wesdon1

On 25/04/2024 at 17:38, Alan White said:

If you look at the second image in my post, you will discover my use....
I used it to remount a good filter than had odd threads in my case.

 

@Alan White Oh right ok that makes sense! Thanks Alan! 

38 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

ADM , Skytee Clamp ...and a 2" Stella Mira Diagonal , delivered this morning by the Royal Mail . 

@Stu1smartcookie Nice! I love those reassuringly chunky alloy knobs on those plates, it just feels so much more secure! 

That diagonal looks ace too! 

44 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Postie Pete has been and delivered. a little filter based haul 🙂

First up a pair of Baader 2" Empty Filter frames,
oddly cheaper delivered from Telescopes Canada than a UK supplier or Baader themselves.

 

Allowed me to remount the Orion Ultrablock that I was very kindly given, but sadly I could not screw onto my then only 2" EP.

 

And finally a Japan Made 80A filter, Bargain off eBay 👍

@Alan White Alan, if I may, what is the empty filter frame used for? I've seen this before my friend? 

On 24/04/2024 at 08:40, LaurenceT said:

Clear images but just a bit too bright IMHO.

I'm not quite clear why you are transferring images from the micro sd card to the 64gb usb. Why don't you just send the images directly to the usb dongle in the first place? Apologies if I've got the wrong end of the stick. 

@LaurenceT Hi Laurence! No honestly thank you for the constructive feedback my friend! I really would prefer people were totally honest with me so I can recognise my mistakes and improve my astro-images! 

So in relation to the micro-sd and dongle issue, you're 100% correct, all it was, was I forgot to change the settings in my Air to save files to Dongle instead of sd card! lol. I ended up finally working out how to transfer all the files direct from my Air's sd card to my home computer via WiFI. It was literally my first ever night gathering data using my Air in place of my Laptop. So i'm still learning but i'm fairly pleased with my progress thus far! 

Kind Regards, Wes.

6 hours ago, Dragon_Sky said:

Some lovely close ups of the sunspots active at the moment, of which there’s many

Taken through a WO GT81, with Baader 3.8 film and 7nm Continuum filter.

Camera: Player One Mars M (290)

@Dragon_Sky Awesome images mate! 

Regards, Wes

18 hours ago, Tiny Clanger said:

And so it begins ...

@jp1977 @Tiny Clanger Indeed! It won't be long before you catch those most virulent of astro viruses, known as "Gear and Aperture fever!" 😱😂

Hi all. The other night my already faulty intervalometer stopped working altogether so I saved the precious clear night sky time by taking some short vids of our Moon for later processing. I'm not really happy with them but atleast I got something to show for my night! 

Both images from exact same data, just processed slightly differently.

*1 x 8 minute video @30fps

*1200 x best frames stacked after PIPP. used Autostakkert and Registax

1st image simply 1200 best frames stacked in Autostakkert. Slight wavelets adjustment for sharpness.

*2nd image had - wavelets, colour adjustment ( RGB ) and colour enhancement.

*Mount - SW HEQ5 Pro

*Telescope - SW 200P

*Canon T1i DSLR "unmodded"

I also took some close up videos of Lunar surface with ASI 224MC and ASI Air Pro but haven't managed to get data transferred from the tiny 32GB Air memory card onto the 64GB Dongle, so those processed images will be coming in a few days. If they're half decent I'll enter them into SGL's Lunar surface competition.

14 minutes ago, DirkSteele said:

Been on the shelf for many years. I was already pretty experienced by the time it was published but I bought to see why so many recommended it to beginners. Short answer is it is great.

@DirkSteele I had a feeling you'd already own TLAO! That's why I qualified my question by saying sorry if I sound silly! lol. Yes it's great book indeed! 

I think it's such a shame that many people now read "Books" on electronic devices?? Why?? You just cannot beat the feel, the joy, even the smell of a real book in your hands! ( Not to mention a real book doesn't need recharging! lol )

19 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

Big delivery of books to add to the Astronomy library. 

 

The one I most excited about has recently been published. The Binocular Handbook by Holger Merlitz. If you know binocular reviews online you probably consider Holger a preeminent reviewer of them. A scientist by profession, he brings a lot of technical know how to the table. Hoping to learn plenty of new things to improve my own ability to review optics.

@DirkSteele Hi, what a great selection to add to your astronomy related collection! This might sound silly, but do you yet own "Turn Left At Orion"? It's great book! 

17 hours ago, Flame Nebula said:

Thanks Wes, 

I'll probably get the mount new, as it really is critically important there are no issues with it, as I intend to also do DSO AP, which will need very accurate tracking, especially if I move up from frac to newt. But, if I see a used 200pds which has been modded, and I know many people do, and it's cheaper than new, it would be hard to resist. The only pain is travelling several hundred miles, only to find the mirror has, shall we say, seen better days. 

However, I think for the frac, you're totally right. In fact I bought my 80ed for £330 off Ebay and it's perfect! Same with the 127mm mak, £120 off Ebay. Nothing wrong with it. However, I would not buy more expensive stuff from there. I did see a £700 frac being sold near where my parents live in Wales, but not ready to buy yet. But, it shows they're out there at that price. 

With gear like the asiair, being electronic and again absolutely critical part of dso AP, I'd probably buy new. 

But, case by case I think. 👍

@Flame Nebula yes I totally see your reasoning my friend. I look forward to seeing how you get on with AP in coming months! I'm only 15'ish months into AP so I still have lots to learn. I have done visual astro for some 7-8 years I think. I absolutely love the hobby! I just wish our UK weather would be kinder to us all! LOL

13 minutes ago, Flame Nebula said:

Thanks Wes, 

A very good analogy using the stream and pebbles. 👍

It seems from all I've read so far, that the logical path is via the 200pds, which is now 100% probable, up from 95% last month. 🤣

I think part of me would also like a used SW 120ed, as I think it may have the potential to complement the newt, and I have a suspicion that for some targets like Sirius , it might be easier to pull out the pup. But, it would make sense to make every effort with the 8" first. 

 

@Flame Nebula I honestly think you wont be disappointed by getting the cheaper Newtonian first! Then definitely when funds allow get a Skywatcher 120ED, they're brilliant refractors, my best friend Colin owns one and they're such great 'scopes! 

I recall earlier seeing you ask another member was it worth buying used? My personal opinion is nearly always buy used! I'll explain. This hobby, as you know, can get very expensive indeed! So buying used is practically a must for most people! You can get save so much money plus the majority of expensive astronomy gear will have been well taken care of by their respective owners for the very reasons i'm telling you to buy used in the first place! lol. Why spend £1000 on something when you can spend £500-£700 and get an instrument that will do EXACTLY the same thing as a brand new one, save for a few scratches on it's paintwork, or some dust here and there?? Telescopes, atlleast the decent ones, are built to endure, tthey have to deal with the elements, with cold/heat etc so they're generally very hardy and with proper care and maintenance will last a lifetime! If i tell you nothing else, please consider buying quality used telescope/gear! Obviously be diligent when buying from a stranger but that's common sense for buying anything as you well know my friend! 

3 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Here's how it works:

With a 300mm scope you should be able to get around 125mm without obstruction. So around f12 and completely CA free.

@Mr Spock Oohh my goodness yes!! I always wondered what exactly those capped holes in my newts' front plastic covers were for! Thank You for educating me Mr Spock! ☺️👍

14 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

In 2017 I was in the happy position, at the age of 61, to acquire my dream scope, an immaculate 1999 Takahashi FS128 Fluorite Apo complete with Takahashi equatorial mount, tripod and a few Tak accessories. It was to be my "lifetime scope", and my wife fully supported the purchase.

I owned the setup for 7 years but in the last 2-3 years began to have to accept that my deteriorating eyesight would prevent me from getting the best from the FS128 going forward. Also, the FS128 is a large, bulky scope for it's aperture (although not too heavy), and with our poor climate for astro I.l.reluctantly decided to slightly downsize the scope but to keep the Tak mount.

Here is where i think the point I want to make kicks in. When I sold the Tak in February, it was a 24 year old scope, albeit in superb condition. I had 3 firm offers to buy it at the asking price within 3 hours of offering it for sale: I managed to get back very close to what I paid for it in 2017, and with the proceeds I was able to buy a mint 1 year old Vixen SD115S apo (itself a superb scope), and a set of 6 high quality Vixen LVW eyepieces, with some change left over.

So the Tak depreciated very little, and I doubt that any reflector would hold it's value in the same way (although the reflector would of course cost far less to begin with).

I actually feel that your stated plan to end up with ED 80mm and120mm to 128mm refractors and an 8" reflector would give you an ideal spread of scopes that would cover all your needs for the rest of your observing life. On different objects and in different conditions, a 5" refractor and a  8" reflector can show a fantastic, wide range of objects really well, and are different enough to justify owning both if you are able to.

I hope your future work and eye health circumstances allow you to achieve this. All I would say finally, is if/when the opportunity arises, seize it!..your eyesight will likely never be better than it is now, nor your physical strength for lugging equipment around.

I have never regretted buying the Tak, and am fortunate to have found a worthy, if slightly less powerful replacement.

Good luck with achieving your astro goals.

Dave

 

@F15Rules Awww that's a lovely post! And very wise! 🙂👏

21 minutes ago, Flame Nebula said:

Thanks Wes, 

I'll probably see what jupiter looks like without, and then consider it. I was more interested in if it would allow extra details to be seen. Did you not see anything extra at 8" aperture? 

@Flame Nebula Just a heads up, I don't know how quickly or not you seen my reply but i've just written a bit more to it, bits I forgot to mention! 

17 minutes ago, Flame Nebula said:

Thanks Wes, 

I'll probably see what jupiter looks like without, and then consider it. I was more interested in if it would allow extra details to be seen. Did you not see anything extra at 8" aperture? 

@Flame Nebula Assuming your question relates to the 5inch refractor vs 8inch newtonian? Oh yes definitely. Impo the views of planets like Jup. and Sat. and others is much better through my 8inch newt than my "almost" 5 inch refractor. One thing to note, your local seeing conditions can have a big effect your views, so when it's really bad seeing, I have found the views to be slightly better through the refractor/120mm. I believe the reason is when seeing is bad, the ability to resolve fine details in planets is limited, and larger aperture 'scopes simply help you "see" more of the bad seeing, if that makes sense? ( I don't know if you know already, but just incase, seeing refers to the atmospheres "steadiness". When its bad, the views of planets, particularly at higher mags, are not very pleasing. A good analogy is looking at pebbles in a stream, where they appear all wobbly n blurred ) My personal advice would be get an 8inch newtonian, they're relatively cheap, the ratio of pounds spent per mm of aperture is as good as you'll get in astronomy! They pack a heck of a punch for the money! Other members may have different opinions but this is my own personal experience! Hope this helps! 

19 hours ago, Flame Nebula said:

Thanks Mr Spock, 

Pulling out one particular comment, I was interested in the variable polariser. How does it affect the appearance of jupiter, wrt bands, GRS, etc? 

@Flame Nebula Hi again. I've used a variable polariser many many times of 7-8 years doing visual and in my experience they aren't much use for Sat. and Jup. in terms of reducing brightness because brightness of those planets has never been an issue for me. One planet that I would argue the VP is essential for viewing though, is Venus! It is stupendously bright! You definitely need a VP to view Venus, and you get to resolve it's phase! It's very pretty!

I must also qualify the statement, by saying I've only ever used the VP with an aperture of up to 8 inches, so it's entirely possible larger aperture 'scopes might benefit from it when viewing Jup. and Sat? I'm other much more experienced members can advise you on that!

19 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I think there are many swings an roundabouts between a good apo and a Newtonian.

On a day of good seeing my 12" Newt can reveal the finest detail on the moon. A few nights ago it was cruising at x380. It's not the highest it can go as the seeing wasn't perfect, but high enough to see 1km craters. However, the same night, double stars were fuzzy. When seeing is excellent it shows pinpoint airy discs, and I have split 0.4" doubles, but it does require excellent seeing. Very good isn't good enough and most of the time stars can look fuzzy.

With something like Jupiter you have to use a variable polariser with the 12" to cut down brightness. When you do you can't see diffraction spikes.

The 4" apo on the other hand shows airy discs at the drop of a hat. Seeing can be just acceptable and it is good. It can never approach the 12" for detail, but its performance belies its size, especially when seeing isn't so good.

If I was going purely for double stars I'd want a large apo. 150mm+ if funds were unlimited.

There's the other issue, cost. If you include the mount, the 4" in total cost four times what the 12" cost... I'm sure you could create an offset sub aperture mask for the 12" to avoid the central obstruction and get the same mm for mm performance - without the size convenience of course.

@Mr Spock Hi, may I ask, what is that "offset sub aperture mask"? Also, and please forgive me if I sound stupid, but how is it possible to avoid a Newtonians central obstruction? Or have I misunderstood what you meant? Again please don't laugh at me if I sound dumb! 🤦‍♂️😂

Many Thanks, Wes.

16 hours ago, Astronomist said:

DPD left this on my doorstep today- about 3 weeks late because they lost the first parcel. Also Altair Astro's communications are quite slow, as I'm sure many of you have already experienced. Anyhow it's here at last, and the sky is looking clear-ish. I've just tested it against the neighbors chimney pots, the sensitivity compared to my DSLR is amazing!

@Astronomist Hi, I'm surprised DPD let you down Harry, I've always actually favoured them because I've always had really reliable service from them. I'm just very happy for you that you finally got your new toy! 

I've been mulling over Altair Astro camera for months now, so I'd be interested to see how you get on with it in the coming months. Is it the cooled version or just fan cooled? 

Thanks, Wes.

17 minutes ago, AstralFields said:

I always say, get an 8" and get most of the Messier catalog done with that telescope. Do some Solar System observing and imaging and then you will know if you should get a bigger scope.

Been there done that.. and I know now! Bigger it is!

So what is it??

@AstralFields Is that an 8" or a 10" incher mate? 

I must agree that bigger is normally better, particularly for visual astro! 

4 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

To all. Some posts have been removed from this thread, please stay on topic.

@Cornelius Varley Hi Peter. If this post relates to me personally then I apologise for going off topic. I will do my best to make sure I don't get side tracked again my friend...

Kindest Regards, Wes.

Just now, JeremyS said:

I’ll give you 18 months until you’ve outgrown the new case, Alan 🤣

LOL I concur! This hobby has a high rate of gear and aperture fever, and it's more contagious than covid! 😱😂

15 hours ago, Elp said:

You do have to stick to it. Half the time I'm experimenting with different equipment, did so last night and did 3 hours via a newly acquired camera body. It works but it's noisy, and too short of a lens used, so the data will generally be unusable mainly due to the FL. Onto the next experiment!

@Elp Definitely mate. Some would call us mad...I'd say we're simply passionate about the hobby!

You're not alone there my friend, my data data turned out usable ( just ) but in no way is it adequate recompense for the grueling effort I made! LOL ( but then I say to myself...my recompense is the wonderful unique hobby itself, not just how good my data is at the end of the night! ☺️ )

3 minutes ago, 900SL said:

Asiair can use either your main camera or guide camera for PA. It's pretty accurate, and doesn't require the camera and scope to be exactly aligned with the NCP.

The all sky alignment feature on asiair was a game changer for me, when my location didn't have a clear view of polaris

@900SL Wow I didn't know this so thank you for telling me. I was blown away with the IOpton IPolar, just easy to use and super accurate. Now I know there also the features and functions of my new Air also, I'm really excited to try them out during my next night!

25 minutes ago, Adreneline said:

Exactly my experience with a PoleMaster.

I found the QHY camera is also recognised by SharpCap so you can use that as confirmation if you feel so inclined - but I would advise against it - and don't be tempted to triple check with an ASIair either! 🤣

@Adreneline LOL. I actually feel a bit dumb here because I have no idea about triple checking with ASI Air? I actually only bought my Air about a week ago so have no experience using it yet! LOL. I did do some indoor shots using my new Air connected to my DSLR, just to learn it functions etc but then was stopped dead in my tracks when I realised I need a FTDI EQMOD cable to get my HEQ5 Pro mount and Air to talk to each other! LOL

Hi all, last night everything was going perfectly, I'd setup before sunset, then did the usual PA ( with my new IOptron IPolar, which I've already posted about. Incredible ) 3 star alignment, got PHD2 running with sub 1 arc sec. tracking. Slewed to M101, plugged into my DSLR my shutter release cable. Dials in my number of subs/duration for each sub etc, presses start...and nothing happened!!?? To save you the tedious bits of everything I tried in vain to resolve the issue, I eventually found a way to get the SRC to start commanding my camera. Only issue, I had to sit there all night manually pressing the SRC after every single sub!! ALL NIGHT!! A total of 2 hours 19 minutes/60 sec subs, so 139 nine times in total I had to wait for each exposure to end, then press button manually again, for two hours and forty minutes ( adding in the time it took me to hear camera stop, grab the SRC again and press button ) It was gruelling! My goodness I was furious! LOL. 

Despite that nightmare, I still loved getting outside for first time in months! I just pray all the tedious brain numbing effort was worth it when I process my data in couple days! LOL

As a side note, I think if you're not prepared to accept that this hobby can be a nightmare some nights, that you will have nights that are simply cruel to you, then you're in the wrong hobby! That is something I've learned during my circa 16 months doing astro!

Happy hunting and clear skies!