wesdon1

Yes i think it's only gonna work outdoors? I'll give it a go indoors and let you know if i have any joy.

awww such a shame! I hate it when trees get in the way! then those damn street lights ruining your veiws aswell! I've seriousely considered "Accidentally" cutting the power to street lights near my home! lol

Forgot to mention, i actually managed to manually track ( for a few seconds! lol ) the ISS the other night! it was awesome! I could see all it's Solar Panels! I even saw an Astronaut waving back at me from the window of ISS! haha OBVIOUSLY that last bit was just me messing around! haha! But yes i tracked it for few seconds until it went Zenith on me and i couldn't carry on tracking it. It was damn hard work tracking it manually as it moves so fast! I used stellarium to gauge it's arrival time/direction of travel etc.

Thanks mate. I track manually for visual observing. I do own a alt/az mount but have never used it because i'm happy using EQ mount and finding targets, then simply manually turning tracking/adjusting knobs/levers on mount. I do plan to buy a GoTo with GPS etc to see if i could set up indoors without Polaris and other northern targets to align the mount. I've heard of a system that auto-aligns with absolutely no input from the user? But i'm assuming it would still need be outdoors to find it's alignment stars?

My goodness Venus is so bright at the moment!! I've been catching her as she sets, chasing after the setting sun. I'm awe struck by how much light she is reflecting off Sun!! So so BRIGHT!! Anyone who hasn't seen her through a 'scope would be well advised to catch her while she's currently easy to see as Sun sets. You will also catch a look at Jupiter, though it's super low and it isn't viewable for very long, but again around sunset. Any newbies wanting to see her, she looks like a big bright star low on horizon following the setting Sun, roughly SSE or there'abouts, from about 4:15pm"ish" onwards. It's beautiful !

Thats a great idea, the polar align app?? Never knew about such an app so i could look into that to improve my viewing sessions. Than ks for the info Dave!

I suppose i could somehow convert my mount to alt/az ? Thats a new idea for me my friend so you'll have to let me do some homework n see if it's possible ? once i know the general location of an object, i use low power EP, then i use high power once in middle of my FOV. Only problem with this is it can be very time consuming, and i'm never 110% certain the object is exactly what I've been searching for if there's a lot of nearby DSO's aswell? I don't mind about that though, i just luv finding faint fuzzies and other beautiful objects! Whether it's name is Abell 70 or the Hercules Globular Cluster, it don't matter to me as long as it looks beautiful!

My goodness well done you for overcoming your illness! Total admiration and respect my friend!

wow awesome images you created my friend! Just hopped over for a look. Amazing my friend! Further proof whats possible from indoors!

now c'mon John i'm not THAT bad am i sir!?? haha

Hi Stu. I don't Polar align my friend! I use stellarium, a reliable compass and star hop to find objects in night sky. I admit it's a hassle sometimes due to faint fuzzies being "faint n fuzzy" but it just makes the whole process more satisfying when i find things!

Think i've sorted the pic!?? lol

hi again, i don't know how to upload pic of my Telescope vewing position/window ?

hi again, i don't know how to upload pic of my Telescope vewing position/window ?

Hi vlaiv. Thank You for your positive comments. I was just saying to Dave, due to my views being so good, I've never actually felt the need to take my rigs outside! Obviously I've viewed through friends telescopes outside over the years, and i'd say, on a one to one comparison, the indoors viewing is about 20-25% less in quality and light gathering terms, though I've had one night freaks of nature where the indoors was unreal and on a par with outdoors viewing! This is/was rare though. Basically with a half decent aperture, good seeing etc my indoors viewing is brilliant and such a joy! ( just for clarity, i mean viewing though large open window, NOT through window glass! lol )

Hi Dave. I'm glad you have positive experiences too my friend! I had to observe this way due to living up top flats and no lifts! I adapted and improvised, and haven't looked back! The details i have seen in the planets, the beautiful stars, even the Nebulae in Orion and other DSO's have taken my breath away. ( And even in my little 114/500 aperture/Focal Length Newtonian Reflector I've teased out nebulae in my awfully light polluted area! ). With my big 200/1200 Newtonian Reflector mounted on my EQ5, I've even seen some colour in Nebulae!?? My views are that good, i have never ever took my rigs downstairs or to a dark sky sight! ( Though that's a HUGE treat i'm going to give myself soon! lol I'll go to a dark sky site to really increase the viewing quality relative to my already great views currently ). I just wanted newbies to know that it's possible to look out of open windows. I'd NEVER recommend looking out closed window at anything other than the Moon! lol )

Afternoon folks. Listen, i'm just throwing this out there cos of positive personal experience. many many members will recoil in horror at the idea of using a Telescope indoors, but I've been viewing the Southern night skies this way for 14 months now and I've had amazing results. I basically use a skylight/window in roof of building, as my top floor flat has this in my living room. Now what i do to help mitigate thermals/bad seeing etc is isolate room by closing door. obviously heating is not on, then i leave the window wide open for a hour or more before my observing session begins, and this effectively creates a "Cold Room" for veiweing. ( Obvs in summer it's a bit more challenging, but as long as the room temp is ambient to outside, it's the same effect more or less ) and i swear to you all i've had very satisfying results, viewing most of the planets, some bright DSO's and obvs many many different stars. I just want newbies to know that if this is their only real option, then rather than miss out completely on the wonders above, they should take this path. I love my views and I also live in a Bortle 8 area! ( for the newbies, the Bortle Scale is just a measure of light pollution where you are, the lower the Bortle number, the less light pollution there is ). So please don't knock this unless you have first hand, multiple experiences! and even then, I still maintain it's a great way to view skies! The proof is in the pudding! To coin a phrase! lol ( telescopes-SkyWatcher 114/500 newt. Reflector. Skywatcher 130/900 Newt. Reflector. Skywatcher 200/1200 Newt. Reflector. EQ2 and EQ5 Mounts. Multiple eyepieces of various sizes. Filters etc ) Wes, Liverpool, UK.

One piece of advice i would give you about which dslr to buy is definitely buy second hand! You will get a vastly reduced price than retail and much much more camera for your money! I can't stress this strongly enough! You can get an amazing bargain on ebay, through paypal payments to protect you, and as long as you buy from a reputable ebay member, you will get an excellent, feature rich high quality camera for a greatly reduced price over new retail price. You should also buy second hand lenses as there's some awesome bargains to be had. Clear Skies my friend! Wes.

I would say, after reading your comments Gimboid, that you would be best off buying a second hand telephoto lense for your dslr, and taking astro images with that for now. Your 150 'scope will be fine for visual, but in theory you could use it for asto-photgraphy, but some people say it's not possible? I respectfully disagree with them! lol. You will just have to find a way to get focus with dslr attatched to focuser on 'scope. But thats for another day, i reckon. As a side note, you may be able to buy tracking motors for eq3-2 mount and mount dslr fitted with long lense and do some tracked long exposures, say 30-60 seconds each. You couyld also do tracked, long exposures with the 150 when you have the tracking motors fitted. Either way best of luck my friend, and please keep us posted on how you get on. Wes, Liverpool.

Awww gutted! I wasn't attending this event but i know lots of folk were planning to! Never mind, hopefully next year will be ok. I'm planning on attending my first one next year so hopefully it will be even busier than it would have been because people will be making up for lost occasion this time around! Wes, Liverpool, UK.

Hi Gimboid. Welcome to sgl. I would suggest before you spend lots of money on astrphotography equipment, you try spending a few nights in the garden, getting to know the stars above and trying to understand the basic layout of the night sky. I would highly recommend reading "Turn Left At Orion" for learning about the night sky. Astrophotography takes a lot of time and commitment, and also considerable cost, and i note you mentioned you are prone to losing interest in things you initially thought you would be into? If this is the case then why not do some really basic photography of night sky objects like the Moon, then maybe Jupiter etc with your mobile phones camera? That way, you will start learning about exposure times, sideral tracking issues, finding targets, etc etc etc. In a nutshell, if you really are sure you want to make this hobby go somewhere, then just go for it and spend the money, and have a great time doing it. But if you think you might not stick with it, then just do simple basic ( but still very rewarding! ) photography with a mobile phone camera, or even a cheap astro-imaging camera for around £40-£50. You will capture some great images that way, without spending big. Best wishes and please keep us all posted on how you get on my friend. Wes, Liverpool.

Hi! Beautiful image you produced here my friend! Well Done!! Wes, Liverpool, UK.

Hi, i work in construction and i can safely say that the idea is great in principle but it will not come cheap! There's a lot of things to consider! Planning permission, structural surveys, major construction works, neighbours opposition, access, high costs, unforeseen construction issues, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc! All that being said, this is only my opinion, and i'm sure if you were passionate enough, and really put the work in to research the idea and get quotes, ideas etc, i see no reason why it can't be achieved! Just please DO NOT spend a penny until you have found out about local planning laws/issues and only get quotes from people/firms you know you can trust and who have years of documented excellent building work to back up their claims! I can't stress highly enough how important it is to research and find reputable, well run building firms/companies who you can trust! There are a lot of con-men around and they will promise you anything they think they need to in order to get your money! Please be super careful! Do your homework and always write contracts for works to be done and pay in agreed stages of construction as per stage completed and inspected etc. I wish you the best of luck sir! Wes. Liverpool.

Hi Glob and welcome to SGL. Wes. Liverpool.

Absolutely stunning image! Amazing work sir!