Aramcheck

By chance I came across a review of the Vaonis "Stellina" smart scope in Nov. 2018 edition of Astronomy Now. The scope focuses its light directly onto a 6.4 megapixel CMOS sensor and the image is relaid to a smart phone/tablet app which makes use of 'image live stacking' using 'target-adapted processing to obtain the best clarity'. From the looks of things, this is capable of displaying nebula colour, though personally I wouldn't want one, even if I could afford it:- https://youtu.be/4du2xxYXfhM

Where the two illustrations meant to indicate the same position? To me the top one looks like it's 2:30 and the lower reticule one is 1:20? Cheers Ivor PS: BTW Graeme, you might be interested in the Leeds Astronomical Society - our next observing session (clouds permitting) is on the 22nd http://www.astronomyleeds.org.uk/index.php (The 160th event on the 9th is sold out however)

Re-processed using a trial version of Pixinsight...

2nd attempt at DLSR photography from Sunday night - M27 at 60 x 90 sec frames(!). Shot JPEG's + RAW, JPEG's didn't look promising with 'sausage shape' drift, but set DSS to 80% & it stacked... Levels tweaked in GIMP and then downsized to 8-bit TIFF, Levels then re-tweaked in Photoshop 5 in my Windows XP virtual PC. Cheers Ivor

Thanks David / Jiggy 67. After leaving the battery on charge all day, from the Synscan handset Utility menu I'm getting a voltage of 11.5v, which is the same voltage I get when using a Mains power supply, so I guess it's fully charged... When set to "On" the "ready to use" is lit, and when set to "Charge" both the "charging" and "fully charged" are lit. Cheers Ivor

I recently bought a Sky-Watcher / Celestron PowerTank 17Ah. When recharging it, after a while both the red 'charging' and the green 'fully charged' LED's are illuminated... Should I leave it until the 'charging' LED goes out, or is it already fully charged when both LEDs are lit? Many thanks in advance Ivor

It is a revelation... and it's sad to think that something like 85% of people in the UK have never seen the Milky Way. If only the night sky was classified as an 'Area Of Outstanding Beauty' / 'Site of Special Scientific Interest'... On the plus side, our holidays these days are heavily determined by the light pollution map & the phase of the moon. Cheers Ivor

At least here in the UK I think it is worth raising the issue of light pollution locally. I wrote to my local MP who has mentioned the current biodiversity crisis (insect numbers declining by about 75% in the last 30 or so years), and got quite a positive response which included the phrase " I totally agree that light pollution is a very important issue. " And with many UK councils declaring a 'climate emergency', now is a good time to raise the issue locally of Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) on the ecosystem.(*) It is horrifying seeing those lights on the bridge which must be creating havoc with the wildlife above & below the water... Cheers Ivor (*) Sadly I don't think they're too bothered about the other aspects, such as generating an interest of science in children & the influence the night sky has had on our development at as a species - i.e. ancient navigation, timekeeping & gradual understanding of the universe)

I prefer the 9x50 but on our Skywatcher 130dps I haven't been able to get it to balance with our 9x50 so have to resort to the supplied 6x30... The 9x50 however was fine on our previous Skywatcher 130 OTA which had longer tube length. (Also on the 130dps I had to switch from a Telrad to Rigel Quickfinder as there was insufficient OTA length above the tube rings to fit the Telrad base) I find it much easier with the right-angled finder scope, so good to know there's an option for that on the 6x30! The 9x50 is 9 time magnification / 50mm diameter & the 6x30 is likewise 6 times magnification & 30mm dia. Cheers Ivor

I found this book really good, though I'm rather rusty with my mathematics these days: Astronomy: A Physical Perspective by Mark L. Kutner. A second hand copy is well worth it. I've just started working through Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics (by Stephen Gregory & Michael Zeilik), which is also good. Although it's printed in B&W rather than colour, it does at least use SI Units. Will have to check out the OpenStax book! PS: As a primer I found a used copy of A Student's Guide to the Mathematics of Astronomy decent too.

groups.io still have a basic free package with 1GB storage (I'm in the middle of setting up a group for Leeds Astronomical Society members): https://groups.io/static/pricing

Our 1st attempt @ prime focus, taken Wednesday night with Canon EOS 600D (astromodified & with IDAS D2 filter) + Skywatcher 200dps + EQ6... Managed to get 48 frames before camera battery died. (50sec exp. at ISO 800 with a 10 sec delay between shots). Alignment was pretty rough, but just wanted to try out the DLSR & also to see what tracking was like. (With the moon phase & next doors kitchen light I didn't expect much...) Cheers Ivor

Thanks folks! I tried the microwave on defrost & results were mixed... Although the crystals came out the right colour, the plastic outer bags got a bit shriveled in the process. Next time I'll try the oven! Cheers Ivor

I've been using the FLO Dual-Fit Desiccant Cap on our 2x Newtonian scopes, but once the sachets have gone green I'm having trouble getting them to return to their 'orange' dry state. Simply placing them on a radiator doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions much appreciated... Ivor

From "The Midnight Sky: Familiar Notes on Stars & Planets" by Edwin Dunkin (of the Royal Observatory Greenwich & Fellow Of The Royal Astronomical Society London). 'With thirty-two Star-Maps and numerous other illustrations' Published by The Religious Tract Society, London. Picture is from December 15th 1869... bet you can't see the Milky Way now from St Paul's now! (Nicked this from a talk at the Leeds Astronomical Society last November on light pollution)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish data from the annual Crime Survey in England & Wales. It looks like roughly 40% take place between 6am-6pm and 60% after 6pm, with a reasonably even split between 6pm & midnight / midnight to 6am. The split between early evening (6pm - 10pm) and late evening (10pm - midnight) suggests that the hourly rate is about even in the evening... https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/natureofcrimeburglary Sadly the raw data (which includes info on whether there was outdoor lighting present) doesn't seem to be readily available.

...and then there is he argument that lighting actually facilitates some crime:-

My wife and I only observe from the back garden & at our local society sessions where there is safety in numbers (and a warm pub nearby). If we lived near dark skies, however, I'd be out in the countryside at every opportunity! It is interesting that in a Great Britain survey of 248,000 break-ins, 48% of the properties affected had 'security' lighting fitted... (Source the Austrian Guidelines for Outdoor Lighting).

Thanks everyone - responses much appreciated!

Hi, We've recently upgraded from an EQ2 to an EQ6 with GOTO & have bought our first DLSR. So far we've only used the new scope for visual observation, but I'm hoping to have a first go tonight with the DLSR. Should I set attach the DLSR to the OTA straight away, or do I need to do the 3-star alignment process first with an eye-piece & then replace/fit the DLSR and re-balance? I'm guessing it would be best to have the DLSR already fitted, before doing the alignment & to use the live view to fine-tune the 3-star alignment? Many thanks Ivor

My wife & I joined the Leeds Astronomical Society a year ago (http://www.astronomyleeds.org.uk/index.php) and have found them very welcoming. We've had some good advice & attended some excellent talks (though these can be a bit variable!). The public (and informal) observing sessions have also been really useful, being able to compare 'scope views & ask questions / get tips on set up etc. Sorry to hear not everyone's experience of some of the other societies has been so positive! Cheers Ivor

France also recently introduced legislation to control light pollution:- https://www.darksky.org/france-light-pollution-law-2018/ I think there is more prospect of getting the light pollution problem noticed here in the UK by concentrating on other aspects, other than astronomy, such as the ongoing catastrophic loss of insects & impacts of artificial lighting on wildlife... In Austria's 77-page guidance on Outdoor lighting, for instance, eleven pages are dedicated to the effects on wildlife:- https://www.land-oberoesterreich.gv.at/files/publikationen/us_Leitfaden_Guidelines_Outdoor_lighting_english.pdf There have been a number of papers published in scientific journals. The Jan 2018 edition of Nature magazine included " The dark side of light: how artificial lighting is harming the natural world" which is a good introduction (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-00665-7) and the Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) database has over 600+ related research papers (http://alandb.darksky.org/). Some of the research has gotten picked up by the press - eg York & Newcastle Uni's work on moths: "The dark side of street lighting: impacts on moths and evidence for the disruption of nocturnal pollen transport" (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.13371), which has been reported on in several newspapers eg: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/01/21/street-lamps-should-turned-night-allow-moths-pollinate-say-scientists/; (https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/street-lights-insects-light-pollution-night-moths-pollination-ecosystems-plants-a8735411.html and https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/02/street-lights-lure-moths-away-from-gardens-say-scientists. More recently the Universities of Colorado / Melbourne published a literary review " Light Pollution Is a Driver of Insect Declines" (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3378835) which is also worth reading. In the UK, the government's 25 year plan for the environment only manages one line saying that " 'light and noise pollution must be managed effectively " and there seems to have been little action taken since 2003's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution - Artifical Light In The Environment report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/artificial-light-in-the-environment). This DW Documentary "The Insect Apocalypse" is also worth watching (https://youtu.be/GzhHHVFp32U) as is their "Disappearing Darkness" film (https://youtu.be/9NyQgHGF1NM). Apologies for the ramble! Ivor

Friday 20th Sept at the New Inn, Eccup.

Just to add to Johninderby's answer. The "ND" stands for neutral density - more details can be found on this thread:-

Thanks everybody for the replies. I've just checked it again without powering up & the collimation is fine. Erling G-P hit the nail on the head - I had forgotten to extend the counter weight bar! As a bonus the reticule is already perfectly centred too, which is great news. Cheers Ivor