Marvin Jenkins

I agree with James. I use one of those jumper packs with a battery sealed inside as they conveniently have one or two cigarette sockets on the front. They work great, but unless fully charged I have had problems. Mine has a button on the front, when pushed shows level of charge. It says green full, but it is not and needs a charge to be truthfully full.

I don’t use a dob so don’t flog me. However I have had strange alignment issues on big battery packs that claim max charge. If you can test your scope via a long mains cable plugged into your house supply it will indicate if you have a power issue. (Be aware of moisture dew) You don’t need to do an observation session, but it might narrow down your problem and identify or eliminate a cause. I lost three valuable nights astronomy due to major alignment inaccuracies. My large power supply said perfect but plugged into the mains all problems disappeared. A day later the battery said it needed charging! Eliminate the obvious. Battery packs are great but the light systems on the front to test charge are not very accurate. Marvin

Couldn’t agree more Doug. I love visual, my eye seeing something in the heavens. I also love the images that astronomers are able to create. As for the original idea for this thread (John) with technology being easily accessible at a lesser cost each year then visual may take a back seat for a while. What I have learned in my first two years is that without direct hands on help, proper DSO photography is rarely accomplished, as new persons such as myself need to learn the basics of astronomy before leaping into photography. In that initial period I feel the seeds of the wonders of the heavens are planted. Pictures are truly revealing but seeing is the truth that cannot be denied. I am also aware on the photo side that many of the greatest and simple pictures reveal a view of the universe that is simply not possible through the eye piece. It is simply two pieces to the puzzle and they pendulum one way, then perhaps in the future the other. Nice one John, our paths have crossed a few times and I always look out for your input as I always know there is something that improves my skills, this has really got me thinking. Marvin

I have only been doing astronomy for just less than two years. I am utterly hooked, obsessed my wife says. I am purely visual with the exception of a couple of ep moon shots and some wide field Milky Way pics. Money no object and I would be doing astrophotography but personally I need to see as much as I can with my own eyes for my own satisfaction. Being a ‘fanatic’ I talk to non astronomers who enquire about our pastime and run into a continual problem. Disappointment that what you see is not anything like a Hubble image! In this age of pictures before information the image has more impact and the reality for a lot of first timers is just ‘not’ graphic enough. Visual and photo require dedication and both are valid but with astrophotography you get a souvenir not a memory. A souvenir is something powerful and graphic, materially real after the event. Try getting someone engaged with the description “small grey fuzzy blob”” For me personally I am just glad some people are interested and not watching tv all day. If we need the glossy pictures as well as quiet contemplative ep work then people are looking up! That’s what matters. Marvin

If it’s a bit red in colour could you not process it in photoshop or use filters for the picture.

I was up till now unaware of Assassn. Any further info would be most appreciated. I would be disappointed to miss something right in front of me, especially as it looks like it is going to crystal clear tonight. Marvin

I think we both need to look in the lunar observing sketching section. I have seen recently some amazing crater sketches of terminator areas. Some are so amazing they are ‘Art’ but they are also accurate so not artistic. Let me know what you find. I will likewise Marv

Just been talking about the Pleiades in another observing section. Sketching in the dark fills me with fear, how do I look at the target and sketch without ruining night vision. MaHa you have to give it a go, I recognise the Pleiades from your drawing. I will too if someone highlights the basics on how this is done. Do we use black paper and chalk or something more modern? M

Last night was my first look at the Pleiades for quite some time. Through a low mag ep installed in a 130 newt I can only describe it as a bunch of diamonds in the sky. What do I need to do or buy to see the reflection nebula? I am perfectly happy with how it looks (eye balls pop out) but if there is more to see I want to see it. Marvin

Wow wow and wow. Hopefully what my future holds. John... Uranian moons! I can’t wait.

Loved it all. Completely understand the comfort side of things. Get out to a dark sky site also. We are all here to look at the stars and although I generally do not do the ‘splitting doubles’ thing, the open nature of the above observation session mirrors my own and feels so natural. Understanding and questions come hand in hand, knowledge and answers are not always in balance. I learn so much from posts like this, long may it continue. Marvin

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

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

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

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

It never rains but it floods.

There is nothing a large wild pig with tusks loves more than a green beer. Gordon your card is marked.

It’s all part of the deal. If the work doesn’t get you the wine will. Working with a hangover is why everything takes sooooo long down here. M