mattjanes100

A question for those that have one of those 8" and above Dobs - just how mobile are they? I haven't seen or used one first hand so I don't have a good grasp of it but they seem quite cumbersome compared to, say, a fast Newt?

Sounds like a very productive evening! Great report.

This is a good point - when I eventually got around to buying my first scope (only quite recently Im ashamed to say) I made sure to choose one without any motor drive or GoTo system included. I'm forcing myself to manually slew the scope and hop around to find objects and manually track with the RA slow-mo to keep things in view. I enjoy the challenge of trying to track things down and the joy when they appear in the eyepiece. Equally you can't beat sharing the excitement with others of seeing Jupiter and Saturn for the first time with their own eyes. There is a definitely a place for both - amateurs around the world are making important observations and discoveries all the time, whether it's variable stars, comets or eclipses. Equally, the amazing images produced continue to inspire more people to look up.

Thanks to both for the feedback. I had previously used this particular spot and was completely alone all night so thought I'd found a winner, but perhaps you are right that it will likely be deserted when the cold nights arrive. The Cranborne Chase area is a pretty large expanse of Bortle 4 so I'm sure I'll be able to dig around and find a better spot. Will go for a daytime drive around a few potentials!

Through a combination of too much wind and too many non-astronomers disturbing my peace and quiet at Badbury Rings in the Cranborne Chase AONB, my plans for this evening were scuppered somewhat and I packed up early. Was planning to find Neptune and try some deep sky objects before the moon rose but the tube was getting blown about way too much unfortunately. There was also the minor problem of a camper van parked across the way, whose occupants kept peering out at me in a very disconcerting way! Eventually they asked if I was going to be there all night, by which time I was already heading for the exit. Despite this, a couple of great sights this evening. The milky way was very clear at this Bortle 4 location so I spent a good chunk of time just taking it in before being distracted by the magnificent kaleidoscope of Arcturus! Hopefully the clear skies stay with us next week. Thanks for reading and if anyone else has any good stories about unusual characters at remote sites or how to deal with them, I'd be glad to hear!

This looks to be growing quite a bit compared to Dave's shots from yesterday - flare likely?

Lovely disc

Thanks - I like the look of the UCLAN courses so might get started with their short options and go from there.

Thanks both, very useful. I have a full time job that I expect to be doing for another 30 years unfortunately, so the study would just be for interest and to support my astronomy hobby - unless I can make some magic happen and turn it into a career!

I've been considering taking on a course to gain a recognised qualification in either Astronomy or Cosmology and wondered if anyone here had experience of a distance learning course? If so, which institution, what did you study, what were the costs and how did you find it? I have a degree in an unrelated subject (Surveying) so would probably be looking at undergraduate level as the highest realistic starting point. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Nice one Nige. I'm down in Cornwall at the Eden Project in a couple of weeks and likewise staying near Bodmin Moor - can't wait to get skies like these!

Hi Stephanie At that time of year and at your latitude, I don't believe the milky way will rise much above the horizon but if it is a clear night there will still be plenty for you to see! You can check exactly what will be visible that night by looking at Stellarium online (https://stellarium-web.org) Also it's important to know that the colours you will have seen in pictures online are not going to be the same as what is visible to your naked eye - these are usually processed images taken by cameras which can collect light in various wavelengths that our eyes cannot see. Regardless of colours, the milky way is still an awe inspiring sight and will look like a bright dusty band across the sky.

Great work, the second version really pops! Amazing what is possible even from a bortle 8.

Stunning work

Brilliant image

Great shots! You've got me looking into h-alpha kit now. Better start saving!

Cheers Charl

Thanks Stu. I'm using a Bresser branded filter which I believe uses SolarLite film rather then Baader.

Thanks Dave. Yes, using an appropriate filter for viewing. Will post images to the correct section next time!

Afternoon everyone. Newcomer to the forum and this is my first post, from my first time viewing the sun. This image was shot with my Google Pixel 2XL phone, through a 150mm reflector telescope and 32mm plossl eyepiece with deep yellow filter. Looking forward to catching some spots!