DaveL59

In case you've not seen this yet, Artemis re-entry video

Came across this vid, not tried to see if it still applies but might be interesting to play

ack, just read the comments and apparently it was disabled/removed in the last update. Oh well...

A long thread but lots of useful info there:

I got to see it when it was down this way in Rochester, was a nice distraction after my dad's funeral and certainly worth a visit if you get the chance.

2 hours ago, Neil27 said:

Found it, it’s a M10 threaded centre bar for the AZ4, so a female M10 to male 3/8 inch adapter required, some more internet searching to do whilst it’s p**ing down!

I got one of these from FLO for the EQ5 tripod I had spare, works a treat:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer/astro-essentials-3-8-photo-adapter-for-heq5-az5-tripod.html

3 hours ago, Giles_B said:

I agree with @Lee_P - I've had no problem with dust, the lens is nicely tucked up when the Seestar is not in use, plus I store it in the carry box.

However Ebay and Aliexpress both list lens caps if you want one neverthless (or have the urge to accessorise your new scope!)

The one I bought off the bay was a bit loose but otherwise OK. Sorted the loose fit with a soldering iron, a light touch at a couple places around the outer edge of the lip to raise the surface a little, trim as needed with a craft knife and its a nice snug fit now 🙂

For me a lens cap is a must have, 2 kitties means fluff and dust that finds it way all around.

actually those aren't that bad, certainly for the grandkids they'd be chuffed to see. Saturn you can see has rings when you zoom in tho would be nice to be able to tease a bit more detail on Jupiter. Heck as a freebie update is handy if not something for serious observing 🙂

Did it self-find or did you have to manually aim it?

Had to reset my S50 to get the firmware to load for some reason. Not like that was much effort tho, press the wee button and reconnect direct, do the update and then rejoin it to my dedicated SSID in station mode, all done.

I do like that they changed the slewing control, was way too sensitive on my phone/fingers but seems much better now on a quick indoor test 🙂 

Wonder if it can find the planets or we'll have to do that manually?

Still doesn't seem quite right on the tablet in landscape/desktop mode but that's not a major issue, I can switch it to regular tablet mode and use it that way when needed.

I added some of the dayglo tape to the lower tripod legs too so they're a bit visible. After all when using the s50 we aren't as concerned about night vision and the low level light comong from the conservatory does enough to make it show and easier to avoid.

3 minutes ago, cimh said:

I have been using the small tripod but it is too low, easy to knock and vulnerable. I have tried my manfrotto camera tripod but the small adaptor that attaches to the camera or scope and then clicks into the tripod is fiddly and I worry about dropping the seestar. I like the day glo tape idea. The scope being black does not help. Any suggestions about good (reasonably priced) tripods that work well with it appreciated  

Ah yeah, I had thought about popping a PL201 QR plate on the S50 but then while I expect it'd latch OK I didn't want to chance it. I had a spare EQ5 tripod so getting the puck and using that was an easy decision. Not tried any of my photo tripods so far, old metal Velbon and a NatGeo carbon but I doubt they'd be more stable than the Eq5 one anyway.

You just need one that has a 3/8 thread and probably many do if you remove the tripod head itself. Alternatively find an old surveyors tripod and adapt it to suit, perhaps.

Almost tempted give what today is but...

not sure it'd suit my scopes at the low end however, so maybe next time 🙂 

3 hours ago, Giles_B said:

Yes, I also found the height of the supplied tripod a bit of a liability, and I had a few near misses culminating in tripping over the whole set-up. Much happier with it attached to EQ6 tripod, even if the cost of the adaptor took a bit of getting used to.

I was probably more concerned with my kitties being nosey and leaving little nose-prints on the objective 😉 

That and the taller EQ5 tripod also means further for the slugs to go to reach the scope 😄 

1 hour ago, M40 said:

Mine wobbles too, but when I put it on the tripod, I just spin it so that it gets to the end of travel but I don't tighten it. Is there any chance it can be overtightened?

I wondered about that but seems a tiny bit of play is normal. As to gearing I do wonder if its plastic/nylon so I don't do more than gently nip it up so as not to distort/strip them. That said I use mine on an EQ5 tripod so I screw the puck into the base of the seestar indoors and then pop the puck into the tripod and bolt that into place. Never yet used the OEM tripod, just too low for what I want and the EQ5 ally tripod is nice and stable.

I added some day-glo tape to the S50 so I get some idea where it's aiming given there's an oak that blots out the SE-W aspect.

and a head to head of S50 and Dwarf II

If its not already been posted here's one that shows the S50 under dark skies

Agreed Mandy and then we're going to talking aperture moving above x10 to get a worthwhile view. Perhaps a telescope with erecting prism might be a better choice than bino's.

I'd first ask how far away are you thinking?

Handheld binos will only do so much and once you get to >10x you really need something mounted on a tripod for stability unless you spend lots on stabilised ones.

Bear in mind too that x10 doesn't necessarily mean an image 10x bigger than you see by eye, it means you get to see as if you were 10x closer to the subject. So you'd see as if 10 yards away if 100 yards distant, for example.

33 minutes ago, tonyglossop said:

I did buy a 2" filter holder off ebay for 7 quid, I remember seeing a post that said the moon was a bit over exposed, I thought the ND filter might be the answer as if it was a bit dark a few stacked images might work , I am a complete novece at this astronomy so excuse my ignorance, I only have a bit of knowledge about photography and a little photoshop, although I am liking Siril the more videos I watch and try things on it with only the one nights data I have collected so far.

Moon came out OK on mine IIRC, I'm not an astro-tog personally so this is my first foray tho I got the S50 more for EEVA for the deeper sky stuff. Since I happened to have a tele/wide lens from old video days I figured it worth a play, much like stuffing a barlow into the optical train. If it works, great, if not it didn't cost me anything 😉 

Of course I'm not expecting x170+ telescope views doing this, but just seeing something would be nice for the grandkids, perhaps. Will be interesting to see if ZWO come out with some form of planetary more, possibly with a lens add-on...

5 hours ago, tonyglossop said:

I did know it wasn't any good for planets but I thought seeing that it is fixed to 10 second exposures that the ND filter might make it the equivalent to shortening the exposure time for lunar imaging.

I've onlu used nd filters on normal photography.

I had thought to try a video camera tele-extended on the front, using the filter holder @powerlord but other than a very brief test on some trees I've not had the chance. Downside it didn't focus tho it wasn't the brightest of days. At x1.4-x1.5 it'd drop one F-stop which may be affecting the AF function or the image was perhaps too soft/lacking contrast for the system. I didn't get a chance to try the wide x0.7 lens attachment, just been too hectic with work on the nights where it might have been clear enough.

My thinking was to increase the image area on the sensor tho it likely wouldn't make much difference, then try using moon mode and video which might improve the results on the brighter planets. Don't have any ND filters but I was thinking perhaps a c-polarizer as I've a few 49mm ones for the camera lenses I have.

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Yes, the LT80 is lightweight but a thin metal tube. Feels quite nice for the money, apart from the mount!

Is the focuser a bit sloppy too? I was able to improve that somewhat with some teflon tape - food prep/heat-seal variety - applied to the outer focuser body ribs having removed the plastic silvered inner.

If you have one, a desiccant cap will help pull the moisture also. If not you can make one for 1.25-inch focusers using a 35mm film canister if you have any old ones kicking around. Otherwise as Mandy said, it'll clear by itself when the temps climb - worth leaving the caps off tho so air can circulate to aid this.

26 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

I'm not even sure how to pronounce "electrosucution", but I do know how to spell Van de Graaff. I got hooked up to one in school to make my hair stand on end! It tingled a tiny bit! 🙂🙃🙂

hey my teens woz a long time ago, I just couldn't be a'd to google it for the right spelling on the tablet  😛

Whatever you do tho, DO NOT try to charge a laden jar in one hand while moving a neon in with the other. That big voltage drop over a few CMs between the 2 "experiments" sure wasn't a tingle I can tell you. More like an elephant had jumped onto my chest! 😮  Not sure who was more shocked tho, me or the physics master but for sure that off piste experiment I did, having asked "what happens if..." wasn't allowed again.

1 minute ago, Mandy D said:

Technically, electrocution (c.f. execution) means death by electric shock! Although, thanks to popular culture, today it gets used interchangeably with electric shock and even dictionaries are now including such definitions. This does not make it correct though.

Fair enough, I can certainly attest to surviving a good few electric shocks, even one at pretty high voltage off a vandergraph generator in late teens, so I guess I got lucky and escaped the full electrocution (or is that electrosucution) effect 🙂 

I agree Paul tho having basic equipment like tie-downs unavailable smacks of a poorly run outfit.

Not saying that an inherent safety culture means no incidents. I come from that in the airport sector, safety was everyone's responsibility but things happen. A PIG caught in a jet blast hitting a plane just isn't supposed to happen but I know of one instance where it did. Minor damage to the plane, thankfully, but other than being expensive it could've been much worse had it resulted in the plane depressurizing at altitude.

12 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

Electrocutions (plural) and one death? Does nobody understand English, any more?

hmm well electrocution isn't always fatal. The death was because one eejit decided since they didn't have any tie-downs available to use that he'd sit atop the cargo while the other guy drove the truck. Being foam the wind got it to fly and he ended head first into the road. Doesn't sound like there's much of a safety culture there, big surprise.