jjohnson3803

I've only seen one SL train, but it was a series of medium bright star-like objects moving one after another in a straight line from NNW to NE.  I'd estimate there were around 30 of them, although I lost count somewhere in the teens.  They were quite startling for a few moments until I realized what they were.

I'd wager you saw a train of them regardless of what the app said.

On 10/09/2023 at 04:57, The60mmKid said:

No wonder you had such a successful session. I also see so many more doubles when I'm observing with beer 😁

If I use binos while fatigued, everything is a double.  🥴

On 22/09/2023 at 16:50, saac said:

Simple naked eye observing can be just as rewarding. [...]

Just a thought, could you move the scope inside, maybe a conservatory even with a limited view of the sky and just take really opportunistic views of whatever is available. Ok not brilliant through a window but you are doing it in comfort with no setup burden. 

Jim 

I usually wake up well before dawn, so I switched to early morning observing quite awhile ago.  The past few mornings (before the cloudy / rainy weather rolled in) I've been treated to a beautiful alignment of the crescent moon with earthshine, Regulus, and Venus.

When the temperature hits 10° F here and the windchill makes being outside miserable, I observe through my south-facing dining room window.  The views are not as good as being outside, but a t-shirt and lounge pants beats ski pants, parka, woolen watch cap, gloves, heavy boots, and so on.  😁

Should be a used copy of the Cambridge Double Star Atlas arriving today.  It was showing as "Out for delivery" yesterday, but it was a federal holiday so no postal deliveries.

I'm quite happy with my Zero for my fast refractors up to my ST102.  From the looks of it, the Sightron is pretty much the same mount (and maybe it was Sightron who filed the patent infringement suit against ScopeTech).  Some people say the Sightron is a bit more robust than the Zero, but I have no hands-on experience with the Sightron to compare.

IIRC, motors were offered for the Zero, but were crazy expensive.  I'm in the market for a second Zero, but would go with the Sightron unless a used Zero shows up.

If you care to wander over to Cloudy Nights, I think oldfracguy is a big fan of the Pronto.  He's posted several pictures and comments.

Haven't done EAA, but my ST102 performs pretty well visually IMO.  And it's relatively light so it does not stress my lightweight altaz mounts.  FWIW.

1 hour ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

[...] watching Nebs and galaxies appear before your eyes on your phone is amazing and very satisfying .

Good to hear your experience.  I've been wondering how I'd feel sitting inside watching a screen while a S* grinds away out on my deck.  It would be nice to avoid mosquitoes, the occasional curious neighbor, etc.

Sounds good!  You might want to offer up some kind of sacrifice for insurance though.

There's an atlas that indicates separation by the position of the two bars on doubles.  6 o'clock and 9 o'clock means a certain range, 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock means another range, and so on.  Eliminates the need to use a table to find separation.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the author or title.  🙁

I've found that wandering the Milky Way at low to medium power is quite rewarding, even without a target list or bothering to identify what I'm looking at - pure eye candy.  Aside from that, there are a lot of open clusters that can fill wide field views.  Enjoy!

Maybe this? 

Orion 600

17 hours ago, powerlord said:

and after a quick tart up of the jpg

Just for grins, I ran your original pic through the default photo editor on my Windows laptop.  I'm not an imager, but it came out pretty nicely IMO.  Speaks well to the S* capabilities.

It has its detractors and yes, images won't measure up to a top of the line set-up, but maybe consider a Seestar?  From what I've read, set-up time is minimal and the portability would lend itself to essentially quick, grab-n-go AP.  Cuiv posted a YT of some post-processing and the results looked pretty good.  But I'm not an imager, so...

On 22/09/2023 at 03:23, Stu1smartcookie said:

You haven't squandered ... you researched ! Thats my line i use when trying to explain to Elena , anyway . 

Tell her telescopes are like lady's shoes.  

SVBONY 6x30 RACI finder.  So much aberration that it was like I was looking through the bottom of a shot glass (and it wouldn't come to focus anyway).

 Perhaps consider trying a subscription to a remote imaging site?  I had a basic SLOOH subscription and although weather could still get in the way, it kept me occupied on several cloudy nights.  Processing data is not necessary.  You can basically do EAA by watching images build up in realtime or just keep the "snapshots" of your targets.

Another option is a Seestar or other robotic scope as mentioned.  I'm seriously considering ordering one if real user reviews are favorable.  

If you don't mind ugly, I've used wide diameter hose clamps when rings were out of stock.  I put felt around the tube so it wouldn't get marred.

I occasionally have trouble merging images in my binos, usually when I'm tired, but not always.  At those times, I monoview through one barrel of my binos.  I don't see much value in me getting a BV for my scopes.  Plus I'd need to duplicate my EPs, etc.

I should plan my sessions more often, but I'm lazy or casual or whatever.  I do usually have one or two targets in mind when I go out, but most of my time is spent on targets of opportunity.  😉

Tough to do, but I should also make more dark site trips.  Way too much LP at home.

I prefer observing alone, so #10 is not a priority for me.

#11 is my Achilles Heel.  I spend way too much time looking at vendor sites to see what they have and reading equipment reviews.   Actually, I should probably downsize some.

I've never seen a satellite or ISS during the day (dusk yes, but not midday), but I have seen distant aircraft present like that.  If it didn't move much, I'd go with high altitude balloon also. 

It's not the same as eyeball to eyepiece, but I am seriously considering pre-ordering a ZWO Seestar robotic scope.  In theory, I could put it on my back deck and observe from inside on my tablet while the mosquitos swarm.  I have to say though that I've found running a box fan on low speed aimed at me / my scope to be effective in keeping skeeters away.

You could buy a subscription to a remote imaging service.  I tried SLOOH for a year.  It was ok, not great, but was inexpensive and gave me something to play with when I couldn't observe at home.

I've started keeping my 50mm converted RACI finder with a 15mm EP in it on an alt-az mount and small tripod by my back door .  And I've started going out even if there are just brief sucker holes or the moon is full.  The 50 is a bit small, but it's the easiest scope I have to get outside.  I've limited mobility with my neck so I'm about to sell my binos - the diagonal on the 50mm prevents a lot of pain.  

I spent last weekend at a dark site cabin.  Sunny all day long and rained every night.  🙁  At least it was on a lake.  After I got back home it was days (and nights) of wildfire smoke.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll have a clear night this weekend.

I don't know, maybe concentrating on other hobbies from June through September is the way to go.

I've seen more and more people pitch tents under large pop-up canopies and leave their rainflies off.  I assume that's to limit dew and allow better circulation, so it seems an umbrella could work.  I'd also think you could use a canopy for observing as long as it's not obstructing your line of sight.  Amazon US sells a 5ft x 7ft canopy that I might try.