Stu1smartcookie

1 hour ago, Giles_B said:

The really big challenge I find is how few clear nights there are in the UK.

I've written it before ... we must be the most enthusiastic and patient astronomers i the world . Light pollution , cloud and rain , wind , dew , fog, poor seeing , its all here in the UK ! 

Only our joy from the hobby makes it all worthwhile . 

To add my 2 pence worth of knowledge ( for knowledge read mistakes made in this hobby) , a 200mm Dobsonian would be a great start on your journey.

12 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

You can just sit in the garden on a clear night and look at the heavens, if you want to progress from there then the sky is your  limit!

Im marking you down for using that awful pun , Laurence 🤣

Amazing photos as always , Neil .

As NeonSpectres writes it certainly inspires one to get out there and at least try to emulate such wonderful images .

Early mornings are lovely , i go for a 2 mile walk every morning at about 5am ... whilst its now getting light at that time its still the best ime to be out and about . The moon is a wonderful sight at the moment , and whilst most of the stars are rapidly disapearing in the early morning light , Venus is still shining brightly . Mind you i am looking forward to the planets once again appearing in the evening sky . 

This is the scope that i have wanted ... having bought and sold ( and lost loads of money ) trying to find my sweet spot in this wonderful hobby , i am at last happy ! 

Now , where are the planets ???? hmmm,  in the East in the morning  ... ah well , there are loads of doubles and a very nice moon to look at .   

.

1 hour ago, Epick Crom said:

Last night I got my best ever views of Sirius and The Pup using 343x magnification. The Pup was clear as day. Really happy about it!

This will be my target tonight .... weather permitting . 

Well for the first time in about 14 months !!! (exageration) i was able to actually use the scope for about an hour . to me it felt like i was out there all night . To be honest i was only interested in a couple of stars and the moon , i hovered my phone cam above the EP and took this shot .. not too well framed but for me it was just a joy to be able to see something . 

taken on iphone , through 25mm EP , Ts Optics 8" CC 

I have met a few people that i certainly would not have met if we didnt share the same interest . Most i've met when i have bought or sold astro equipment, which has tended to be quite often up to now , mmuch to the dismay of my ever so patient wife . Also i have been honoured to meet people who i now call "my friends " . this hobby is indeed a singular one but there are thousands of like minded people out there , just like stars in the sky . Sites like these prove invaluable and like @Franklin says we think we know each other without even meeting . 

Also , don't you think its such a civilised hobby ? ... Niche ?... maybe , and its a bit annoying when the  media get  a sniff at an astronomical event and hype it to the extreme , but , we will take that , cos we all know , there is nothing better than quietly looking up .

Hi , One thing you havent considered is the weight issue . An ED80 is quite a heavy scope ... i had one and although it worked , a 2" diagonal and a 2" EP made it a bit clumsy on the AZ-Gti mount ... in fact i sold the scope and the buyer had the same issues as me . The ED 80 is a fine scope and deserves its place in anyones collection but the AZ-GTi takes 5kgs max... there is a reason they are supplied with scopes that weigh around 3-3.5 kgs 

That’s a very pragmatic and calm way of dealing with it lol … frustrating though isn’t it ? 

So , it’s like a spell cast by the  weather gods who deem it funny to have lovely blue sky all day but for the second night in a row thick cloud approaching from the west ! Will I EVER get to use my new scope ? Oh hang on .. it will be clear again at  3am!!!! Talk about taking the p***! Lol 😂 

Don't get me wrong , John ... i agree entirely with your explination . I had a sneak peak last night using a cheshire and it was ever so slightly out , certainly not enough to fret over for visual . It Yes a star test is a must   , Thanks 

thanks john.... i was waiting for that answer , so why does the blurb tell us to remove the extension tubes?

Hi , i am a very happy owner of an 8" Classical Cassegrain , although its not been used in anger yet as the weather is , shall we say , unpredictable . 

I have a question about collimation . I have printed off the instructions that deal with collimation for this type of scope and understand them fully ( after reading them 6 times !! ) . Ok , so , apparently when one of these scopes needs to be collimated i take all extension tubes off the scope and just replace the focuser . Doesn't that mean that replacing the extension tubes after collimation actually mean that the scope would not appear to be collimated ? Surely the scope should be collimated with all the imaging/viewing train in place . It does seem counter productive if by collimating the scope with no extension pieces in place ( i need at least two of these to achieve focus) will , although correct for that set up will indeed not be correct when i use the scope . 

Any thoughts please 

Stu 

I think its good to share the bad with the good so here goes ... Set up the new motors on the EQ5 and was preparing to go outside but i was in a rush and as we all know , astronomy shouldn't be rushed .. from that moment most things went wrong,dropping bits and pieces as my hands were frozen ,polar aligning issues, random car lights !  . The wind was a bit too keen and the sky briefly clouded over and at that point i decided to bring everything in ... of course once that was done the sky cleared and the moon looked like it was grinning at me through the living room window !!!!! Damn you moon , i'll get you tonight ! 

12 minutes ago, johninderby said:

You could always fot a handle to the blocks. 😁😁😁

I thought you would have done that lol 

3 hours ago, johninderby said:

Looking good………………………….but I would say that wouldn’t I😁

BTW you can remove the radius blocks and fit screws. 

Hi John .. lol I like them on there to be honest and let’s face it when they are fixed to the scope they ain’t getting lost  

So , yesterday I took ownership of a 8” TS Optics CC and an EQ5 . As it’s raining outside ( for the last 3 days.. grrr) I set up the EQ5 indoors .. a couple of minor issues but was delighted to see that skywatcher provide a polar scope in the deluxe model ( the polar scope I bought at the same time will be returned ) so here is the mount .. and the scope .

Thank you @callistoand the Widescreen Centre

Firstly I have to congratulate everyone who is able to get outside and at least see something in a scope or Binos … in the east we have had persistent rain and drizzle for the last 3 nights . It’s so rewarding but at the same time a bit frustrating to read wonderful comments . I too hope that Sunday will bring an end to cloudy skies so I set up my new mount and scope .. hang on , maybe it’s my fault that it’s cloudy here 😕 

Great read and a great thread and thanks to everyone for brightening my day as at least I can share in all your stories . 

Yes , I suppose so . 

Doh !! I’ve used enough newts on eq mounts that I should have known that , but on the other hand the EP is at the back of the scope so  Is that a necessity? 

Yes I was just looking at that , John . So what is the purpose of the rings? 

Go on , you know you want to John 

loving the little knob on the scope cover 

Thank you both for your comments , I bought the mount … I’ve just unboxed the scope … wow ! What a beauty.