Marvin Jenkins

Great avatar by the way.

Does anyone else see an alien before it bursts out of anyone’s chest? 

Marv

Fantastic picture, just in the wrong place. Easy to do (I am guilty also) Mods I am sure you will do your duty and move to imaging where it rightfully resides and can hold its head up high.

Marv

9 minutes ago, jock1958 said:

A few pics with seat fully down (just under 10”) nearly full up and removed. 
The way I adjust and remove the seat is to squeeze the spring loaded lock mechanism together with thumbs and forefingers with both hands
Apologies for my video my usual cameraman (wife) said Strictly is much more important 😩

Hope that helps. 

I may not survive assassination but frankly... Strictly and any program with baking or buying holiday homes in another country, dancing on ice, anything with a phone in vote is destroying the planet!
Forget climate change, flooding, loss of climate, Astroid strike (please) the greatest challenge is mindless television. The word of warning that always rings alarms ‘celebrity’. 
How do we live in a world when a spouse will not video the use of a Berlebach observing chair! The conflicts that have been fought through human history and society has reached this new low point because of ballroom dancing.

I will not be silenced and I will not give in to main stream tv, although I do like Big Bang😁
Marv

Had a crack at it tonight. Not the best conditions, 25% moon lighting up 500 feet altitude of moisture. Everything soaking wet in fifteen minutes by eight o’clock in the evening. In other words I am just happy it is not raining.

I made sure the scope was collimated and cooled. I had already consulted my laminated deep sky atlas and compared all points to Stellarium. I know where to look and where I am going!

Campbells Hydrogen Star here I come..... Total failure. I know I got to within eight inches of it.... that’s the the amount of extra aperture I think I need.

This star is going to be one of those post it notes that just never gets thrown in the bin. I consider this unfinished Astro business. Time will tell.

Marvin

On 18/11/2020 at 18:20, Mr Spock said:

BBBBBB!

Bert's bike's back brake block broke.

But only when spoken as fast as possible...

Don’t start with those silly games Mr Spock or we will all start getting the Pheasant Pluckers one wrong.

Marv

Downloaded for a read tomorrow. My cursory glance leaves me looking forward to my toast and juice, after saying “Hi” to Venus and Mercury before sun rise of course.

Marv

It’s a funny thing this astronomy lark. Not that long ago I got my first view of Mercury, and it was such a high point that I went out with my camera at sun down and caught a pic of it, which I posted here.

I couldn’t believe for a while that I had actually seen the elusive closest planet to our sun. Every morning I am woken by our two dogs at bang on 7am. After feeding I walk them up the lane and for the last five mornings it has been crystol in the direction of sun rise.

Venus is so bright and obvious, but closer to the brightening horizon is a star too bright to not be Mercury. I have confirmed it by Stellarium two nights ago. This morning I walked the dogs up the lane, said hello to the owl in the building opposite, marvelled at Venus and out loud said “Hi Mercury”.

When I started in this mad caper three years ago I wondered whether I would see anything at all. Now I am doing eyeball astronomy walking the dogs in a dressing gown. To all those beginners..... it is all heading your way. The only reason it may not be obvious is study. I realise now that I have seen some of these things before, but just didn’t know what they were.

Marvin

8 hours ago, alacant said:

f8: No corrector required:)

The light passes through zero glass on its way to the dslr, thus avoiding multitude of evils!

Cheers

I did wonder about your setup as I am use to seeing really short tube newts in the quest to to get into the f2.whatever zone. I understand the reality of a fast scope but your setup is just classic. Big thumbs up from me, despite my newt being an f5.

Marv

Absolute jewel box. Mind boggling what you have captured there.

Thanks for posting, I will make a large note to have a go at this myself.

Marv

2 hours ago, Planitair said:

If screeching it is a Barn Owl, I have one makes me jump when out in the dark, Tawny do the Twit twoo thing lol, I have one of those occasionally fly past also.

eric

Not so sure. I have seen my little owl friend (screech) through bins open beak and screech. There is a small possibility that my fat round feathered friend maybe a Scops Owl but they are so close I couldn't tell the difference and a Scopes may make a screech noise.

I sometimes here the Twit twoo and always put it down to a Barn Owl, but I maybe entirely wrong. This Owl thing is getting complicated. Can you imagine what they would think if they knew they were the topic of conversation on the web? Probably wouldn't care…. oooh there's a mouse.

Marv

Boxes within boxes within boxes, for a good reason. Packaging, horrible wasteful stuff destroying the environment but keeping your goodies safe from all but the worst white van driver. I have a white van and drive it daily before anyone starts shouting.

Marv 

48 minutes ago, niallk said:

I came out of a pub in Allihies after a feed of pints, and walked back to the place we were staying in Bortle 3-2. Couldnt see the road This was August, and wow... the night sky with the Milky Way was incredible.  It's what triggered me to start considering buying a telescope, and I started finding places like SGL on-line 😂

Naked eye under truly dark conditions is something special - Andromeda so surprisingly huge and obvious down at the Skellig Star Party in Bortle 2 is an amazing memory.

This year, NEOWISE gave a lot of joy during lockdown when I finally saw it naked eye, and got my kids out of bed to come see it 😊

I love the term ‘feed of pints’ suprized you could see the sky at all. 😂 

Wow. Such amazing work on objects so distant. I am full of admiration for your attention to detail and the information given. Such tiny blobs! But a whole galaxy! Blows my mind.

Marv

It is like looking at the tip of an HSS drill bit. Interesting object for sure.

Marv

On 10/11/2020 at 23:02, SmokeyJoe said:

First clear night for ages.   Set up before dark, polar aligned, focused just after dark. Left it till just before ten in the hopes of reducing light pollution.  Went outside horrible Norfolk fog, can't see any stars, can only just see my scope, kit soaking.  Living in the UK is just not compatible with AP. Grrrrrr. 😡

If it is any consolation I have the same problem. Clouds for months then thick fog when the clouds disappear.

I live in an area where two large rivers join into a 250 hectare water world.

A magnet for wildlife and much needed sanctuary (even if it does feed the nuclear power station further down stream).

under certain conditions we have had thick fog for a month without a single clear moment.

Marvin

Well done, must be something missing at my end then as it gave me the com port but just would not connect. At least I know it is possible with this mount.

Let us know how you get on with guiding. That is my next step for sure.

Marv

Ahh, the eqmod question! I too have the five meter Lynx Astro cable and After weeks of trying I gave up. I used the same computer and cable combo on an NEQ6 and I had it working In twenty minutes.

I looked all through this site and was offered a lot of suggestions all of which did not work. I 100 x checked the com port but the mount never connected. I suspect that the NEQ5 is not compatible with Eqmod. I found lots of info about the HEQ5 but nothing from anyone using our mount.

Frankly it drove me so mad I didn’t touch a computer for a month. If there is anyone out there has got the NEQ5 Eqmod connected please speak up, both of us would be most appreciative.

Marv

You maybe using it for visual Astro only, but if you are planning to do some photography which is possible with this mount, then calibrate the polar scope if you have not already.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to do this via the three grub screws. Most people say AP starts with the HEQ5, but I have managed usable subs up to 60 seconds unguided.

Good luck with the upgrade, it was a game changer for me. Just to be able to track an object was a luxury.

Marv

Mike JW, any idea what is going on with NGC 7270? (WBL 680) Looks like two galaxies colliding, seems there are two core’s.  Is there any other info on this? I will have my own dig and see what comes up.

Great work as always, keep it coming. Frankly I have no idea how you are all doing it. Dr Zarkov cloud gun?

Marvin

6 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Well this is well above my pay grade 

Mine too in truth. I’m just blagging it in hope of an unexpected honorary doctorate.

M

I am quite new to this whole Astro thing with scopes, but have always looked at my environment and asked questions.

Truthfully, I can say although not spectacular in my six inch newt I clearly saw the blue disc of Neptune. 

Because I am new (three years) I am so lucky to have a bunch of Astro events that struck me. Although Neptune was not a poke you in the eye moment, I looked in the books and the realisation about how far away it was and hard it is to find was a goose bump moment.

M

3 minutes ago, DaveS said:

The neutrino flood comes directly from the collapsing core, while it takes an hour or so for the shock wave to make its way to the surface of the star. The speed of the neutrinos is only slightly less than light, so would still get here an hour before the light.

Plenty of time these days for every telescope that could see Betalgeuse to slew to it.

But if we cannot detect the neutrino burst then what use is it to us? It is nice that the neutrino gets to us before the light but it still remains inconsequential as we cannot detect it. (as I understand right now)
If it is undetectable how does that give us time for all the scopes on the planet to slew to it?

Just a thought. Why not have one scope permanently observing the big B? If this star is the mostly likely SN candidate then surely the idea of missing the moment due to scope time is crazy.

M

6 minutes ago, JamesF said:

I completely get this.  The first time you see the Moon and have that feeling that you could just reach out and touch it is quite something.

James

I think it is because it is right there all your life. You see it, but you never see it it in detail. It is familiar, part of your childhood stories, you think you know it. Armstrong, you know the man that walked on it.

In truth, without a scope you just a little more than ancient man. When it is revealed under magnification it is breathtaking.

M

Brilliant work. I never tire of these threads. What a great bit of Astro, reaching right into scientific observation. I have an aim to join you in the not too distant future.

Marv