon in time to see it disappear over the house . 
In now, cold but happy . 

A short but quite lovely outing last night , just to try out my new EPs ... Used both the 200mm newt and the 102 lyra ... mainly on the moon , the Lyra showed absoluutely no false colour even with the baader 5mm EP .  The moon in my view (no pun intended) is a really underated target , probably because we see it so often but its only when you actually put the effort in to study it then opens up with so many surprises . The way the sunlight bathes parts of craters whislt leaving parts in shadow...always something different to see.