Marvin Jenkins

Thanks Dave. When I first printed the chart I saw magnitude 12 and thought no way. My first choice was C/2017 T2 Panstarrs, but Taurus being so low in the sky meant four in the morning and work just won’t let that happen. I was so surprised that Africano brightened that much, it was very much my second choice without hope.

Still going for Panstarrs though as it is supposed to be clear over the weekend. Sadly no Africano second night without mist. Total cloud cover. Will look again this weekend and post if I have success with some form of description.

I should mention that The Little Sombrero galaxy was a first for me too as well, although I could hardly see it. Using a 130 newt so I can only guess what a big aperture can see.

Marv

I have been waiting sometime for this and finally the frustration is over. The comet in the title eluded me until last night.

I printed a pdf of this from sky hound.com well over a week ago. Between work pressure, a glaring moon, I took the chance with the weather of waiting till as close to a new moon as possible. True to form and my fears the clouds rolled in and the rain came. Yesterday there was a glimmer of hope and it is looking promising.

Alarm set for 23:30 I snooze on the sofa. Poked my head out the door and instead of clouds thousands of stars beckon me into the dark. Forecast says it will cloud out again by 3am. Set up the scope laptop and open my box of plossl’s, no point in polar alignment or star alignment. Just want to see this single object for the first time, so pushing the scope around by hand is all that’s needed.

I look East, Cassiopeia, pointing at Andromeda galaxy, clear naked eye object tonight. I continue South East to the great square of Pegasus. There is Algenib my target star, somewhere just inside the square is my comet. I notice on my chart and compare to Stellarium that NGC 7814 the Little Sombrero galaxy is very close to where I need to be looking.

I unsuccessfully complete a couple of star hops but so hard to find. Not surprised as I have problems finding galaxies fainter than mag 10. I found two pairs of stars as a reference point as Stellarium indicates the 7814 is between the pairs, there it is!, so faint I need averted vision. Maybe I am wrong, what if it is Africano? Hang on one minute, almost out of the fov another fuzzy a little larger and thankfully brighter. 

I found this comet thankfully, only my second comet after 46P Wirtinen in December 2018. I tried to describe it in my notes, best I could manage.... fuzzy blob, brighter core, sadly nothing more. Why can I see less now? I turn on my head torch to find I am enveloped in a fine mist, everything is getting wet.

Time to pack up and turn in, off to bed with a smile.

Marvin

What a great post. I will be making notes. Some of the objects I have seen but most not, and one persons view is different to another.

Your final paragraph about today’s problems are right on, in my opinion. I think science has proved that mankind was physically diminished in physical size by organised agriculture (not number)

However.... I understand that political social ideas are not allowed on this site. I stand to be corrected, but I have seen basic comments about current topics curtailed. I think the idea is, that it is all about astronomy, nothing else. And I agree.

Marvin 

That is amazing. Everything I am aiming for in the future. Thanks for the motivation, brilliant. Any details on ISO and exposure length, plus any dark arts I am unaware?

I can only echo my fellow members warm welcome. It is utterly genuine, and this place is a testimonial to how a group effort can take a person and give them the knowledge they need.

I am sorry to hear about your medical situation, it can’t be easy I am sure. I hope that your situation does not stop you from looking at the skies.

Feel free to ask any questions of the membership, I have found nothing but intelligent, well thought out and well practiced advice. Without the members of this forum I would be a year behind where I am now.

No question is too small. Often the obvious question not asked is the biggest breakthrough.

Marvin

Lovely natural picture. Just the kind of thing I have been having trouble with. Where is the location, looks amazing.

Marv

Loved the report. I was out at the same time wading through open clusters in Cassiopeia and getting my first look at the Bubble nebula. Being out observing with no one else around often feels like solitude. I sometimes find myself wondering how many other astronomers are looking at the very same object at that very moment. Probably hundreds if not more.

Carolina’s Rose! I will have to look that one up.

Marv

Doesn’t work in my house or in my garden. I must be the odd one out.

Heritage all the way, do it.

Thought it would be a good idea to control NEQ5 pro mount synscan V5 via Stellarium. Downloaded the EQMOD platform plus relevant drivers. Bought the EQMOD usb cable for 35 quid from FLO, connected everything, ran through the set up procedure, all the com port stuff and frankly the computer talks to the mount, the mount refuses to talk back.

I got on here for answers, and basically windows 10 doesn’t work with EQMOD yet. The thread is on here under software and frankly to get it to work would turn me into a pasty computer geek instead of a pasty Astro geek. I would rather look at the night sky than a computer screen

Marv

As a landscape gardener, I love a mini digger. One week in a couple of hours, I refer to them as time machines.

Man, you are going to be comfy and sorted by the end of October for sure. Please keep posting as I have the very same project for next year. My only difference is I have a pier waiting to go in on a meter deep footing.

Marv

I have an eqmod cable, chopped into pieces because it doesn’t work. You are welcome to the bits, perhaps you could make the perfect length cable out of it and spend a week of your life playing with a computer instead of looking at the sky like I did.

Marv

Your picture is amazing. I understand about three percent of your post, I have so much to learn. I think you should should be called Professor Kinch. Makes me want to read more, so can only be a good thing.

Marv

Loving it all. I got my first look at Tweedledum five weeks ago. Looked it up after taking notes and laughed at the name. I normally go all polar aligned and synscan, but decided to cast around and just look due to time constraints. Good night, would not have tweedledum in my diary if I had gone go to.

Made a note to go free style every now and again. My diary says “now I know what dob owners are seeing, it is so simple.

Marv

JamesF, you the man. I am always fearful of going into settings and background areas as I am old before my years. A sad legacy of being the generation between pre computer and everyone has a computer age, I try my hardest, but somehow I like a printed page.

I am 47, my school had four BBC Micro’s but no pupil was allowed to use them as they were very expensive. So don’t blame me.

Marv

Please don’t give up. The sky is right there above you, look up, point your scope at it and look through it. A lot of what you see on here is not visually possible as it has been captured by layering images on top of each other.

I started two years ago. Read a lot of books, logged on this site everyday and tried to get out even for one hour on a clear night, yes I work for a living, probably like you.

Two years in I am totally committed, the night sky is the biggest stage show you will ever have a front row seat for free.

Marv

Point it at the moon, look through the eye piece, turn the focus knob slowly from one extreme to the other and hopefully you will have the top of your head popped off.

How much you see is part scope, part weather and part moon. Look every night as you never know when the weather closes in. Right now the moon is ‘very full’ a couple more days and the shadow area between light and dark, called the terminator will allow you to see craters and mountain ranges. 

I hope what you see will live with you for ever. If you have that ‘wonder’ the night sky is a riot of discovery that continues to make my jaw drop, hopefully yours too.

What you are using now might be good for lunar and if you look south Jupiter and to a lesser degree Saturn, but you may be inspired, I hope so. There are so many people who have been in your shoes and are currently smiling from ear to ear at what you are about to get into.

Marv

For the last couple of years I have been using SN7 as my planetarium software, primarily as it was bundled free with the scope set up my wife bought me. Up until recently I have had nothing but praise, it works great.

Recently I started using Stellarium. It seems more exact, scientific and lots of other people sing it’s praises. I have however, run into a problem.

If the weather holds to the end of the week, with the waining moon I was going to try for a visual on the comet C/2017 T2 Panstarrs  somewhere in Taurus and printed the path from comet watch.

I compared the pdf against my star chart which I use in the garden and decided that a modern approach may be used in addition. Due to the moon position it may be hard to find so I looked it up on Stellarium....... nothing! Looked it up on SN7 and bang there it is.

Is there something on Stellarium I am missing that can flag up current comets. The position on SN7 was perfect but I did note that star positions on Stellarium are far more accurate, SN7 some stars were missing altogether.

Tax rebate! In France, just like dark matter, never seen it.

Marvin

Thanks for the info especially as I have used the fitting for connecting a DSLR.

Marv

180 seconds ISO 800 with my Nikon D3100 mounted on an NEQ5. Jupiter and Saturn and an aircraft heading into Toulouse. No real processing, just a bit of colour and contrast adjustment in the windows picture program.

Instalment three. Day light check on my most distant terrestrial object, a pylon about a K away. Turns out I have zero distant focus, the focuser is racked all the way back into the OTA and it is not enough. Now I start to worry as it's not like I can put the original focuser back on as I have cut and ground a huge hole in the OTA!

For obvious reasons I am not using the 2 inch or 1.25 extensions that come with the focuser, what are they for? I remove all the 1.25 fittings from the focuser just leaving the 2 inch fitting that a t ring would screw onto and simply hold an eyepiece in the hole to see where it would have to be to attain focus. Seems the 1.25 ext tube is three cm's too long, think about cutting it right down to just retain the two thumb screws that secure the eye piece. Then have another idea.....

The old focuser has a short section at the end for the eyepiece to go in. Why cut one down when I can unscrew the end of the old one and join it to the 2 inch fitting with a slim section of grey plumbing pipe (picture above). Tried all my eye pieces and problem solved, the eye piece is now closer to the center of the OTA by 4 cm's and focus has been achieved. That very night it is clear so Jupiter beckons, what better target to test it on.

The following is from my diary, and I think proves that the unit is a massive improvement, not just because of the DS aspect, but I can finally collimate this scope. Jupiter at dusk. Lot's of heat distortion, but all four moons clearly visible. Two weather bands showing and fortunate to see the GRS. Can just see some southern features, I would only dream of seeing all that once it is truly dark and it is not.

The last thing I need to do is focus my attention to the gap around the focuser due to the radius problem. I have found some 10mm thick medium density foam which I will use as a light sealing gasket, simply cut to shape and size with scissors and pushed into the gap to stop light leakage. I think I have now reached the limit with mods unless anyone has any suggestions. The last picture is 'it' finished. The grey bit around the bottom of the tube is light shield made from camping bed roll that cost 3 euro, is even baffled in texture on the inside.

Collimation knobs, and an anti dew band as winter is approaching and my work here is done. Next time I am out observing I will try and get a picture and add it to the thread on here about showing your scope in action.

Marvin

Nodding Doc mount, me thinks. Serious question. What was the motivation for building this mount? 

I can see from the build quality it is very impressive and I can only wish I had the skills to design and make something approaching the nodding doc.

More power to you

Marvin

I think the only option is to get all of the above! Only joking. I don’t like commenting on Dobs as I do not have one, but it is unanimous that they are the best value for money for aperture. The downside is very limited for photography.

I chose the Newtonian on an EQ mount thinking I could do astrophotography. EQ2!!!!!! A smallish newt is a remarkable instrument, but needs a good mount EQ5 and beyond. My personal jump to EQ5 has made me very happy for the time being with the small newt I have 130.

Took my breath away what can be seen by a 130 under dark skies on a decent mount. Could probably say the same for a small frac but the cost is somewhat higher. No truer statement, no mount, no scope.

Dobs on the other hand have little if no mount issues and for cost give you way bigger apertures. If you are happy with visual only get a Dob, if you want go to with Astro photography possibilities get a Newt or Frac on a decent EQ. 

Marv

Stage two. Installing the focuser mounting plate. First thing is, the plate is made for a larger diameter tube than mine so the radius is larger. In essence I have a big gap on two sides of the focuser, so I have to add spacers to allow the fixing bolts to bind up on something. The fixings are simple metric threaded, conical headed bolts. I did have to cut them to length as mine were over long. (couple of pairs went in the bin after cutting too short)

Now the base plate is in place I realise that the shoe for the finder scope will have to be moved. Only one hole to drill as one existing hole is used. You can see the redundant hole between the shoe and the focuser base plate. I will have to close this somehow, black tape for the time being.

Now before refitting the OTA I turned my attention to the secondary mirror. I have seen a few mentions on here of blackening mirror edges to remove light splatter and I can see why. The second pic is the item in question and it has a ground edge with quite a large surface area which light has to pass over to reach the primary. The second picture is with the edge and back face blackened with matt paint, simply applied (carefully) with an artists paintbrush. The paint is still wet so looks gloss.

Once all was dry the re-build begins. Once back together but before the secondary mirror goes in, I blacken the focuser base plate nuts inside the OTA. Secondary mirror back in place and then the focuser body re-attached via the three small grub screws. Wow that is a big unit compared to the urrrrr that it came with. I pop in the laser collimator and do some basic alignment checks and smile, no focuser tube movement! ten minutes and it is collimated. (Still using allen keys, no B knobs yet)

Next instalment, first light, or at least a daylight alignment on a distant pylon to see if anything needs adjusting, you know it will........... Next instalment.

Marvin