wesdon1

20 hours ago, Beardy30 said:

Yes I’ve previously had a 8” sct and I’ve regretted selling ever since - this option looks a get deal to get a sct 

@Beardy30 Oh right ok great, so you know exactly what you're buying. Ironically, you saying you regret selling your 8" SCT, well I'm currently looking for an 8" SCT myself, because I already own reflectors, Refractors but need a scope with the much longer native FL like SCT's and Maks have, because I want to really improve my Planetary and small DSO imaging! Just the damn cost of larger SCT's and Maks! They're eye-wateringly expensive! LOL. I did actually strongly consider buying the exact 6" Mak you mentioned but as is often the case, my aperture fever demands nothing less than 8 inches aperture! 🤷‍♂️😂

@Beardy30 No experience with it but it looks a great setup to start out with, plus as you mentioned, a great price for an SCT Telescope! Just one thing, are you aware that SCT type telescopes are only really good for Planets, splitting stars, Globular Star Clusters and the smaller Galaxies and Nebula? They won't do much for large Nebula or large galaxies? That aside, Celestron are great quality and the Starsense tech looks brilliant for beginners, helping them find their way around the sky without needing a GoTo setup.

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

I refer to myself as a cloud watcher.

@Mr Spockhaha oh dear! "Cloud Watcher" That is definitely the term that best describes what us folk in the UK should be known by! I never shut up complaining about the clouds/weather to family friends! haha! 

3 hours ago, Dave Smith said:

Thanks Wes. Unfortunately the cost of the gear required is rather prohibitive. Maybe with advances in technology the price will come down. It is great fun as the Sun is different every day.

Dave

@Dave Smith LOL yes sorry Dave I should have qualified my statement regarding the general public being able to "afford" the solar gear necessary for such works! I was just expressing my amazement about the fact that 50, 60, 70 years ago, you needed the financial resources of an entire COUNTRY to be able to afford the equipment needed to produce works even 25% as detailed and impressive as the works produced by amateurs today!! LOL. It's incredible and we're all spoiled rotten with what's available to us today!! 

@Dave Smith My goodness Dave these images and animation are breath-taking. To think nowadays the general public can afford gear capable of producing solar images as detailed and sophisticated as this!? I sooo cannot wait to get my own solar gear! Just amazing Dave! 

Clear Skies and Kindest Regards, Wes.

4 minutes ago, LondonNeil said:

Cheers!  Lots of ideas so if I can't see or find one I can ditch and try another,  thanks!  

Satellites, oh how cool,  right, one of those star apps on my phone has iss and Satellites i think.    Although o imagine I'd have to be much better to locate one intentionally!   It's easy enough to look up,  spot Saturn by eye ( just,  as itwas sinking toward the haze over Croydon) and stick the red dot on it.   Locating something I can't see by eye first will take much more practice I'm sure.   I like the idea of spotting the ISS though!

@LondonNeil yes the satellites are cool to see, but if you ever decided to start taking pictures of objects in space, you will quickly find the satellites annoying! LOL They cast long lines across your pics! 

Yes the astronomy apps are brilliant for atleast telling you the general area you're viewing in the sky and what objects to look out for. There are so many free ones! 

best of luck, hope you find the hobby as rewarding as I have my friend! 

1 minute ago, LondonNeil said:

Cheers,  good ideas too try. 

Ep wise my lowest is 25mm (tube is f5, 600mm focal length, so x24).  That's a cheap skywatcher but a small step up from the 'supplied with' one.  Postie has just delivered a much better 2" 30mm stellalyra..... but hasn't yet delivered the 2" diagonal so..... £%@&!

I can try a bit of sky sweeping with that though.  Or I've a much better 17mm baader.

So to 'Blind scan' what do you do?  Get it focused using any star and then just slowly sweep across the sky?  Thatc sounds doable.    Fingers crossed I hit something!

Highest mag ep is an excellent 6.5mm (baader Morpheus) so that should give some real detail on targets like the moon IF I can manage it! 

Kids are 8.5, 6.5 and the space obsessed youngest is just 3.5.  So none have a lot of patience.  Definitely I need to keep sessions short,  give them a quick look and a couple of things and then pack away.   That said my 6.5yo was kept interested in Jupiter for 30+ minutes the other day.   Given that was only my second go and I'm still learning the scope she kept interested longer than I expected. 

 

 

Yes Neil, exactly that, just use your lowest power EP you have, find focus on any star, then slowly sweep around the sky and see what you find. I love doing it, especially when I find something really pretty like the open and globular clusters! You will also notice a LOT of satellites whizzing through your view as you go! When I first started out, I was convinced I had seen a UFO whizzing by! LOL. Then I obviously learned of the many hundre4ds of satellites up there! I'd also suggest you experiment with different size EP's and just find what you like best. 

Regarding Jupiter, that's my fave planet Neil! I never tire of looking at it! So I'm not too surprised your 8.5 yr old was so happy viewing it! ( he/she has great taste impo! 😜😂 )

25 minutes ago, Bugdozer said:

The sky is going to be dominated by the moon at that time, so I would say that will make an excellent target with some interesting features across the terminator at high power. Familiarise yourself with a moon map beforehand and you can point out things to the kids (that's what I do with my daughter). 

At low power, I would recommend the Pleiades as a bright, pretty cluster they will be able to see well. 

And my third nomination, a bit left field maybe, but a good bright multiple star is Castor, which you should be able to split into three components. 

@Bugdozer Yes castor is a lovely system, I've seen it a few times, really pleasing to view!

@LondonNeil Hi Neil, and welcome to SGL! The above advice is great, so I can't improve upon that. What I would suggest you also try Neil, is something I call "blind searching" ( only myself, I've never heard anyone else call it that!? LOL ) So basically what I sometimes do is simply point telescope up and start searching blind with a low power EP, like a 25mm, or better a 30-40mm wide field EP. As I'm looking through EP and slowly scanning randomly across the sky, I often find beautiful open clusters, sometimes globular clusters, and also brighter nebulae etc. It's incredible when you come across said objects and the sky is awash with stars!

Also, another technique people use is "splitting" double/triple even quadruple stars. It requires higher power EPs so you'd be best trying to use a free star map application on your smart phone to find a "star" that is actually oftentimes a double star system, or even treble and more, and with high power EP, you "split" the stars so they're each individually visible. If you get a good "one" you can see gorgeous star systems with Blue, Orange/red, yellow individual stars, its really pretty and pleasing to see! 

Best of luck Neil and kids! 

Clear Skies from Liverpool!

Wes.

@Dave Smith beautiful images Dave! may I ask, exactly what solar 'scope and filters/attachments did you use? Reason I ask is I've wanted to get into solar for a while now, and wondering roughly what I'll need to capture data similar to yours Dave?

Thanks, Wes.

* Sorry Dave, I forgot your gear is listed below images. Still if I may ask, could you please give me a some general pointers regarding the cheapest gear I'd need to at least start to capture data approaching the level I assume you're at Dave? Thanks Dave!

On 28/12/2023 at 23:07, Mr Spock said:

Looked outside and it looks clear. I could see the moon and Jupiter. Got my kit out of its cupboard, carried the mount outside and carried it straight back in - clouds were rolling across 😡

@Mr Spock Mate it's even worse for me! I have lost count the number of times I've seen clear weather/clear forecast, carried all my heavy gear down all the stairs from my 3rd floor flat ( big heavy HEQ5 mount, SW 200P Newt. reflector, rucksack on my back with all cables, Laptop, Cameras etc etc, a big flask of hot coffee squeezed into my big coat pocket, ALL carried at the same time!! and then ALL back upstairs at same time!! I fear theft/vandalism, so never leave my gear unattended to go back upstairs for other bits! ) I spent over an hour setting up, then the damn clouds have rolled in!? In Liverpool, I have had about 5-6 nights outside since mid June last year!! I absolutely hate the weather here in northwest England!! 😤

On 21/12/2023 at 18:14, Mr Spock said:

Just a reminder - no bypassing the swear filter please 

@Mr Spock I wish other sites were as grown up and civilised as this one. The language and behaviour you often see on other sites just sully's the website and makes for an unpleasant experience.

23 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Not at all. My father was a Bosun in the Royal Navy for many years and after he passed away I used the name bosun as my nom de plume for the internet.

@bosun21 Oohh ok I understand, and I'm sorry to hear of your fathers passing. Thanks and sorry for such a long message! 

Kind Regards, Wes.

On 17/12/2023 at 22:38, Ags said:

Grabbed a brief session while the clouds weren't looking! Jupiter was very steady in my 90 mm refractor and I could easily pick out the details in the four visible belts. The four Galilean moons showed anice range of magnitudes and colors, and a few field stars were visible despite the Jovian glare.

I then tried viewing the Pleiades with a few different eyepieces in my 50 mm RACI, as a test session for a bare-bones travel setup. I settled on my NLV 12 as offering the most aesthetic view at 3mm exit pupil and 17x magnification. I think it might just work as a holiday setup! The little scope can't tolerate any higher magnification.

Finished off with a quick peek at the Double Cluster, which has to be my favorite object in the sky. But then the clouds spotted me and quickly covered up the gap they had carelessly left open.

@Ags LOL loved how you described the clouds mate! made me giggle! 😂 We can all relate to the little things constantly ruining our night skies here in the UK! 😩😂

On the subject of the 50mm RACI, I have often just grabbed my 50mm finder scope and scanned the skies, and it's really surprising what you can see with such a simple small optical instrument! Many many Stars and even brighter nebulae! 

On 18/12/2023 at 11:23, Elp said:

This is the one I'd go for too, I'd like to see how it compares to my Starfield 102.

@Elp I am already saving up for the 120 triplet mate. For my personal circumstances it is the best balance between weight, cost, size and with a bit of luck the quality will be good too! That being said, a fellow SGL member has the smaller 103 triplet and he says it's ace, so I should be good I think! 

On 18/12/2023 at 07:07, bosun21 said:

No not at all Wes. I was simply trying to lead you to the thread that had already discussed the scopes. If you sensed this was impolite then I apologise. No hard feelings from myself in any way.

 Regards, Ian.

@bosun21 Aww ok I apologise for misunderstanding you mate! Thank You my friend! 

*I know this is totally off subject, but if I may ask, are you a Bosun aboard a sailing ship by any chance? Reason I ask is many years ago, I went sailing aboard a now recommissioned ship called "The Sir Malcom Miller" We sailed for two weeks around the English Channel, Bristol Channel, Celtic Sea to name what I recall. We stopped off at various ports in the aforementioned areas. It was the residential section of my Gold Duke Of Edinburgh Award, and it was an amazing experience, albeit very hard work at times! At one point we were stuck in a force 9 gale! With 7-10 metre high waves to contend with! Incredible when we got a pack of Dolphins ( or maybe Porpoise's?? ) swimming ahead of the bow of our ship! We had just come through another awful storm and those Dolphins gave everyone aboard a massive  boost of energy and morale, it was incredible! They really are healing creatures in my personal experience!

I am asking you this simply because your name on here is Bosun21? 

I'll understand if you don't want to answer such an off topic random question! LOL.

Kind Regards, Wes.

On 13/12/2023 at 20:31, paulastro said:

I have had the 103 version since November 1st, and before buying it, like yourself wondered how on earth they could make it for the money.  A month and a a half later,  I ask myself the same thing every time I use it.  It's more amazing when you have actually used it and know how good it is.

To save  repeating it here, my review is on FLOs website.

Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean all its relatives are the same quality, but they certainly produced a cracker with the 103.  I would have thought it likely they are made to the same standard. If you want to pm me regarding any aspects of the scope, please feel free to do so.  I've no idea where you are located, but if you are anywhere near West Yorkshire you are welcome to come and check it out for yourself.

The finally factor in my decision was that I knew if I bought it from any of the suppliers who have a long proven record of a very favourable returns policy, then I wasn't risking anything by ordering it. In the event, its turned out to be a very wise purchase 🙂.

 

 

@paulastro Thanks for that very helpful response Paul! Also, I'm in Liverpool, UK so quite far away unfortunately, but thank you so much for such a kind offer Paul, I was pleasantly taken aback! Thanks!

After reading these responses, I'm definitely buying the 120 triplet model, because I've wanted a good triplet with plenty of aperture for a while now, and finding the ASKAR 120 means it's now affordable for my typically limited funds! I will of course write up and post images in the coming months and share my experiences so other members know exactly what I found!

Regards, Wes.

On 13/12/2023 at 19:46, vlaiv said:

I would not otherwise post this in dedicated threads regarding said scope, but I think I can post it here because of they way thread topic was phrased.

Is it too good to be true? Well - consider this:

You can't really purchase 80mm F/7.5 achromat for less than say 250 euro - but I managed to purchase said lens for 35 euro of AliExpress. I won't go into detail of how much other components cost - except to say that I'm confident that my  DIY scope based on this lens will be less than 100 euro.

Rest is just labor costs and profit margins.

If someone decides to cut down their profit margin from say 100% to 60% - what you get is a bargain scope

 

 

@vlaiv Thanks Vlaiv, that's a very insightful take on the threads question! From what I'm learning from people, it really is NOT too good to be true, so I'll be saving up for a few months and buying the 120 Triplet model! 

Regards, Wes.

On 13/12/2023 at 19:45, Sponcom said:

Nice and polite, anyone would think it was a cloudy nights forum.

Thanks Elp! I actually questioned my own thinking, thinking it was just me being over-sensitive to what I read! lol. But I do believe he meant no offence. Thanks mate!

Regards, Wes.

On 13/12/2023 at 17:47, The60mmKid said:

I, for one, demand an investigation.

@The60mmKid haha I liked this reply! Thanks mate!😂👍

On 13/12/2023 at 15:42, bosun21 said:

There’s a thread discussing all the new Askar triplets.

On 13/12/2023 at 16:01, Elp said:

In future it may be productive to search before making a new thread:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@bosun21 LOL I sensed a bit of "you telling me off for wasting time writing a thread about something that's already been discussed" ?? Haha! Joking aside, it did kinda offend me, but I do understand what you were trying to tell me! So absolutely no hard feelings my friend!

Kind Regards, Wes.

On 13/12/2023 at 16:42, Zermelo said:

As @Mandy D said above, the tread will be accelerating even with respect to the wheel hub or vehicle, as circular motion is accelerated.  When you consider it from the perspective of the road or external observer, you add in a constant horizontal velocity (assuming the vehicle speed is constant) to that circular, accelerated motion, resulting in the cycloid. I think the instantaneous direction of the acceleration is still towards the centre of the wheel at all times (the derivative of a constant velocity offset will always be zero and won't contribute), so "accelerating" vs "decelerating" would need to be defined relative to a specific direction in the road's frame of reference.

@Zermelo Yes sorry, I should clarify that I meant accelerating and decelerating in the horizontal axis, relative to the car and road. Thank You for pointing out my unintended ambiguity!

Regards, Wes

Hi all. So today I found this beast of a 'scope, a 120 triplet apo, which as you all know triplet refractors are very expensive because the glass to make them is so expensive etc! Askar 120 APO Triplet Refractor | First Light Optics

My question is...is £1499 for a 120mm triplet apo just too good to be true?? has anyone had a chance to test this particular 'scope out? They also do a 103mm, a 140mm and even a whopping 185mm aperture version!!?? the 185mm is circa £5k, which is a similar price to sky watchers 150 esprit triplet model. What are peoples thoughts on this 120mm triplets price?? If it's even fairly decent, I would argue it's the bargain of the decade!!

I haven't watched the vid yet, but based on my own experiences, I'm almost certain the tyres tread is actually accelerating then decelerating rapidly during each full turn/circle relative to the road and vehicle. Think about it...imagine a white marker at the 11:45 clock position on the outer edge of the tyre, now imagine it in roatation...it will speed up relative to the vehicle/road as it passes 11:45, then slow down as it goes past the 12:15 position, then approaching 12:45 it will start to speed up again ( again, all relatively speaking ) and so on and so forth. I've actually often wondered, how much effects does the earths orbit around the sun get affected by whether it's heading towards and away the core of our gaslaxy, during it's full yearly orbit? because the exact same principles apply here with the tyres rotation/velocity relative to the vehicle and road. You are sometimes moving towards the core, and sometimes moving away, which in Newtonian classical mechanics should have an affect, albeit small, on the relative velocities...??

That's my take folks! 

On 12/11/2023 at 15:59, Telescope40 said:

Hello. Have one scope at the moment and it should be more then enough - A Tak FS128. Owned for a year. Very fortunate to have it along with certain SGL members who assisted in getting my mucky paws on it. 

However. I do rather fancy a 8in SCT to go along with it.  Used to own, a decade ago, a Meade LX90 10 inch  which gave me many hours of fun. Only parted with it as rather a lump when negotiating the stairs in the house I owned at the time.

Anyway I've been looking for a Meade 8in LXD55 SCT in it's white livery. I'm not really fancying the Meade blue paint job as the white paint finish will roll rather well with my Tak and Rowan mount. 

Any luck ?  Absolutely nothing apart from tumbleweeds and one advert on ye old FB Astro skit selling group page about 18 months ago.  Don't think these OTA's exist. 

Anyone else looking for a specific scope ATM and found that you are looking for a Unicorn scope. 

John 

@Telescope40 Mate I've seen a few 6inch MEADE LXD55 SCT's for sale on eBay and the like during the last couple of years, and I think I might have even seen the 8ich'er's that you're after? They were the white painted versions too. Furthermore, I notice that in general, the MEADE SCT's go for less money than their equivalent sized/spec'd 'scopes from other big manufacturers like Celestron, Skywatcher etc? ( I obsessively, almost daily via my phone to and from work, search eBay and the like to see what 'scopes and other astro gear are for sale, and so I have developed a good sense of what's trending, what the current going rates are for particular types of gear like OTA's, full setups, EP's, Astro-cameras etc etc etc ) So if you would like me to, I will keep an eye out for the scope you're after and when/if I find one, I'll PM you on here? 

Let me know mate.

Regards, Wes.