wesdon1

2 hours ago, Flame Nebula said:

The title says it all. 

Curious to know, on same night, same target, have you seen something in the refractor, you couldn't see in the larger reflector. 

Thanks 

Mark 

@Flame Nebula I think this Q should be reversed, but in my experience I've seen more DSO's in my 8" Newt. Reflector than my 5 inch Refractor ( well, 120mm Refractor, so not quite 127mm, but the difference is negligible ) You also have to bear in mind than the two different optical systems have strengths and weaknesses on both sides, it all depends what you're looking at, for example SSO or DSO. 

Hope this sort of helps you understand my friend.

Regards, Wes.

Hi all. I just wanted to tell any folk who don't know, if you want stress free easy and incredibly accurate Polar Alignment, then I cannot recommend highly enough the IOptron IPolar. I tried it for first time last night and I was amazed at how silly easy it was to use and the results were literally perfect! The software you download to Laptop to use the IPolar is silly simple to understand, it's everything you need, and literally nothing else, no frills, no fancy super complicated settings etc etc. My tracking has never been as good, not even close! Plus I didn't have to be on my knees breaking my neck looking through my mounts polar scope, struggling to get it as perfect as possible! SERIOUSEY worth the money!

( Remember to check compatibility with your mount/gear. Also, It requires a Laptop or other computer device to run it's software )

16 hours ago, Giles_B said:

Yes, so nice to have these clear nights - it will be the 3rd in a row I'm out. And more clear sky on Friday and Saturday, although I won't be able to do much galaxy imaging with the full moon...

@Giles_B My goodness you've been spoiled my friend! I've only had 3 nights this year! lol

I was actually imaging M101 last night with the Moon roughly 40 degrees apart from my target. I have looked at my data yet, although the subs coming through looked sorta ok. I'll have to wait n see later! ( I know, it's probably silly shooting so relatively near to the Moon but I'm hopeful! )

15 hours ago, Astronomist said:

 

 

Oh dear! That was what i already feared ( I was about 90% sure! ) it was! It's junk like that which puts potential long term passionate astro-nuts off the hobby for the rest of their lives...really not good!

right i'm off now fellas, hopefully we'll all have great reports to share in the coming days! 

Clear Skies!

3 minutes ago, Vroobel said:

I remember. It was before summer/autumn of last year. The meteoblue was enough to plan the session 2-3 days before with much more than 50% chance that it's doable. 

Presently, a Wether Channel provides me information if I can expect rain or rather clearer sky (which doesn't mean fully clear) a few days earlier. The meteoblue still shows probable sky conditions within the current day. The sat24 shows where the clouds travel while I observe all Europe area for a wider context. 

Unfortunately, the Clear Outside is the least reliable and it happened just after the time I mentioned above. It shows wrong information even in a real time. 

@Vroobel I've never even seen meteoblue, I'll have to look that up. 

Yes I agree the weather channels can give you a general idea what might happen with your local weather, but as you mentioned yourself we have to take a broad range of sources local and in the broader area of UK and western EU. 

I actually like the clear outside app but I agree it can be awfully inaccurate unfortunately...

1 minute ago, Elp said:

I'm actually going to try and attempt a faint magnitude to see how it turns out, last time the moon wasn't up and it was faint so I'm not waiting with baited breath. It's needs to be done though so I can plan the next session accordingly.

@Elp I wish you the best of luck mate. I'm going for M101 myself.

1 minute ago, Elp said:

Oh yeah, and typical moon is shining jubilantly at 70 odd pc.

@Elp and as luck would have it it's mostly broadband galaxy season! Damn Moon! lol

Just now, Vroobel said:

Yes, I agree. None of the weather forecast is trustworthy recently, but a few of them combined together give a quite reliable information if we should be ready or not at all. 

@Vroobel LOL mate I can't remember the last time I saw a weather forecast that reliable! GRRR haha

@Vroobel I just noticed you're in Liverpool same as myself mate! 👌

6 minutes ago, Elp said:

It's quite gusty still, but I'm hoping.

@Elp Yes mate, hopefully we'll all still get some good data. I image surrounded by trees n tall building so I'm hope that might mitigate the wind somewhat...🤞

15 minutes ago, Vroobel said:

It rather looks like the clouds are going to omit us this time. 🙂

https://www.sat24.com/en-gb/country/gb

@Vroobel LOL thats the exact same satelite website I use too mate. It's amazing, especially since it's also free! 

Hi all. So finally tonight ( barring the weather changing drastically from the forecast? ) I/we here in NW England are getting a cloudless night. I was last outside imaging in January! Absolutely cannot wait! My only fears are 1-The forecast is wrong or 2- I have one of those hellish nights where everything seems to go wrong and I end up with crap data or none at all! lol.

On 15/04/2024 at 10:54, jp1977 said:

Hi - First timer here.  I was browsing one of those sites where people give their useless junk away for free to other people locally and stumbled across someone giving a telescope away.

Despite being a sci-fi fan, I've never even looked through a telescope before (I'm 47). So I saw this and thought 'why not - might be fun, and might be something the missues and kids will enjoy'.

Got it home (massive thing on a tripod), took it to peices (I'm a tinkerer) and cleaned away layers of thick dust and put it all back together again.

During this clean up, I found a problem with one of the gears on the mount (sorry, not sure of the correct terminology, yet) - it was the gear that makes fine adjustments up and down when you turn a flexible dial. Anyway, the gear appears to be plastic (nylon?) and about 1/3rd of the teeth are chewed out.

Not to worry I thought - I'll just spin it around so that the good 2/3rd's are within the range I'm likely going to need when adjusting the scope and in the meantime I'll look for a spare - that's a future problem.

I set it up last night for a quick peek, without doing any kind of research - managed to get the crescent moon in shot on the viewfinder. It was a very cloudy night and the moon was obscured intermittently (more so than not). The viewfinder and main cylinder aren't aligned yet either, so what's in the viewfinder, doesn't match what the cylinder sees (another future problem).

Actually seeing anything through the lens looks like it'll need to be a learned skill, as just sticking my eye right up to it resulted in a small blurry circle with my own eyelashes being the main thing I could see for some reason. Backing off slightly and getting the circle of light to fill the view seemed to work but it was a bit hit and miss. But, through some trial and error (adjusting both the horizontal and vertical direction whilst looking through the eyepeice and following light spots around the edges), I was able to get the moon in shot for about 5 seconds before a particularly thick bank of clouds came and didn't look like they were going to clear again for a while.

I mean, what I saw through the lens was pretty amazing for someone who doesn't know any better. For that brief 5 seconds, I got a really clear view of the moon and it's craters and the line where the shadow turns to light - It was pretty amazing.

I gave up after that, as between the clouds, the inexperience of setting up the telescope with the correct angles for my location (UK, Northwest), making the fine adjustments in the right directions, and the incorrect viewfinder alignment, it was just lucky I managed to see anything at all.

Definately hooked though - going to wait for a completely clear night with a good moon (cresent or otherwise) and give it a good go.

Now for the punchline - whilst researching for more lenses (it came with 1 lens only - a 20mm I think), filters, set up instructions and something beyond the basics - I found this site, along with some delightful reviews of the Seben Big Boss 1400-150. Oh well, I guess it was free...

Anyway, going to stick with the free scope for now, try and get some decent views, get the family hooked on it and then maybe I can convince them it's a worthwhile investment to get something half decent

@jp1977 Hi. May I ask, what is that name of the manufacturer that is illegible in the photo? It's on the side of the telescope written in black it appears?

On 09/04/2024 at 13:43, Alan White said:

I can see a certain parallels here, 
Your named John, You Model make and
Have a Handle thing going one..... Sounds a familiar tale for one late of this parish (RIP John in Derby).
Oh and your oop North to me.

Telescope40 aka JohnOopNorth 🤣

 

Sorry, I will go take my medication.


 

@Alan White I have been into model making, rc car, plane and helicopter making/driving/flying since I was 11 yrs old! ( have you ever tried flying a proper "professional" rc helicopter?? It's almost as hard as trying to learn how to do produce top notch astrophotography images/learn astrophotography full stop!! 😱😂 )

On 03/04/2024 at 13:17, Elp said:

I don't necessarily think DSLRs are simpler, you have to deal with more noise and thus post processing your results can at times be more difficult and it's whether the individual is adept at fine focusing with their respective camera. You generally have to dither with a DSLR whether manually or via automation due to walking noise, if the latter you may as well go down the astro camera route and have cleaner, more signal images to deal with from the off.

@Elp Yes I see your points, but when you're a total newbie ( atleast from my own experience ) worrying about noise, SNR, dithering etc etc is simply not even a consideration yet. Just being outside and actually taking short subs successfully, then working out a basic calibration, stacking and processing regime is your main goal and is more than enough of a headache as it is! LOL. One will naturally start to learn more about aforementioned issues in time as one matures into the hobby. All that said, I don't dismiss your points at all, I merely think there's validity in both arguments!

@Mr Spock  Have you managed to split a double star system where one star is orange/yellow and the other blue? I'd love to manage that at some point, in my minds eye I could imagine it to look beautiful. I've never actually tried my hand at star splitting but really want to. Do you think my 200/1000 newt would manage it?

Thanks, Wes.

On 24/03/2024 at 19:01, Elp said:

Longer duration will help, but the unmodded camera is already hindered by blocking out a lot of the narrowband signal. Dslrs are typically much less quantum responsive at such wavelengths also which is another negative.

I had a modded 600D, it was decent, but the astro cameras, even uncooled ones are so much better, the noise profile for one is so much cleaner.

As far as I know, changing exposure compensation on cameras is a software/hardware trick, you're not physically changing the physics of light.

 @Elp   Yes I agree the dedicated astro-cameras are much better than DSLR's modded or not, but for a newbie though, I think it'd be wise to stick to the relative simplicity of a DSLR before getting a dedicated astro-cam because of the need for either a Laptop n software or extra expense of buying a ASI Air or the like. 

( Just wanted to say, I have literally no idea why SGL wwebsite has only just flagged up these messages to me so many months after I posted this??? )

On 10/11/2023 at 11:38, Kianna said:

Wes, I'm curious if you allow, what made you decide to mod one of your existing DSLRs for astrophotography instead of buying a ready-modded camera from Astronomer? For example, I was dreaming of new high-performance and expensive gadgets and decided to search out for an additional income. Now I research and find more info about checked bonuses with no scam for additional ways of getting money. This is the way I am getting closer and closer to the desired amount of money. It helps me every time I want to play, have fun, and earn money. Good luck!

I had a DSLR modded simply because I already owned two of them. I also needed the relative simpolicity of a DSLR until I have the confidence ( and the money! lol ) to dive into dedicated astro cameras! 

Really happy for you in your new money making venture my friend!

I've just bought a S/H IOptron Ipolar Camera set with SW HEQ5 adaptor. I was going to buy the QHY Polemaster but IMPO the Ioptron is much easier to use and setup. I acn't wait to get outside and try it out!

Only problem is this damn weather! I haven't had a single clear night this year!! LOL

I bought this new few days ago. I already own the 1.25" Optolong L-Pro, but I need the Canon EOS DSLR clip in version too for when I'm using my Canon lenses for widefield astro. I'm slowly building up my arsenal of Narrowband and Broadband Filters, they're very expensive so I can't afford to buy all of them in one go! lol.

17 hours ago, Naughty Neal said:

The Hermes person delivered my book from Florida today. 

The earlier pages  in the binder book lists  New General Catologue Index  and various other selected targets from indexs.

As indicated it is an American publication and apart from some nebula naming it is very well suited for the UK and Northern Hem markets.

Targets covered are   double stars and  targets up to mag 10, Galaxies, nebulae are listed and Asterism's etc,etc.

 

Cost was a tad under £32 and is a new condition book.

Page samples.

5 or 6 pages on the moon.

 

All of the northern constellations covered with listings /positions of the major targets for each constellation. 

A sample of four/five.

 

 

 

 

@Naughty Neal I love a good book Neil. These days so much is online or on phone apps, that we often neglect to remember there's nothing quite like a physical book you can hold in your hands, write notes in etc! 

On 15/02/2024 at 15:11, Beardy30 said:

Thanks Wes much appreciated- incidentally I’m not new to the hobby and totally understand your view and appreciate your help - thank u ☺️ 

@Beardy30 Aww thanks James! You're welcome! ☺️

On 15/02/2024 at 13:38, Cosmic Geoff said:

Wesdon1 - Fine, but I think we have too much mention of the narrow FOV of SCTs and Maks. It would be equally useful to novices to point out which telescope designs (fast achromats) do not work well on planets and double stars, or need  more sophisticated eyepieces to do so (f5 reflectors). And warn them about wobbly entry level mounts. 

@Cosmic Geoff Yes I would normally have mentioned those other important things in about astro gear but he was asking a very specific question about the Celestron 6" SCT price etc, so I kinda got fixated on telling him about the pro's and cons of them specifically. On that subject of wobbly/inadequate mounts, I remember a few years ago when starting out, I mounted a 4" achro F11 refractor to a skinny DSLR camera tripod while saving up for a proper mount, and I swear it was hilariously impossible to get the damn 'scope to stop wobbling while trying to view things!! Nightmare!! 😂

On 15/02/2024 at 15:19, Stu1smartcookie said:

 

@Stu1smartcookie Sorry mate, I was trying to write a message but I got confused so i'll just start again on a new message! LOL

50 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

This argument about the small field gets trotted out almost every time SCTs and MAKs are mentioned.  But let's ask, how many objects are there, that you can see with a small telescope in the kind of environment where most of us live, but will not fit into the field of view of a small SCT or Maksutov?  I think, not many at all. 

When I acquired my 127mm Mak, focal length 1500mm, I found that a handful of large and bright open clusters would not fit into the field of view, but thousands of other objects did.

As for large galaxies, quite a few are big when imaged, but do they look big when seen through a small telescope in Bortle 6 skies? No, they don't.  All you see is a fuzz of the central nucleus. Same with small and large nebulae which asides from M42 are basically invisible in an urban environment.

An aside about the Celestron C6 - this is a long-established design and is available as a bare optical tube and also with an unusual variety of mounts, from serious mounts valued at around £1000 to starter mounts which depending on the deal on offer may be included at almost no extra cost.

@Cosmic Geoff Hey jeff! I totally see the logic in your sentiments Geoff. What I was trying to tell the man, based on my assumption he was totally new to the hobby, was the nature and capabilities of the Catadioptric type designs. I wasn't trying to put him off, or "knock" the catadioptric 'scopes, I was just trying to help him make an informed decision. I have later discovered he has actually owned an SCT before, so he's well informed already.

Also, I was telling him the Celestron brand is great quality and a great price? But from the comments you've made it appears you might have misunderstood what I was trying to tell him? Absolutely no problem though! We need open and honest discussions on here so we can all learn from each other!

Kindest regards, Wes.