Ships and Stars

(UPDATE - I see your map now, missed it first time). I live near Aberdeen, there are some good spots around that aren't too far. The Cabrach up on the N side of the Cairngorms is the one if you don't mind a little drive. Dallas looks good too (not Texas, lol) With a portable scope like yours you can easily rock up to a layby and have a look. Try car parks for walkers, national trust sites, scheduled ancient monuments, etc. There are loads of places to park. Under the Scottish outdoor code, you can park up to 30ft off a road, but must move if asked. No one's ever bothered me and I've spent quite a few nights both astronomy or mainly just camping off a B road or single track somewhere. Any questions ping me a message. I study the light pollution map constantly! PS try the walkhighlands map for walking routes, then see where the car parks are at for the start of the route - you'll get dozens of places to park without bother. If you get tired of the 70mm 700, a Skyliner 200 or 250p dobsonian scope or a used 200p on a used EQ5 mount is a big, big step up and not too expensive if you find a deal.

I posted earlier how I'd love to use the UH88 2.2m/22m focal length F10 scope at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Assuming it takes 2" eyepieces🤣, this is what the Dumbbell Nebula would look like through a 55mm TV plossl. A perfect fit! Only 406x mag and a nice 5.5mm exit pupil to boot. It's nice to dream.

All perspective isn't it! I'm still learning the stars, but after a year or so, I can walk outside now and name many of the brighter stars and point roughly where different DSOs should be. I've been know to be off a few degrees though! Those of you who have been doing this for decades using any type of scope from cheap binos to triplets and then sharing your experience on here, hats off to you!

Aye, but that's the hi-vis non-slip grip tube with ED triplet glass in there! A wolf in sheep's clothing. The looks are simply a clever design to reduce theft, unless you happen to be six. I do note the absence of a focuser however. Maybe it has internal focus like the old Zeiss, but controlled via a wifi app? NB-I know we've strayed a bit here from the original post, couldn't resist though... It would be interesting to have a budget vs high-end scope/EP combo 'shootout' of some sort and see what's what. I'm pretty happy with my £55 36mm Baader aspheric that has received terrible reviews. I've happily used mine against a 21mm Ethos on some objects!

Thanks very much John! My two lowest-mag eyepieces have relatively huge exit pupils in an f4 scope, don't want to miss any photons, but lunar views with these two EPs are incredible. Cheers

But if you want to talk serious scopes, I've always fancied using the fork-mounted 88-inch f10 Cassegrain UH88 atop Mauna Kea 😀. But only if I could use it there of course! I'd lose my widefield views though 🤣

From my relatively limited experience as a visual observer, a lot depends on sky darkness. A smaller scope under very dark skies will equal a much larger scope under more light polluted skies. How to directly compare those two is more difficult to put into percentages, i.e. an 8" newt under Bortle 2 with excellent seeing conditions equals x percent of a 20" dob under Bortle 5 with so-so seeing... lots of variables here. I'm into DSOs and some of the fainter objects, so all else being equal, aperture is king. I have a 200p newt on an EQ5 that I picked up for peanuts, and a 20" dob that I only managed to buy because work was insanely busy for six or eight months and I was frankly too busy to spend any money on holidays etc. I've seen the same DSOs with both the 8 and 20", but naturally the 20" is a leap in terms of detail and brightness, whereas the 8" may just reveal a faint patch of nebulousity. Price per increase in aperture is exponential though. Those extra inches of aperture don't come cheaply and a scope that costs 5x what a smaller scope costs doesn't necessarily bring 5x more enjoyment. As far as what constitutes a serious scope, that's entirely subjective I would say. It's more down to the observer. I've had some of my best widefield views with 12x70 Cometron binos that I paid £30 for. The stress of using a smaller scope is greatly reduced as well, easier transport and if something happens to the mirror or optics like a nasty scratch or heaven forbid, the secondary or an eyepiece somehow drops on the primary mirror, it won't precipitate a nervous breakdown!

Hi all, quite a basic question here. If I 2x barlow an eyepiece, what effect does it have on exit pupil and coma? In other words, if an EP's exit pupil is 10mm in a fast scope (say f4) and produces some coma around the edges and I want to reduce it, would adding a 2x barlow reduce exit pupil size by 50% and would it reduce coma as a result by making the effective aperture f8? Just thinking out loud here regarding some ep/barlow combinations! Cheers all.

I wanted the Paracorr, but due to price and inability to find one second-hand, I ended up going with a second-hand Explore Scientific HR coma corrector in as-new condition for around £175 I think. It is adjustable or 'tuneable' like the Paracorr, so no need to buy additional spacers etc like some of the others require. I've only used it a few times, but on a 100deg Ethos eyepiece at f3.95 in a big dob it does the trick nicely. It adds 1.15x mag I believe. I've also used it as a spacer to obtain the right focus with other EPs I have that are either too far out with the normal 2" spacer and too close without. I think the Baader line is a fair bit cheaper but seem to recall they require additional spacers. I'm not any more familiar with the Baader line than that, am sure others who do AP (I'm visual only) will chime in here soon.

I'd love to but still a bit tricky - wife is expecting not long after that! It's about a 4.5hr drive for me down to Galloway. I won't say no 100% though quite yet. Would be nice to make it. Thanks Mark, it's a lot to move around sometimes, I'm still not happy with my wheelbarrow attachment but the scope is still portable. The Veil was amazing, I want to concentrate more on 6992 the next time. A 20" under decent skies just shows so much. Enjoy your new dob, they are great. If you have a home obsy, you are a lucky man. Hope you have some excellent nights as well.

Thanks again everyone, I'd definitely like to join the dobmob and although my observing report is on the basis side, hope it stirred some excitement. Thanks Ron! Scarp- Linn of Dee would be a great spot - there's a carpark by the Queen's picnic house I think it's called, can't recall the name of the stream that runs down there into the Dee but that would be nice. I have a small campervan with a night heater that uses little fuel and works well. I'm used to winter camping but the van has spoiled me considerably! I still bring lots of warm clothing, goose down if well below zero, or pile and synthetics if there's a chance things will get damp. I actually prefer about -5c, that's perfect! Things stay dry but does zap batteries much faster. Hoping to get out again soon during the next new moon.

Thanks Gus. A 250p under darker skies should reveal quite a lot I'd think! The OIII filter makes a huge difference, want to try a UHC and test the difference. I wish I had the time to go to a Star Party, but they are all quite far away. One of these days!

Thanks very much! I'd been waiting and struggling to get the time for a night like that for quite a while. It was excellent, though I wish I'd had a little more sleep the night before so I could have stayed awake up a bit longer, but not an official complaint, mind! The dark sky spot isn't too far away, quite a few trees on one part of the horizon, but no traffic at night and off the main road. Under a mile of cloud and near-torrential rain today like much of the UK, hope everyone's high and dry. Looking to clear this evening here amazingly. I'll believe it when I see it. Can't wait for another good night with the big dob. Now I have the GOTO up and running I'll plan my targets a bit better. Cocoon Nebula is on the list as I hear it's a bit challenging. Clear skies all (eventually!)

Got it! That B&W of the Horse Head is amazing, using an Atik, no DSLR, but I love that image. Thanks very much! I'll have a trawl through this and give it a go when things shape up weather-wise.

Thanks very much, I meant to add I have a ES 2" coma corrector. When I get a chance I'll set up and try some shots to check the mount is tracking ok as well. I guess I can adjust for backlash on these old motors.

Hi all, looking to possibly delve into the murky world of astrophotography a little bit as I struggle for time to get away to do visual at my dark sky spot with the big scope. At home LP is terrible lately so I've almost given up on that sadly. For my potential 'starter' AP setup, I currently have an old motorised EQ5 with plenty of weights and an as-new 130PDS with Bahtinov mask and a Nikon full frame DSLR with the right adapter to mount on the 130PDS. I don't want to invest in field flatteners and filters at the moment until I can see the potential for results under my LP at home. Probably Bortle 5-6. I'm desperately trying to get the businesses next to me to switch of some key lights at night after they close, they don't normally leave them on but last night was awful. I could literally read my star atlas outside. I shade the scope from direct LP as best as I can. May I ask: Would I be able to image much besides lunar with this setup as is? Objects such as Andromeda or say just general widefield shots? I'm not expecting anything mind-blowing, just a reference image of sorts that shows the object. Should I try some 20-30 sec exposures in RAW at say ISO 800 or 1600 and see if I can avoid star trails? I can also shoot in bulb mode for longer exposures. I regularly shoot ISO3200 at shorter exposures without any problems and have done a fair bit of untracked night shots in bulb mode for aurora, general stars shots etc. Is the full frame sensor wasted on a 2" focuser, or should I shoot in aps-c crop frame mode? I have a 2" Astronomik OIII that would screw on to the 2" adapter. I suppose to cut LP, but might make things too dark. Any ideas appreciated, I'm on a bit of a spending freeze at the moment! Clear skies all. PS - looking at some tutorials, but don't much much time at the moment until everyone's asleep! 😴

Thanks Iain, definitely had the Dark Cigar, didn't spend a lot of time looking for the Cocoon, but now you say it's a challenge, I will definitely try again! The A93 between Spittal of Glenshee and heading north towards Braemar is all quite dark, a solid Bortle 2. There are some large laybys and parking areas a few miles south of Braemar, that's pretty good but random headlights can be annoying as traffic passes. There are some spots off the road a bit more though which shield most of it. Heading up and over the Lecht there are also some good parking places. Just anywhere in the Cairngorms really you can find a decent layby, especially some of the smaller side tracks with little to no traffic. The eastern glens are good too near Tarfside and Glen Doll/Glen Clova and also Glen Lethnot. I've never had anyone bother me and not parked illegally, that is to say too far off the road to constitute trespassing in a motor vehicle under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (10m I think). There are dozens of places spoiled for choice up here. West coast is darker, but that's quite a long journey for me through Inverness. Towards Ullapool I bet is incredible. Thank you, I have the Astronomik OIII I picked up second hand but like new, it seems quite good. Just thinking something a bit less restrictive on light transmission might allow me to see more details. I really appreciate everyone's comments, especially tips for what to see with a larger scope, it's taken me a while to get to this point but worth it. Work has slowed down a bit now so I'm glad I went for the big dob in the spring and some nice eyepieces over the summer (all bought second-hand but basically as new or excellent condition) when things were busy because I wouldn't have been able to buy another one now! Hopefully back out in the next week or two for some more amazing views and will try from home to see what impact LP is really playing now I have a baseline idea to compare with. Clear skies all 👍

I could see that developing here!

Thanks everyone. I'll add IC1318 to the next list. (rubs hands). I'm already looking for new targets as the autumn moves into winter. We have decent seeing at least a couple of days every few weeks here in the NE, we are in a bit of a 'rain shadow' courtesy of the Cairngorms which blocks some rain and cloud from advancing eastwards over us. Orion Nebula should be something else. I'll also pick up an Hbeta filter for the Horse Head, has to be done (or attempted anyway). When it gets colder conditions should basically improve even more (less humidity I think) and hoping to get back to the Bortle 2 site in the Cairngorms for a night like I had back in February, the sky was just unreal. I guess I'm unofficially in the dobmob now?? Very cool! I love my dob! The 21mm Ethos certainly came into it's own, especially with the OIII. I am also looking for a 2" filter that allows slightly more light in, perhaps some type of UHC. Can't wait for the next bash! Clear skies all

Thanks, it was a great evening. Getting some darker skies out of town makes a smaller scope seem much larger as well. I would have been happy using the 200p as well. Thanks Mark - it's been a long road and time is limited. I'll probably be in a bit of hot water tonight for staying out past two days! I can set the scope up quite quickly now, even seems to hold collimation after reassembly. It's a great scope!

I'm planning on making some detailed notes this season on LP. It's quite bright next door at a local business. I'm trying to talk them into installing motion sensors when the have a major refurb in December. For now I hang a small cardboard blind on the gutter next to the closest light. It makes quite a difference! A very cold and crisp winter night in the Cairngorms under low bottle 2 should be a cracker, can't wait but we don't get too many! I'd like to try imaging with my eq5 and 130PDS but that's a bit step up for this impatient observer, ha. I'd be interested to know how a 14" does, I bet it's pretty good! I reckon viewing from a proper dark site really opens things up. I'm going to compare visual this winter from town, just outside town and my best spot in the Cairngorms and see how big the differences are. Cheers all! Clear skies.

Hi all, Last night was the best night of astronomy I've had in my short time delving into this passion. It was simply incredible. Fortunately my dear friends the midgies have departed Scotland for another season. This means I can now stand at the scope without ingesting a lungful of tiny biting insects and concentrate on what I am observing. Always a plus! Two nights ago I went to my local dark spot with my 200p SW reflector. It was wonderful. LP map shows Bortle 4, but I would actually say it was a 3 or possibly a 'bright 2' when the lights go down a bit in the wee hours. Last night, I took the 20" dob and parked up. I am finding it easier and easier to move this beast around, but it's still a little bit of work to set up at the end of the day (literally). It can't all be so easy! I'm fairly new to astronomy and my scopes haven't seen a huge amount of use. After several failed attempts to get the GOTO working, I finally sussed it last night. It was just a few simple things really - small errors on my part such as a misplaced washer which blocked the azimuth from using its full range of motion, combined with a limited view at home which prevented me from doing a successful align. A huge relief to get the GOTO up and running, but I now feel a bit like I'm cheating! I don't feel guilty enough to not use the GOTO however😁 Frankly, it's brilliant and was putting objects bang in the centre of the EP. I arrived about 6pm yesterday so plenty of time to set up. I left my counterweights at home and thus ended up strapping a small vinyl bag of tools and tyre jack to the underside of the mirror box with a tie-down. Worked really well actually! Can fine tune by removing a spanner or two. A few drops of rain blew through just before dusk but then rapidly cleared off, so all systems go. I tripped over the power cord after my first successful align. And then did it again a minute later after my second align! Will need to tidy that arrangement up or put some of my glow tape on the cable. Plenty of practice then doing an alignment, haha. M57 Ring Nebula for starters, I've been playing with my Baader 36mm aspheric quite a lot lately, I like the wide views. The Ring was fairly small through the 36mm but bright and crisply defined with an apparent faint blue tint. I then swapped to the 21mm Ethos and OIII which stayed in the focuser most of the night. Next stop was NGC6960, Western Veil Nebula or 'Witch's Broom Nebula' which was mind-blowing. It appeared as a silvery apparition which threaded right across the sky and extended well past the FOV from the 21mm Ethos. Scanning along its wispy tentacles was amazing. There's something unnerving about viewing it, it gives me goose-pimples, just otherworldly. The Eastern Veil and Pickering's Triangle in the central area were also clearly prominent, albeit slightly less luminous than 6960. The Veil was also clearly visible without the OIII, but with much more 'background noise', i.e. stars competing for attention. Following this, I slewed over to the Cocoon Nebula, but only saw a very dark lane practically void of stars. That was interesting in itself as it was so apparent by virtue of its darkness.. I don't know if I bumped the scope alignment of if I was just too impatient to punch another object in to the handset, but didn't spend a huge amount of time chasing it. In hindsight, I think I slewed to the wrong end of the dark lane. I'll find it next go. I then lined up on the Crescent Nebula which was easily visible, lots of fine filamentary details observable after some time studying it. A beauty. Next was Dumbbell Nebula which practically looked 3D through the big dob, just jumped right out at me. Another simply amazing sight. I spent quite a long time staring at it and could easily see the entire shape and structure extending from the 'Apple Core'. I remarked last night it looked like it was hanging inches in front of the scope. That's sheer aperture working I suppose! At the end, I spent some time just slewing around and having a mesmerising look across the sky, just taking in the depth and variable magnitude of stars that a big scope can display. I was already running on three hours' sleep from the previous night and by this time, I was starting to crash but was on a natural high. I crashed into the bed happily. Can't wait for another clear night with the big dob. I was a bit worried a few weeks ago that I'd bought something I didn't have the time or skill to fully appreciate, but getting the GOTO up and running and being able to rapidly slew to various objects really put things into perspective. My 200p is a wonderful, portable scope, but in comparison, 20" of aperture is simply a completely different level. It is like the difference between a small grainy 640px video and high definition 4k with the brightness cranked right up. Tonight I shall stay in, sleep well and dream about how much discarded glass is needed to cast a 36" mirror blank and how many years it would take me to figure it... Clear skies all

Nice work Mimas DS. I bought my first real scope back in March, just got the goto drive up and working tonight. Some amazing sights. If you can suss it at your latitude, check out parts of the Veil Nebula NGC6960 if you grab a OIII filter and scan to the west for the rest. I'm c.58N near Aberdeen. Without an OIII you can still see it under proper dark skies. Happy views!

This is brilliant.

First port of call - Met Office. Then FLO Clear Outside and Ventusky. Met Office also has visible satellite map. If weather is unstable and there's not a huge clear front passing through, check frequently for updates. I spent several hours Sunday night setting up only to have it start to drizzle. Met Office predicted this, but only an hour before hand. No one else was calling for rain.