josefk

Just catching up on some reading this afternoon with the March edition of Sky & Telescope and this article caught my eye too - I came here to post it but I’m clearly on the back foot. 🥴 I try not to get too excited about transitory events in the “before” phase for obvious UK weather related reasons but this one appeals to me and I’ve just added it to a viewing list for my next session whenever that is. It really appeals to me to have a deliberate observation of the area and a sketch of the star field “now” before the nova reoccurs so that any observation and opportunity for a sketch during the event (if I should be so lucky) would be especially meaningful. How exciting!

A bit “dreamy” because you couldn’t buy one new now, and it would arguably be ethically a bit tricky now even if you could, but for reasonable money I wish I had bought a 5” or 6” Intes or Intes-Micro a long time ago. I nearly did buy the last M500 from the widescreen centre in 2020. I procrastinated while hoping to find a 6” s/h and the brand new compact little 5” Simon had there became “the one that got away…” 😔

Just four. When considering a 'family" of scopes most people probably make this analysis instinctively. I use a spreadsheet! 😂 I know my long term satisfaction comes from the combination of "ease of deployment" (fast and low fuss) and the "personal axis" (the "personal" axis is low or zero optical aberrations, or absence of ones that catch my eye at least). The other axis are self explanatory - the higher the score the better the quality. S+1 might be a 12" Cassegrain (i like their compactness relative to aperture) but it is currently scored on that radar diagram as a 12" Dob. If i leave acting on S+1 so long (too long) that i won't be able to handle it as a bigger/heavier scope (and prices fall in the meanwhile) it may actually be an NV eyepiece to go in the FSQ. If i do that, then other than resolution, the FSQ really would become 'one scope to rule them all'.

You too Steve - really nice to meet in person.

I'm going up in the world (literally) c/o of a very nice gentleman and SGL member Steve @Saganite. I now have this lovely Berlebach Nix observers chair. Not used in anger yet but i "get it" even messing about in the kitchen. It's immediately obvious why people repeatedly describe these as their favourite astro accessory. Though i've quite enjoyed a low stool till now (i like being near the ground with EP box close at hand) i don't think my knees and my cold feet do so much anymore... Low stool shown for scale: comfy perch shown because i can 🙂

...you underestimate our collective OCD and the satisfaction of "done" 🤣

...i will never post my untracked attempt on the double cluster here 😂😂 - it looks like a snow globe...

Nice one. Tricky target type and tricky anyway without tracking! 🙂

Ditto. Take a look at the rainbow and move on. One night last week (might have been the week before) it was steady and white and I had a good long (but unsuccessful) attempt. The Damian Peach pics you linked on the Tegmine thread are illuminating re. Sirius B.

Off topic but that’s a good representation of Sirius A/B on there (the larger pic without diffraction spikes). I’m encouraged that I was closer than I thought with my little scope the other night. A little semi steady knot of brightness against other scintillating brightness. I still can’t “tick it” but still very encouraging. Thanks.

Brilliant for appreciating the “local” context there. For a visual observer these are very very illuminating.

Hey guys. Do these comments re a D-ERF and it’s benefit in reducing tube currents apply to white light too. I don’t have to use a D-ERF with white light but I do if I go down a rear mounted Etalon route. It being potentially being useful in both cases is something to think about.

this pic shows one on both sides but actually with this scope now I only use the RDF mounted on the offside. Saves me banging my head on a scope mounted finder. 🤣

Lux finder 🙂 Actually more seriously - i bet that was quite a nice combo for two different perspectives. I have the capability to dual mount but i hardly ever do it in reality - it can be a faff to manage two scopes versus the dew for one thing. Roll on spring!

TBF they are very nicely made even if i don't need or use any of them. The Tak 3" extension tube (that came with a scope) makes the TeleVue 2" extension tube i already had look and feel like the cardboard inside bit of a toilet roll by comparison.

Hi @michael.h.f.wilkinson - i have a daft question 🙂 Are those three images of increasing scale and resolution with increasing aperture relatable to what would be seen as "betterness" visually or is the greater capability of the larger apertures most apparent when captured by a camera? I actually like all three BTW and would be over them moon if anything like the LS35THa view was achievable visually with a solar scope at the lower end of the scale for aperture (and cost)...I've never observed H-Alpha and like the OP and like many others i've read in threads like this i'm wondering at what level to "buy-in" to something i have no experience with...

no worries at all - as i say though it looks like only a tiny bit is clamped it does feel quite tight and secure. i would trust straight through and may be i would trust a light diagonal and a 1.25 EP. Now i've measured it i won't be trusting a prism and 2" EP and definitely not binoviewers. That would be an expensive lesson! 🙂

...actually not even as much as the whole 3mm will be clamped - the compression ring in the click lock is slightly deeper than the 10mm i first measured and also has a chamfer so the surfaces that are actually overlapped and in contact with one another may only be 1 or 2mm wide:

Hi @AlcorAlly as per the PM this is a measurement of the scope end of TKP00113: It's 10mm from the shoulder of N13 to the start of the raised bit at its scope end. The raised bit is 4mm wide but it's chamfered. The flat non-chamfered part of that raised bit is 3mm wide. I think this whole 3mm bit is clamped by the compression ring of the Baader click lock but as the Baader click lock compression ring is 10mm inside the click lock itself the shoulder of N13 is on the outside edge of the compression ring if that makes sense.

no worries - just to avoid being too pessimistic i've just had another look and it doesn't look like the click lock needs to mate onto much of N13 to really grab it - the beauty of a compression fitting. However i'm still not sure i would trust a kilo of binoviewer and EPs to it where dropping it would be catastrophic.

i took some pictures for you - it fits and feels very secure but... N13 is the most right hand segment inserted into the baader click lock here in this tak eyepiece holder assembly... i'm not swinging my body weight from it but it does feel very secure with the click lock secured. I would use it for straight through viewing now i know it works 🙂: ...on the other hand if i try to insert N13 with the click lock closed as in this pic below you can see that the part of N13 that is being gripped by the click lock above isn't very deep - just the two or three mm you now see as the gap between N13 and rear of the click lock: by contrast this is a "normal" 2inch adapter fully inserted: and inserted with the click lock closed so you can see how much is normally gripped by the click lock above (circa 10mm not two or three): the gripping part of the click lock is 10mm inside the click lock from its rear edge and N13 is 14mm deep from its shoulder on the scope side. Cheers

Thats a really useful post for me @John. I'm not sure i've paid enough attention to the intermediate states between "unresolved" and "split". I certainly don't record a description of the precise "not split" state - only "not split". I must try harder! 🙂

@plyscope i still have a picture - the dew band power source with about 2kg of additional weight is in the Molle bag and there is 1kg hanging off the front and below the pivot as well.

That looks great Andy - i saw those K-Astec rings of yours in the other thread and they look lovely. I also use an AZ100 with a heavy refractor. I got balance dialled in following the route you have with weights on the offside on their own losmandy plate. I also moved my finder to the offside and have a power source for a dew band that side too. I can't remember how much weight it comes too but its a few kg and can be moved for and aft for eye piece/binoviewer balancing and its also below the pivot of the mount. Works a treat.

There is probably an actual medical diagnosis for this: … … TBH I don’t find putting lists together very difficult. It is the actual making of progress observing them that eludes me 🥴