jjohnson3803

Given that they're part of the Summer Triangle, I'd definitely include Lyra and Aquila in there.

Given that I still have the Nexus II that I used with my long-sold Twilight-1 mount, the fourth picture down on the left side of the AZ75 page does look appealing. 

If you're still compiling, mine was SN807736, purchased around 1980 or 1981 - don't remember.

Pic from about 4 years ago before I sold it:

4 hours ago, Stu said:

Something like one of the 102mm f7 scopes would likely be better if that’s not too big for you (depending on how important the travel element is)

My 102 f7 is roughly the same size as my 120 f5 and weighs probably a kilo more.  I have traveled with my 120, but I don't consider it an ideal travel scope.  YMMV.

On 09/06/2022 at 16:49, Ratlet said:

 PBS Space Time are both excellent resources if you want to know more on a cosmological sense.

 

That's my go-to for quick cosmology. 

While maybe a bit of a rebel, The Fabulous Dr. H. (Sabine Hossenfelder) is always interesting, especially the discussions that follow anything she posts.

So... I take you haven't made a purchase decision on that Long Perng yet?

I'm still wondering if I should have passed up the 102ED.  Oh well, I guess I can recoup some of the price if I sell.

On 04/06/2022 at 14:37, Mike Q said:

I ended the evolution with a distinctly American summer drink.....ice tea

How much of that glass is bourbon?  😎

6 hours ago, AstroKeith said:

The lens came from the PiHut. Its a c-mount and came with a 5mm cs-mount spacer.

The ASI120MM-S camera comes with a 42mm to c-mount adapter.

Intriguing!  So you do like 5-second stacks on a laptop to use it as a finder?

On 04/06/2022 at 06:43, Astro Noodles said:

And then we would all start having to get used to the new reality.

Only until they exterminated humankind.  Meh, win a few, lose a few...

50mm RACI finder with helical focuser.  Takes interchangeable EPs and actually has decent optics.  This is my uber grab-n-go.

I'm at 42* N and M4 is difficult for me even with my ST120.  I am in pretty heavy light pollution though (Bortle 7-8).

I've observed to the south (in the winter) through my dining room window, but I'll have to try Sco and Sgr from my upstairs loft window - hopefully I'll get the height advantage you mention.  That would also save me a drive to a club dark site with an unobstructed southern horizon.

So... roughly 70% accuracy for MB while WU is worst at 58% year-to-date?  Looks like April was a tough month.

I'd like to see Betelgeuse go supernova, but it would definitely ruin the looks of Orion after it faded.

My ST80 is my most used scope, mainly for portability reasons, but I did upgrade to a Crayford focuser when they were on sale.

I recently acquired an f5 50mm though and I'm going to see what that can do (when the weather cooperates).  With a fluid head and a light photo tripod, I can pick the thing up with two fingers and a thumb.  I do have 50mm binos, but I have arthritis in my shoulder so a diagonal is much more comfortable to use.  YMMV.

ST80 on an alt-az mount.  It's small, lightweight, and more portable than my other refractors.  Very easy to pick up one-handed and carry outside.

Well, my new BSA was on my desk when I got into the office, so it must have been in our mailroom for a couple days.

Anyway, the charts are similar to Norton's but only go down to mag 6.5.  That's good for me b/c I'm in heavy light pollution.  It doesn't have any extra material like a lunar map, but it does have short lists of doubles, DSOs, and variables.

Charts are approx. 7cm X 10.5cm so I might need a magnifying glass / nautical chart magnifier to really use it well.  OTOH, it's about 36 pages cover-to-cover, so it's something that can be easily taken outside or carried for reading material.  FWIW.

Orion Giantview IF 15x70s.  My favorite, but definitely need a tripod.

Nikon Aculon 10x50s.  Easy to handhold and transport.

US Navy WWII-era 7x50s.  Not that much magnification, but built like a tank with excellent optics.

Opticron 8x25s.  Bought these mainly for nature / casual birding.  Rather small for astro IMO, but they fit in a jacket pocket.  It might have been better to buy a monocular, not sure.

SkySafari when observing.  I toggle my iPhone display to red so I don't blind myself if I move off the SS screen.  Jumbo Pocket Atlas for planning and occasionally stellarium-web.org for a quick idea of what's where and when.

I have the Cambridge, but it's too fine print for my aging eyes and my ancient Norton's unfortunately disintegrated awhile ago.

I ordered a copy of the Bright Star Atlas last week, but USPS seems to have "lost" it.  I have to follow up on that.

And finally, I'm considering buying a newer edition of Norton's.  That's the one I grew up with and aside from nostalgia, I do think it's a good atlas.

Somebody suggested using an artist's brush (?) case.  But since they're wood, they're not waterproof and you'd need to add your own foam.  The pluck foam in all my plastic cases has eventually come apart, so using your own might not be a bad thing.  Just another option. 

Resurrecting this (a bit).  My az seems like it's tightened up some from when I first got the mount.  Just to make sure I don't totally muck it up, to loosen the az (and alt) tensions, you just loosen and retighten the bolts at the ends of the worms, yes?  Thanks.

Has anybody tried (successfully or not) to mount encoders on a Zero?  I'm using my Wixey and a DIY az circle, which work ok, but I think I prefer the accuracy of encoders.  (I had 8K AstroDevices on my Twilight-1 and they worked well.)  Thanks.

The 100 is more than my budget allows and I was thinking the 75 could be a very good alternative.  I've had negative experiences with non-slo-mo mounts before though.  I'd hate to buy a 75 and discover I really want slo-mo.  Maybe I'll have to eat rice and beans for a few months to help fund a 100...  🤑

On 14/05/2022 at 10:37, JeremyS said:

Well you could always get it’s sibling in the meantime, Ags. Even more portable 

Ah, ever so tempting!  I just bought a 50mm RACI finder that takes interchangeable EPs to play with.  Unfortunately, the back focus is designed for an illuminated EP and the regular EP has to be lifted up about 10mm in the diagonal to come to focus.  But it was only $50 US and I made a EP spacer out of packing foam.  Could become my ultimate grab-n-go.

One dark site AirBnb that I rent has a huge grain elevator to the SSW.  That thing creates its own light bubble out in the corn fields.  😛

Luckily, it's far enough away that it only comes up about 10* above the horizon. 

On 14/05/2022 at 16:12, AstroNebulee said:

Very interesting to watch your build evolve, I'm very impressed by your hard graft. Looking forward to watching your build. Love the vape and laser line, I thought we were holding a rock concert on your garden 😊

I was thinking more of the mystery hole in "Outer Range".