Rob Sellent

Scope's out of doors. Will have a relatively short session and close up around midnight I guess

This was quite an amusing thread from last night, Raph. Hopefully there are one or two objects you haven't seen yet to keep you happy .

Good luck with the hunting 😀

That's just typical. I'd have no idea what to do with my ha scope if something went wrong - it's your standard B1200 tune adjustment and getting on a bit now. I hope you can mend the scope without too much trouble. Shame there's no white light activity but I figure we'll have to wait a while before the Sun wakes from its slumber.

Fingers crossed and let us know how you get along, Dave

Amazing sketch. I've just come in from viewing the Sun and that gorgeous prominence is now like some cosmic fountain The great thing about viewing the Sun is that with our faces towards it, all our shadows are behind us 😀

The Sun today is making everything in its vicinty freshen into smiles. Andi if that weren't enough the Sun today is also putting on a pleasing display of proms. In the 60mm Lunt at 12 o'clock, a huge fountain of flame loops and cascades over the disc. There are also smaller but no less alluring prominences at 3 o'clock and then again at  6 o'clock. There is also a smallish filament running the disc at about 2 o'clock.  Well worth a look if the opportunity arises.

I guess it just depends what hour you begin and finish observing, Mike. I've been viewing M31, M32, M110 with a tiny 3" for the last few days but have left them to the end of my session. I've been trying to observe and identify the open clusters around Cygnus and Cassiopeia and when my brain tires, I skip down to Andromeda and spend a little while with M31 et al. We're like old friends rushing to meet each other at some 110km/s . 

Thanks, Mike Don't rush the list though. Take your time and just enjoy the views as you star hop around, drinking in the wonders of nature

6 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

In light-polluted skies you should get a much better dark-sky experience if you put the eye-patch on to your observing eye 😉

Not to mention the aid it'll give to observing black holes 😀

Congratulations on the 12" and great Messier start, Mike 😀 With that kind of aperture you should be able to accomplish a fair bit .

You probably know this already but regardless of your sky-glow conditions, if possible try to block all intrusive light from your sight and site. An observing hood/hat/towel is a great aid along with a pirate's eyepatch. I typically observe with the patch on my non-observing eye and when I need to pull away from the scope, I slide it over to my observing eye. These two items are probably the best accessories any visual observer could possess. Erecting light-blocks and shades etc is also good idea, along with flocking the inside of your tube.

Anyway, along with M13, M27 and M57, you might also want to have a go at: M2, M15, M29, M30, M39, M72, and M73. 

You might also want to have a go at: NGC: 6888 (Neb), 6939 (OC), 6946 (Gal), 6960/6992 region (Neb), 7009 (Neb).

Finger's crossed, hopefully in the next week or so, a Vixen FL102 f8.8 will arrive safe and sound and in good condition. If everything goes without hiccups, I'll post up a few pics

Cracking bit of kit, Pete and I'm sure you're both going to have some great times together. Look forward to seeing your images

I'm sorry to hear of your profound loss, Jarvo. And thank you so much for your lovely post. In a way, I'm sure you were with each other this evening in those silent, unspeakable moments below that great canvas of uncountable stars .

Cracking kit, Joaquim and welcome to SGL. Looking forward to meeting you on the boards

2 minutes ago, Merlin66 said:

i’ll get onto the computer later and upload on of the images.

Look forward to that, Merlin. I really should have sketched the Sun today but by 10am I was already sweating and dripping wet under the solar-hood 😅

After the solar umdrums of the past few days/weeks, it's nice to see a little bit more activity

1 hour ago, Olli said:

Hi  I can carry this with one hand with no problem everything seems extremely light. I am using this at the moment because of this reason. Seems lighter than 10kg.

Cool, so in effect, could we say you're looking for a full set up (OTA, mount and tripod) that weighs no more than about 10kg to 15kg in total, and with more aperture than the 5"?

The Sun is putting on quite a display this morning. There are a number of active prominences on the lower half of the Sun - as seen through an Ha 60mm -  and two relatively large proms around 6pm, one of which appears to be reaching out to some 150,000km

Well worth a visit if you get a chance

4 hours ago, Captain Magenta said:

It'll be interesting to see how it "views" when the clouds clear next...

Hiya Magnus. Looks like you've done a nice job on the cleaning. If possible, let us know whether you noticed an improvement or not  

59 minutes ago, Olli said:

it’s just a-bit tiring for me to keep going back and forth to the bottom of the garden.it’s to heavy for me to carry together....So I’m looking for something that’s not as awkward to carry as the dob. And I could carry easily. 

Olli, I see in your signature that you've got a 130ps. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the whole set up (mount, tripod and OTA) comes in at just under 10kg. Is that also a bit of a pain carrying in one load down the garden?

2 hours ago, skybadger said:

Rob, can you post the model link please ?

Almost identical to this one  I went to a local computer shop and explained the house set up and general internet usage (there are only two of us at home and neither of us are online gamers etc) and was recommended the tp-link 300. However, there are many different types of tp-link range extenders with differing types of power, so it's probably best to pop along to your local store and explain to them your own circumstamces etc, so they can advise you which one is best . Even if the store doesn't have the one you need, they can get you in the right ball park to then order online, for example. On a side note, it wasn't necessary in my own case, but you can also have more than one ranger dotted around the abode all linked to the same router.

Hope this helped

We have fibre-optic internet and a house of around 300m² and a garden of just over 150m² . Needless to say, there were areas where the wi-fi range slowed significantly. A few weeks back I purchased a tp-link 300Mbs range extender and it works. All rooms seem to be serviced, there is no interference and for my wife's use and my own there is a decent wifi speed so we can work without frustration. 

Looking good. Hope you get some clear skies while away, Stu. I've read that perhaps as much as 99% of European populations live under significant light polluted skies, so I guess apart from a few pockets of darkness even Dorset is affected. It's a shame really. I think most folk these day have lost that sense of stillness and awe that should be clearly visible over our heads every night 

Hiya Philippe Welcome to SGL. There are so many excellent imagers here, I'm sure you're going to feel right at home

I think they're both cracking images . However, purely from my own personal non-imager aesthetic, I prefer the second image . 

Nice report Stu and good to hear you were able to do a little observing inspite of the clouds. I think TV's scopes in general are some of the prettiest scopes I've ever seen. I love the white pebble finish, the black dew shield, that indestructible, bomber-proof feel about them. In a way, they have an aesthetic a bit like some old classic bike or car. They may not perform quite like the new models in the showroom but they have a class all to their own