jjohnson3803

I don't know if you'd consider them to be cheap, but I really like my Vixen SLVs.  Nice eye relief if anybody wears glasses.  Not superwide angle.  They do go on sale from time to time or you might be able to find used ones.

I have a SkyWatcher ST102 achro and an Astronomics AstroTech 72EDii (not quite an APO), so I'd say get one of each.  😉

If I had to choose between them, I'd likely keep the 72ED.  I originally bought a 102ED but it was a beast compared to both the 72 and 102 achro.  

If you want to go the DSLR route without a scope, there are camera trackers available.  

Have a look at posts #7 and #8.  Might be helpful.

Travel kit

I second the suggestion(s) for a small refractor.  I have an ST80 that travels well and was inexpensive enough that I won't be too upset if it ever gets lost / trashed.

If I'm more willing to take care, I have a 72ED that's about 30cm long with the dew shield retracted and a little over 2kg.

Both are light enough to use with a camera tripod and lightweight mount.

No.  Four inches of heavy, wet snow this morning here (Chicago) to be followed by another wave of snow tonight.  😒

And that's to be followed in a day or so with windchills well below 0° F.

However, it looks like it will be clear on Maunakea tonight, so there should be a livestream of sorts to watch:

https://www.webcamtaxi.com/en/usa/hawaii/maunakea-subaru-telescope-cam.html

I'm pretty sure the last of the Iridiums was deorbited.  I'd guess a head-on meteor.  I also think there could be rare or unstudied atmospheric phenomena that pop up from time to time.  A little ball of plasma (?) rolled across my living room floor once during a lightning storm, so who knows?

I couldn't find a paper copy, so I got a Kindle copy.  Great book.  Simpler times.  I'm not that far from his hometown and I've thought about driving there sometime just to see the area.  It's probably covered in asphalt and car dealerships now.  😒

Aside from a few brief clear patches, my diary tells me this is Day 26 of cloudy skies.  I should have expected it as I received a new AZ-GTi mount from FLO about 27 days ago.

I've read some of his books and watched some videos, but I honestly don't think the guy is worth that much to see in person.

I'm thinking about getting a Brandon for my 72ED f6 refractor as an experiment since I've read generally positive comments about them.  My most expensive EPs currently are Vixen SLVs, which I've been happy with.  Worth a try or should I save my astro funds for something else?  (I usually wear my glasses when observing, so LER is important to me.)

Thanks!

I enjoy studying my atlases and guidebooks, but I find this site to be helpful if I want to zero in a bit on various targets.  Some might find it useful:

http://www.virtualcolony.com/sac/

Sorry to hear about the problems you've had.  I've thought about trying EAA or AP and each time I considered it, I came back to the joy of observing with a simple scope and without any technological hoo-doo.

I do admit that I'm very tempted to try a SeeStar, but I don't have the spare funds for one right now.  Maybe that's a good thing.

19 hours ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Of course me all wrapped up warm and cozy, lol 😆 

-30°C windchill predicted for Monday here, but it finally ought to be clear!   

Say what you will about observing through doublepane windows, but I believe I'll do just that.  😁

On 06/01/2024 at 04:50, chopples said:

As a lot of you probably know weather has been pretty pants in the UK but I have at least managed to get a few sessions in!

My AZ-GTi arrived from FLO in mid-December and it's been cloudy since.  But it does seem to work well in my living room.  🙃

1 hour ago, bosun21 said:

All you lucky folks are making me envious. No such cloud gaps for me I’m afraid. At least some of you are getting out there. I really, really must get myself a light G&G set up for these opportunities regardless of how short they are.

It's made a big difference in the total amount of my observing time since I quit waiting for a "good" sky.  Now I'll scoot outside for even a 10-minute look through a sucker hole.  But yes, a very portable GnG is a must.

Amazing.  The forum *does* need a "Wow!"  emoji.

On 01/01/2024 at 07:28, Tomatobro said:

I still cannot decide if the SeeStar is the astro equivalent of the emperors new cloths or not. The only way to find out is to buy one and find out for myself.

Absolutely.  I was very, very close to joining the stampede, but held back for some reason. 

I think it's probably a fine device for what it does, but what exactly does it do, given my location, lack of enthusiasm for post-processing, and so on.

On 30/12/2023 at 04:46, lunator said:

When I first got back into Astronomy I lived in a Bortle 8 area. It will impact what you can see but there are still plenty to see. 

The Moon, planets, star clusters both Open and Globular and my particular favourites double stars. I've observed 2500 pairs so plenty too see

I'm in a B7-8 or thereabouts and I'll second the comment on doubles.  I used to think of them as somewhat boring until rather recently, but there's something quite satisfying when I split a close pair.  Enjoy!

Spectacular!

Sigma Orionis is one of my favorite visual targets.

Beast!  Beast!  Beast!  Beast!  😃

This is about 12-in long with dewshield retracted and weighs around 5 pounds and I believe was designed more for photography although I use mine for visual:

72ED

It's a decent little portable scope and I'd be quite surprised if it's not sold under different brand names in the UK / Europe.  Couple it with a lightweight mount and carbon fiber tripod and it's airliner friendly.  (I use a ScopeTech Zero and Innorel RT90C tripod.)

Just one possible option.

6 hours ago, Simon Pepper said:

Perhaps I convert my ES127 triplet back into a visual scope instead then? I don't really have the space for a dob which is why I have not gone down that route.  

I'm a confirmed refractor fan so I am biased, but a 127mm triplet should show you some very nice views.  Visual won't ever be able to match what you can do with long exposures, stackers, etc., but it's very relaxing compared to futzing with uncooperative technology. 

I had a sunken patio at my former house, but it never flooded.  I figured they either put in a bunch of drain tiles when it was built or maybe the thing was poured over a meter or so of gravel.    

On 26/12/2023 at 16:03, bosun21 said:

I have had a solid curtain of thick clouds here for the past 2 weeks. Beginning to wonder whether spending over £1.5k on my new scope was a waste of time 🤔.

It can help if you have an indoor hobby to spend time on until the clouds move out.  I've decided to dig my HO trains out of storage - it's been cloudy here since before Christmas...