jjohnson3803

On 19/05/2023 at 13:37, andrew63 said:

 

Could you tell me what the length of the OTA is with the focuser racked in, no diagonal on?  I've seen some strange (to me) numbers quoted.  Thanks!

I recently sold my AT102ED f7 (looks like a Starfield twin).  It gave very crisp views and was a nice aperture, but it was too big and bulky for my tastes.  Also, it did not do that well on my SkyWatcher AZ5.  It was ok, but was a bit beyond the limits of "good" IMO for the wiggles / damping time.  Others might have had better experiences with that combo, I don't know.

I do love my AT72ED.  Maybe a little small in aperture for really faint fuzzies, but it's become my most used scope.

And having said that, I think I'm going to sell my ST120 achro and get a ST102 achro for a little bigger cheap grab-n-go than my ST80.

If by chance a female companion questions the purchase / sale of multiple scopes, compare them to women's shoes - you need to buy and try  *many* styles and designers before you find ones you really love. 

4 hours ago, Mike Q said:

I wish we had skies like that here in Ohio.  It is very hazy right now.  

Northern Illinois skies are milky white and not from light pollution.  With the annual burning of the western US and Canada, the mosquitoes that are coming soon, and the short nights, I'm thinking maybe summer is best spent in a swimming pool with a Cerveza Sol.  🤔

That's a pretty darn good image for your first attempt.  I think you should be proud of your accomplishment.

And very close by is U Sge.  You might be able to catch it in eclipse if you're in the neighborhood.

Looks like AAVSO is showing it over the hump:

The last time I was in a B2, there were so many objects visible in my 10x50s that I didn't bother using my scope.  My only regret was I had left my 15x70s at home.

I've experienced that with wide angle, low power EPs from time to time.  Don't remember details, but I think there was a fair amount of field curvature visible and I was comparing the center of the field to the edges.  Ugh.

When the windchill here gets down to -10*F (-23*C), I do observe through glass.  Star clusters and doubles aren't pristine, but they don't look completely horrible.  The moon is less tolerant of extra glass between the objective and the sky.

IIRC, a research observatory (University of Michigan?) tried observing through optical grade Mylar and the results were decent.  No idea of the cost or if the stuff is even manufactured anymore.

I bought a 72ED last winter and have just started observing doubles with it.  It seems to be quite capable with very crisp views. 

However, I confess I have yet to resolve Epsilon Lyrae¹ and Epsilon Lyrae² with it.  Not sure if that's partly due to the horrible LP I live in, seeing, or if I just haven't cranked up the magnification enough - my shortest EP is a 4mm and the scope fl is about 430mm.

I have to say the 72ED blows away my ST80 achro for sharpness and color on other doubles.

Outstanding video!  I've been observing Chi Cyg as often as possible the past few months as it's been rising to max.  Tried this morning, but dawn was coming on too fast.

You can generate a lightcurve of observations on the AAVSO site, but you have to enter Khi Cyg.

Rukl

Charles Wood (although it does have a rather large errata section)

Atlas of the Lunar Terminator (Out of print, but I found a used copy in excellent condition)

Clementine Atlas of the Moon (The best IMO - lunar orbiter pics on one page, labeled photo map on the facing page, 144 charts)

Just tried the emulator for a few minutes.  Seems like a very clean, intuitive interface.  👍

I'm considering ordering an AZ-GTi and although I really like the phone app (as least what I can do without an actual mount to connect to), I'm wondering about the hand controller.  I see it listed on multiple dealer sites, but it all of them show it as OOS / More coming / Etc.

Anybody know the story?  Usual supply chain issues or ???  

Thanks!

Ahhh, now that pic (and your comment about the weight relative to a 72ED) is compelling for me.  I have an AZ5 and a ScopeTech Zero and I'd probably use it most on the very lightweight Zero.

Yes, I have a 72ED.  I was thinking of upping the aperture a bit, albeit in a non-ED scope.

RT90C, SW AZ5, and ST120 with upgraded 2-speed Crayford is a bit shaky on focusing for my tastes.  Not sure which is the weakest link.  The RT90 seems very solid when I push on it, tap it, etc..

I recently sold my f7 102ED refractor - a bit too big and bulky for my uses - and I'm considering getting an achro in the 90-100mm range.  I'm trying to decide between an Omegon 90mm refractor and a SW ST102.  I want to keep things as light and portable as possible for grab-n-go and travel.

Aside from the extra 10mm, any thoughts or experiences?  

Thanks.

Are the tripod feet adjustable?  One time I measured the length of the leg extensions so they were equal and the pod wasn't level.  Turns out one of the feet / pads was screwed out a bit while the other two were snug up against the leg.

I use a CI diagonal, so I prefer a correct/bino view, but I've found the Moon Chart app on my iPhone to be good and I recently installed Moon Maps, which I think will be really good scopeside.

As mentioned, the Virtual Atlas is good and I found a copy of "Atlas of the Lunar Terminator" which has extensive day-by-day views.  "ALT"  is out of print though and the clarity of the photos is not quite up to current standards.

I have a "S&T"  laminated map, but I haven't used it much.

Reminds you that you're alive.  😉

Sauna?  Yes!  Hot tub?  Oh hell no!  Roll in the snow or jump in the Baltic!

(😁 98% Finn with grandparents who had a woodfired sauna in their yard / garden.  My health club has a poor imitation.)

Relatively minor - no damage done - but I left a nebular filter in place and couldn't figure out why stars looked so dim during my next observing session.  My first thought was the scope had somehow gotten damaged.  🤡

For planning purposes or when not using SS observing lists, I find this to be a quite useful site.  A nice feature is that you can set the faintest magnitude of objects when you generate a list, e.g. I usually set mag to 8 for open clusters at home.

SAC DB

I've used SkySafari+ for quite awhile.  The only proviso is that the print is quite small on my iPhone SE screen, so coords are hard to read using red screen, etc. (at least with my eyes).  I'm not aware of a way to increase the font size.

I've recently started experimenting with the free version of Stellarium.  The Stellarium coords are a bit easier for me to see, but in reality I suspect they're the same size font.  I rather like the Stellarium display compared to SS, but that's just personal taste.