BS269

On 12/12/2020 at 13:32, Shimrod said:

I have bought a couple of Baader 1.25" filters recently, and they have both turned up in 65mm x 65mm cases. These take up too much space in my equipment case and I am trying to find smaller cases without success. Anyone have any suggestions? I would prefer individual cases for the filters rather than a case that holds several at once.

thanks

I’ve just received the baader neodymium filter and have the same problem. The box for it is far too big for my equipment case for such a small thing. Hoping this message serves as a bump and if I find any solutions I’ll let you know

My first filter! Hopefully it’ll help with my planetary viewing. Very excited! 

58 minutes ago, John said:

I had the ES 100 / 20 before I had the Ethos 21. The APM / Lunt 100's were not launched then otherwise I may well have decided on one of those at 20mm.

I got an excellent used deal on the Ethos 21 though so could not resist

 

Can’t argue with a good deal! Just saving up for an astronomik 2” Oiii filter to aid in my deep space hunting which I’m very excited for! Think it may be a while before I purchase another EP.

3 hours ago, John said:

That is a slippery slope

This is my 12 inch dob eyepiece case:

 

The APM 100's are really good as well though. The range of focal lengths available is very useful too

Ooof that is a lovely collection. Sadly way out of my price range though 😂 I was close to going for the ES 100° 20mm but read about the APM being the best bang for buck out there so changed my mind. I’m not sure about their other ranges though so may consider ES 82° if they’re cheaper.

2 hours ago, John said:

Great report !

You may well have seen indications of one of M31's dust lanes. I do on a good night here (Bortle 5, mostly here) with my 12 inch dob. The hyperwide 20mm/ 21mm eyepieces are superb for this because you get the image scale and darker background sky AND large true field

 

Thanks! I checked the location of the dust lane I thought I saw and it matched with the sky safari app, so I’m quite confident now. Makes me want some higher power EPs with large FOV now though! 

After my first report from Monday night I thought I might be waiting a while for the next. But here it is!

This time I went for my 12” dob and APM XWA 20mm. Such a different experience! Went to M42 first.. the wider field of view was lovely, allowing me to take in NGC 1975 (running man nebula?) easier. I’d say I got more detail in the core the other night with my TAL, but only because the higher mags gave me far more contrast. The dob allowed me to see more of it spreading away.

Next up, Pleiades. I got lost in admiration, having 100° FOV I couldn’t take in the whole image however hard I tried too, but it certainly made me realise the scale of it! It felt wayyy bigger than the other night. The hazy glow around the stars was larger and more common as well, again I’m guessing this is nebulosity?

I turned to andromeda afterward and this time it actually felt like I was looking at a galaxy! I could see further out than just the core/inner galaxy, and I could gather an oval shape. I think, though I’m too inexperienced to be certain, I may have just about noticed a dust lane. I’m in bortle 4/5 skies so if anyone could tell me if that’s even possible then that would be great. Highlight of the night though has to be seeing M31, M32 and M110 in the same FOV for the first time ever!

Shortly after my secondary mirror was covered with dew, because stupid me made a rookie error and forgot to put the dew shield on!! The night was cut short but great overall and looking forward to the next one!

1 hour ago, Nik271 said:

 

 

After Andromeda in my opinion the next easiest is the pair of M81 and M82 in Ursa Major. They are less than 1 degree apart and can both fit in a wide angle eyepiece view.

There is also the Leo triplet M65, M66 and NGC 3628 of which the first two are easy to see (but the third is much harder). Again they can fit within 1 degree field of view together which makes it a great sight. 

For me galaxy hunting is very frustrating because the neighbours have security light which turn on at seemingly random intervals and ruin my night vision, and of course the light pollution is always there. The above I have easily seen with 127mm aperture Mak at F12, not exactly a galaxy instrument so you should have no problem with a 12inch.

 

Next time I’m out I’ll take a look at these. I’ve tried andromeda but struggled to see any detail besides the core. I’ve since gotten my wide angle EP so I’m hoping for a much better view next time. Would love to see some spiral arms or dust lanes on any galaxy! Can’t wait for a clear night for my dob so I can do some proper deep space hunting, thank you for the advice!

35 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

Nice report! Well done for seeing the nebulosity around the Pleaides!

The Pinwheel galaxy (M101) is a difficult object to see, harder than the Triangulum galaxy in my opinion. It is very large, as large as the full moon by area so the surface brightness is very low. You have a better change with binoculars and only if the sky is reasonably dark (Bortle 5/4 at least).

 

 

Thanks for the advice, I wasn’t hopeful on seeing it to be honest with 4” aperture and only having a rough idea where it was. I actually live on the border of bortle 4/5 skies so hopefully I’ll be able to catch it with my 12” dob and wide angle EP? I’d love to get a decent view of a galaxy but the only one I’ve managed to find so far is andromeda. Which would you say is the easiest to see? 

Finally excited to tell my first worthy stargazing night! I’ve had a few nights out over the last few months but they were right next to my light filled house and were mainly just chances to get used to my dob.

I looked outside to see the sky was about half clear, with the clouds mostly reigning in the lower altitudes. So I took a gander up to my new observing location, where my new Astro-shed is built and found myself just gawping at the sky for a while. Feels like a very long time ago since I got to spend some time just taking in it’s beauty. I realised recently as well that putting on my glasses completely transformed my naked eye viewing, which I have been surprised by as I only have a very weak prescription and never use them otherwise. The stars become pin point sharp, 100s of dimmer stars pop into the fray and I can look directly at the Pleiades and the Orion Nebula  and see the stars within them.

During my gawping, I had completely forgotten this is the time to observe the Geminids, and was abruptly reminded as the largest shooting star I’ve ever seen shot right across where I was looking. I only saw about 4 more but it was enough for me!

Due to the rolling clouds I was worried about setting the big dob up, so opted for my neglected TAL-1. I wasn’t able to use him for months, and it’s the first time I’ve been able to look at DSOs with it. First turn; Pleiades... granted it doesn’t all fit into the FOV with my baader zoom, but still a lovely sight none the less. There’s something so simple yet captivating about this cluster I think, with it’s striking blue stars. Around some of the brighter stars there was a slight blue haze around them, not sure if this is a sign of the nebulosity? Very exciting if it is!

Next I went to M42. I tried looking at this last week with my dob but there was a full moon quite close so was almost completely washed out. Tonight was far better, and I got a much better view at a higher magnitude, boosting the contrast as the sky around it got darker, making it much easier to see detail. To be honest, I don’t know which part of the nebula I was looking at but I definitely couldn’t see all of it. I’m guessing I could see the core as it’s the brightest area? Amazing view regardless. Afterward I just started aimlessly navigating around, seeing what was out there. I searched for the pinwheel galaxy but no luck, I’m not well acquainted with that area and the old 1993 EQ mount isn’t the easiest to control. The scope might have too small an aperture to pick it up, I’m not sure.

What I was impressed by with the TAL is it’s optics, for such an old scope, and it’s ability to hold collimation. I got it perfectly collimated in June, and it’s been moved about a fair bit since then. I didn’t even check collimation tonight, and achieved sharper stars than I ever have in my dob, which I check every. single. time. Really lovely views in my Russian rocket launcher!

I don’t know if this is too long for an observing report, but I’m just glad I can finally give one worth telling. I’ve added this lil pic I took tonight on my iphone 12, testing out it’s night camera mode. Not too shabby!! Thanks for reading!

Going to revive my old topic as it’s finally here! The shed is finished and my equipment is in. Very exciting for me having my own little pad and I can now observe in an area that has a much larger view of the sky. Can’t wait to get my new APM 100° 20mm EP in and get some serious deep space viewing on.

The ventilation seems to be good as there’s no trapped moisture In the shed.. apart from in the tube of the dob. There’s been some dew on them for I imagine a few days now, hopefully it’s nothing to be too worried about and it will be fixed shortly. 

On 28/09/2020 at 18:33, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The Talentcell battery works great. It's still on four out of five green lights, after approx 10-12 hours use. 

I'm using the £1.87 Amazon cable with no issues. 

Sorry to jump on the thread.. I’m interested in the talentcell batteries but read a warning on Amazon to not use in humid or wet places. Given how bad we get dew in the UK have you ever had problems or worried about it getting wet??

Also came across this one, any opinions? 
 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RoyPow-Portable-23400mAh-Cigarette-Travelling/dp/B08JV8MPHK/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=12v+power+pack&qid=1605824249&sr=8-8

28 minutes ago, Nicola Hannah Butterfield said:

My NE6 was supplied with a 12v car auxiliary jack, so crocodile clips to a female auxiliary connected to the 12v battery, unless I am missing something. I use a 240v to 12v 3amp ( I think it;s 3 amp) transformer that used to charge AA type batteries, it has worked fine for me since March, I will add the high voltage is in the shed and only low voltage outside.

If I’ve read this right, then you use your car to power it? I don’t really want to use my car tbh, not sure why I just don’t like the sound of it. Thanks!

Just came across this also, says there is a 15V 10A DC port? 
 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meterk-Starter-18000mAh-Portable-Battery/dp/B08BNK7PVT/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=starizona+power+pack&qid=1605822078&sr=8-3

32 minutes ago, Kryptic said:

It's a bit of a minefield - what with cheap junk readily available online and the high cost of the devices that have a good reputation e.g. Jackery 
Sorry I can't make a recommendation - I built my own using a caravan battery.

Ahh okay no worries, thank you for your help anyways!

Ahh not good. I’m tempted to get the skywatcher 7/17Ah powerbank and be done with it but I’ve heard you can get far more for your money.

I have a serious case of analysis paralysis on which battery/powerbank to get for my skywatcher 300p dobsonian. Electric circuits, cables etc go right over my head so I’m struggling to know which one is best and how it would connect to the mount. 
 

I’d like it to be:

- Small and light enough to sit on the base of the mount, so I don’t have to constantly move it when the scope moves in Azimuth.

- Waterproof? I imagine dew on a bare battery is asking for trouble.

- Cheap as possible (obviously)... I will only be powering the mount so I imagine anything over 10Ah is fine? I really don’t want to spend £100+
 

In my search I found this one which is prime candidate right now, would anyone be so kind to follow the link and let me know if it would work or if it’s useless? If it is okay, is there anything else I’d need to get to connect it to the mount? If not, what would you suggest?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08BZ6QJ57/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pd_rd_i=B08BZ6QJ57p13NParams

I’ve read that if you use a battery with the wrong specs, it can fry the goto system and I don’t trust my opinion given I don’t fully understand.

please help, cheers!

Ben

16 hours ago, Paul73 said:

With the right eyepieces the 12” Dob gives some nice wide(ish) views. There aren’t many targets that you can’t fit in one fov.
Paul

I recently got an APM 100° 20mm as my first wide field EP. Not had the chance to use it yet but hopefully it will be a big improvement over the small FOV of the baader zoom at 24mm (this gives 0.80° FOV, the APM gives me 1.33° with 12.5x more magnification 😁).

hopefully it proves to me that I don’t need another scope on there!

19 hours ago, fifeskies said:

Do you need any cupboard handles   😜

 

 

A big finder is unusual on a dob because of the balance issues , often a Telrad is a better option , though less accurate

 

A possible use for these is to put a losmandy plate onto your dob so it can be used with an EQ or Alt Az mount , the curve should match the OTA radius

(a bit unworkable with a 12 in flextube though , would need a plate on the inside at the very least , and full tube rings are better)

I think tube rings would be the only way an EQ mount would hold it, and even then I’m not convinced. It’s a big [removed word] as well so would need a £££ mount which I won’t have for a while sadly. 

Shame. I might see if a little camera piggyback mount would work. Might allow for slightly longer exposures than untracked, before the rotation of the sky affects it too much?

2 hours ago, fifeskies said:

Those "hoops" fit onto the tube then you need finder rings (perhaps along with a bar)

 

the rings or bar will screw onto the hoops

You may need a weight on the other side of the tube from the finder to keep the balance right

Finder rings that adjust can help align both finder and main scope, and also make the exact "hoop" positioning less critical if there are nor predrilled holes for them.

Interesting, thank you! Seems like a bit of a waste to not but them to use, but they were free so it’s not the end of the world if it didn’t work. Could they be used for something else perhaps? 

2 hours ago, Paul73 said:

I’ve got a light weight 70mm travel scope on my 16” Dob as a super finder. Although it rarely gets used as the Telrad/low power eyepiece generally does the job and the Dob gives better views on the vast majority of targets.
However, I could see you running into major balance problems as your main tube is fixed in relation to the pivot / alt bearings.
Paul 

I was thinking of it so it could provide the lesser magnification views that the dob can’t get, But I did figure balancing issues would be a problem. I don’t know if magnetic counterweights would work? 

I also don’t really know if it’s worth it due to the significant reduction in aperture compared to the dob. Do you think it’s just worth sticking to the higher mag but better detail that the dob offers? 

Has anyone ever fitted a 2nd scope as a piggy back on a larger dobsonian? I was given these 2 accessories for my 12” flextube by the person I bought it off, and he said they can be used to mount a 2nd scope.. only I’ve no idea what else I need. Could anyone direct me in what I’d need, and if even piggybacking a small scope on a dob is possible?

cheers

Ben

1 hour ago, Deadlake said:

I’ve looked at quite a few items on teleskop and 365/Astrograph and the uk retailers alway work out cheaper after exchange rate and postage takers into account.

I probably have paid about 10-15£ more from ordering through teleskop, but I didn’t know if astrograph was a reliable company at the time. At least I’ll know for next time!

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

I allways use the DPD shipping option with Telescope Express. Gets here in a couple of days and you know exactly when it is arriving.

 

The 6” is my grab’n’go classical cassegrain. Just small and light enough to fit on my Berlelbach Report tripod and small alt-az mount. can carry the whole thing outside one handed. 🙂

The CC8 is a lot bigger and heavier and works great on my AZ100 mount but not exactly grab’n’go. 😬

I went with DPD too, had to wait a few days before they arrive in stock I think but hopefully won’t be waiting months like most orders are seeming to take.

the CC6 was a great price I remember, and for only 2” less aperture it was tempting when you were telling me about the CC. I still intend on getting one some day, but a deal came up for a 300p dob that I couldn’t turn down. Love the dob but also can’t wait to get a planet killer one day!

3 minutes ago, johninderby said:

You might try asking Zoltan at 365astronomy if he can get the eyepiece. He stocks a lot of APM kit so might be able to order one in? 🤔

I’m happy to buy from teleskop express now, it’s €17 for delivery which isn’t great but I’m really hoping it might arrive sometime next week for the nicer weather, which I haven’t had for weeks. Way I’m seeing it I’m now not spending as much as I would have if I go for the ES. 
 

very nice looking scopes! How come you got the 6” CC though, did you get rid of your 8”??