russ
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Posts posted by russ
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wow fantastic image
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1 hour ago, knobby said:
GRS start approx 8 pm finish approx 11.40 pm
Io start 9.40 pm ish
Courtesy of Sky safari on Android
Many thanks. Scope setup but skies cloudy.....so much for the forecast
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3 hours ago, dweller25 said:
Another chance to see the GRS plus Io and its shadow transiting tonight.....
Plus a meteor shower 👍
Awesome, can I ask what time for the transit? And can you believe its forecast clear.
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32 minutes ago, Geoff_L said:
I guess that storage depends on the camper. A typical panel van conversion (PVC) might have an issue, but this probably isn't the case with most coachbuilts and A-classes. We're lucky as two of us rattle around in a 7m coachbuilt. However, even with a PVC, you can load up the habitation area with mount, scopes, and accessories as they'll be outside the van once you're set up on site, and can be stored in the front of the van when you're not doing astro and want to use the habitation area. That said, I agree about the binos -- we keep a pair of 8x50's in the van. We often also take an ST80 with us just in case we get a clear night when we're using the van for something other than astro. FWIW, folks were queuing to view Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon at the last couple of music festivals we went to!
Space a bit limited in the bongo with two kids, awning, camping gear, food. Just about get in. lol But an ST80 on a Giro would have been perfect. Or even an ED80 or ED72 on a Giro would be epic. All academic now sadly as the camper is no longer with us.
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Would a pair of 15x70 or 20x80 binoculars be easier to stash away in the camper? I left a pair of Celestron 15x70's in our Bongo when we had it. Very capable under dark skies. Although i always wished i had a scope with me. A Skywatcher Startravel 102 or 120 on an AZ4 would have been fun but my wife would have done her nut. Surprisingly very little space in a camper when going away. Binoculars were the limit i found.
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1 hour ago, HailVectron said:
Hi Russ, was that your moniker there too, it rings a bell?
Hi Andrew, yes that was moniker on UKAI. One of the benefits of co-founding the group, you get the name you want as there are no members
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Hello Andrew,
I remember you on UKAI, I was still a member back then too. I too dropped out of the hobby about 6 years ago. Tried to make a come back last year but it didn't quite happen fully. Trying again.
My boss is just getting in the imaging side and bombarding me with questions as if I would know. Things have certainly moved on. I haven't taken an image since 2008. Everything i recommended was obsolete 10 years ago. But some things are still going that I thought would have been superseded.
Hope you find your feet again.
Regards
Russ -
Considering how low it is this year I think you have done a mighty fine job of it. Some nice detail.
I tried a visual of it last night but it was a dead loss to be honest. Maybe out in the countryside with an excellent horizon it would be okay but from the town it was awful.
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26 minutes ago, Aryan said:
Whoa, that was fast!
Hmmm, that might be the case as after, say, 20 rotations or so they would just come out, and I would have to re-tighten them. But is there a way of knowing that they are actually tightened and they work?
Also by 'tighten', do you mean tighten with a screwdriver or manually with hand?
Thanks
(Edit: Sorry, I hit the reply button twice!)
Hmm that sounds like you unscrewed the locking knob...lol The slow-mo you can turn forever and they will just simply turn. The slow-mo are the long flexi adjusters. You can see the slow-mo in the picture above, its near the pointy arrow.
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It could be that you do not have the locking knobs on each axis tightened up. The slow motions knobs will just turn endlessly with no acutal mount movement unless these are locked.
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The Panasonic G7 is a good camera, especially for video and blogging. But the sensor is small and struggles with noise in low light situations. That’s not to say it couldn’t do it. And the smaller sensor would better suit the 1.25” focuser on the scope would no vignetting.
Have you looked at a Sony A6000? Brilliant camera. Same 24mp APS-C sensor as the Fuji X-A5. But with viewfinder. They can be found on offer all over the place for £499 with 16-50 lens. Massively capable camera, image quality to match anything the DSLR can do.
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Definitely worthwhile, the X-A3 will be as capable as any APS-C Canon or Nikon DSLR but with some added bonuses. Such as very small size and weight, so less stress on the telescope. Plus it has excellent Liveview, great LCD. It's a fully manual camera, noise reduction can be completely turned off. The downside is i doubt any of the astro software is geared to Fuji.
Adapters needed for Fuji are readily available on Ebay.
That adapter will let you attach the Fuji to the barlow. Which is okay for lunar imaging but the mount/telescope are going to be an issue if you want to image galaxies, clusters or nebula as its an AltAz tracking mount. It follows the stars in a stepped motion. Plus using the barlow will only make matters much worse, amplifying the problem.
You can use a 1.25" prime focus adapter in combination with the above adapter, like this:
So you don't have to make any mods but doesn't get round the tracking issue.
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15 hours ago, F15Rules said:
I've got an old small ali case which just happens to fit my newly acquired set of Parks Gold Japanese Pseudo-Masuyamas quite nicely..
I also have an incoming 3.8mm which should arrive any time now, so I'll have 7 of the possible 9 variants in this line: 3.8, 7.5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30mm
Dave
Fantastic set of eyepieces Dave. And it takes me back to 2004 when I had a set of Orion Ultrascopic (rebadged Parks Gold) eyepieces. Loved those eyepieces so much. So sharp and contrasty. Regretted selling them.
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Think i need new foam and start again. Was nice and tidy to begin with then this happened.
Love the way that 8mm dwarfs everything else, even the 2" widefields.....
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A pair of Meade 10x50 specials from Lidl. Bought them in 2002 for £9.99 and they are still going strong. Did have some Helios Stellar 15x70 but they were worth too much and anything that has value in our house is sold in times of need. The Meade Lidl 10x50 are worthless, so are keepers.
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Shane, just got to say that is wicked!
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Great thread
Some really useful links. -
I sure did!
Three Radians for £340 quid? Too good to miss!
It sure was, just wish i had that sort of money. I did try to formulate a devious plan with some other members, whereby we all chipped in and grabbed a brand new Radian for £113 but it didn't come off sadly.
They really do look wonderful, quite envious.
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My ultra minimalist set (3 Radians and a 32mm Plossl) and a home made wooden case!
Did you make the best of the Radian offer
Nice set.
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Here is a little update of mine, now with the Radian 10mm added
Looks a very nice collection and a 31mm T5 will certainly fit in well. I'd be happy with any one of those eyepieces there.
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Martin, maybe worth adding to it now, as the older DSLR's are getting seriously cheap and definitely offer a budget route into DSO imaging. With a little patience, it's possible to pickup a 300D for the price most people are asking for a SPC900NC.
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They are pretty poor too. Worth a fiver each at a stretch (and that includes delivery paid for by the seller) but most folks just ditch the 10mm. I sold mine with a diagonal and barlow for £12 the lot including delivery.
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Perhaps wait a little while to see if anymore reviews or feedback appear on the net. The 350 is very new and not enough time for users to feedback into the system. Not sure how many have been sold? But reading how Stuart has struggled to move it around, get it through doors etc, that would be enough to put me off. And to think there is a 400 on the way too. Blimey, surely that'll be obs based?
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We have a 300P Flextube Goto in our group. The goto has proved to be excellent while the powertank has enough juice. And tracking also very good. The chap that owned it brought it to site in his Mini Cooper S......so transportation is not a problem.
Optics were good. It definitely excels at deepsky and when coupled with a 13mm Ethos or 31mm Nagler, provided breathtaking views of all the deepsky objects visited. M31 in 31mm Nagler as viewed from the Salisbury Star Party was the real standout.
Can't comment on the 350. Another member was contemplating that scope but bought 300 instead.
As said already, the 300 is an easily transported scope but perhaps the limit.
A walk down memory lane...
in The Astro Lounge
Posted
I picked up a Tasco 66TR at an antiques auction a little while ago. Paid the massive sum of £5 for it. Identical to my first ever telescope. I can remember my first ever views of Jupiter and Saturn. As a teenager it was a fantastic moment, one of my best life moments.
Fast forward to 2019 and the views of both planets were truly awful, as to be expected. But I think one of the great things of living back in the early 1980's was the total lack of information, internet, images and everything else we have now. I had no expectations or high hopes of what to see. So to just see something that resembled, vaguely, a picture seen in a book was a truly amazing moment. Especially Saturn. I miss that non-digital age.