wulfrun

1 hour ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Interesting ! Brummie metal working was so ubiquitous for 200 years it had a nickname, "metal bashing industry" . Best not mention the notorious tool for precision work, the Brumagen screwdriver (a hammer, ideal for knocking screws in to save time ... ) Some old companies still carry on in the traditional way in the same factories with the same tools, one fascinating story is J. Hudson,  still making the famous metal 'acme thunderer' whistles in  Brum as they did in Victorian times https://www.acmewhistles.co.uk/since-1870

In the 1960s my dad worked for J.R Gaunt & sons, one of many button makers in Brum ( https://www.oldcopper.org/makers/buttons_birmingham.php, ) they also made military badges and medals , they were I believe taken over in the 70's by the Birmingham Mint , around that time my dad went to work for Hoskins and Sewell another company founded in Victroria's reign , who made metal bed frames, specifically hospital ones when dad worked for them.

http://calmview.birmingham.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=MS+1088

My grandad though, saw the way the world was heading, having been impressed by the newfangled bakelite (the first ever manmade plastic) in the late 1920s, he got into the machining of plastics, set up a small business with a couple of partners, and made a modest but comfortable living from it.

I have an Acme Thunderer - my Dad worked for BR/Freightliner and had a BR-logoed one which is now mine. The logo is on a brass(?) inset in the plastic (probably bakelite). There's a lot of industry still in this area, far more than you might think. Virtually all of the big places are long gone but there's still a wealth of one-man/small business outfits on small industrial estates around here. My paternal grandfather was the last ropemaker in the area, he worked for the same company for 60 years, from 14 till he retired at 74. Different times and a different world.

I take it since you made mention of the Lunar Society in a previous post that you know why it was so named? I read that they met monthly (ish) when the full moon made navigating Brum's dark streets safer.

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

Some people have a sense of wonder about the world around them, some don't. 

There is also a shortfall in the education system. The science lessons as I knew it was split into physics, chemistry and biology; they were quite rigid, but, there is so much more to science than that. Each of those could be expanded to include subjects like astronomy and the natural world.

I'm in quite a few nature groups on facebook and it's staggering the number of people who can't correctly identify a bee, house sparrow or dandelion.
I've lost count of the times someone has posted a picture of a hoverfly (not one of the bee mimics) and asked what kind of bee it is... sigh. 

Agreed with all of the above. Nowadays, there is a gulf of disconnect between (most) humans and the natural world in all senses. We have nice cosy lives, with light & warmth, shelter and food readily available and an almost unlimited level of entertainment, in whatever form interests us, to keep us in our comfortable homes. Yes, sweeping generalisations but roughly correct for the majority.

My interest in astronomy comes from a young age, I can still recall a sense of wonder at the night skies when the family was taken out to Cannock Chase (local beauty area) when light pollution was far lower. And looking through my Dad's CZJ 8x30 binoculars in amazement at how much more there is. Science has always been an area of study and interest for me but things like telescopes were beyond my financial reach until fairly recently. I had to make do with armchair astronomy; books, TV etc. I recall the Moon landings too. One thing that does occur to me: nowadays we have (relatively) cheap astro gear but perversely we've ruined (largely) the environment that allows its best use. Having just taken up a more active interest, I find that annoying and saddening - in equal measure.

I think in days gone by, people were more aware of the night skies, not least because they could actually see them! It would just have been part of everyday (or every-night) life, even if it was less understood. Proper darkness is now all but banished and scares many.

27 minutes ago, Bukko said:

Just a thought...

If they only jump in time, would the earth not be there when you stop jumping?

And possibly for that matter, the rest of the solar system too if you jump enough...

Gordon.

You aren't supposed to notice "minor" details like that!

Not too sure about this one but wouldn't it be possibe to "solve" based on planetary positions? I know they repeat eventually but it should pin it down to a few possible years, widely separated enough to pick the right one. Of course, had they landed in the UK there'd be little chance of a clear sky 😞

Have you thought about maybe a zoom eyepiece? Something like this:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/hyperflex-72mm-215mm-eyepiece.html

It'll give you a better quality than the supplied 10mm without breaking the bank and a range of FLs too. That way you can find out what works best for your targets and conditions. Later you can buy more premium fixed FLs in a range you know you'll use. Be aware that zooms come with a compromise: they have narrower field of view than many fixed FL eyepieces, especially at the longer end - but you have that covered for now with the 25mm. Worth thinking about.

18 minutes ago, CentaurZ said:

The hour has arrived. 😎

Along with the clouds. Grateful I've seen it get close over the last 3 nights, today was forecast cloudy and for once, smack on 😞

31 minutes ago, Len1257 said:

Best smile of my day so far! Trouble is that rabbit-hole just gets bigger and bigger.......... 

Not under any illusions of the capability needed versus what I will have. IF I decided to go that way, I'm well aware of the sort of gear and £££ that's needed. Just based on where I'm located, I think would be pouring money down the drain for little reward. We'll see! I'm too near the "total novice" end of the scale to even consider AP anyway.

39 minutes ago, matt_baker said:

Thank you all for your input.

How unrecommended is it to put the psu in a box outside with the equipment connected to a mains extension lead and have a 2-3m wire to the DSD DCHub?

Matt

A mains extension lead to a covered connection nearer the scope is not unsafe - provided you use common sense. Clearly, any mains connections must be inaccessible to damp/rain etc. It would also be wise to switch off the supply indoors before connecting/disconnecting mains plugs etc outside. Does your mains supply have an RCD built in? Find out and be 100% sure. If it does, you're fairly well protected. If it doesn't, you can buy plug-in versions - just make sure it's the house-end of the extension lead that is plugged into the RCD adaptor, i.e. plug the adaptor in (in the house) and your extension lead into that. Don't have an RCD adaptor at the far end, outside.

EDIT: whatever type of RCD, plug-in or in-built to your consumer unit, test it using the test button - always!

4 minutes ago, matt_baker said:

The cable needs to be about 16-17m. I have the HEQ5 running at 12v 3A max, 1600mm at the same I think, raspberry pi 4 and a dew heater. It has the black and red terminals. I can power the dew heater separately if necessary

Matt

If you want to supply low voltage over that distance, I'd re-think how you do it. There will be a large voltage-drop along 15m of wire unless it's unrealistically thick wire.

39 minutes ago, matt_baker said:

I'm basically a dummy when it comes to electronics and because I'm having communication issues due to a power brick, I'm wanting to get a 13.8v bench supply but I have no idea how to get from the black and red terminals into a DC cable for my power hub. Can anyone help with this?

 I was particularly looking at a mercury 13.8v 15A supply

Also the power hub I have is 12v 10A rated. Does it only pull however much it needs and 15A won't be too much for it?

Matt

The rating of a power supply is the maximum it can supply, not how much it "forces" into the load. If something requires (say) 5A and you have a 10A supply, that's fine. If the load demands (say) 15A the supply can't supply it. If it's a switch-mode supply, it'll likely simply shut down and refuse to work. If it's a linear supply it may supply the overload at reduced voltage but overheat in longer term. Basically, as long as the supply exceeds the demand, you're fine.

Miraculously the clouds parted here for long enough to get the bins out of the bedroom window (the only view available from home now). Heavy shower just  before and black clouds soon after. I managed to grab a (low quality) photo which I've put in the imaging section (hopefully appropriate). Saturn looks about twice as far as Callisto is from Saturn, visually.

First let me say I've never tried my hand at AP, beyond a shot happens to include the Moon and so on. Whilst looking out of the bedroom window through the binoculars (only way with the view) earlier a thought crossed my mind - I wonder if...

Didn't have much time to put it into action, so in my haste I made a few basic errors (not setting a higher ASA/shorter exposure, not grabbing a RAW) but I did manage this (crop):

Taken on a Panasonic G2, on a table-top tripod on the windowledge, 45-150 zoom at 150mm/f5.6, manual focus, 4" exposure and 100 ASA. I was pleased to see 3 moons in the gloom, Stellarium suggesting they'll be Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Not disappointed with such an off-the-cuff attempt.

Glad there was a good outcome. I'd still try and get some UV on it to kill any spores that may still be present but definitely keep a careful eye on things to make sure it doesn't return. Weak hydrogen peroxide is also good, just be sure not to flood it on, use a cloth-dampened application and wipe dry gently.

Postie dropped a FLO parcel on my doorstep (pretty much literally, he's halfway down the drive when I get to the door). A nice book that I've been waiting to come back into stock - the famous "Turn Left". That's been salted away now since it's a Christmas prezzie. Only took 2 days by 24hr tracked - cheers RM, nothing like missing your targets to inspire confidence eh.

Also a camera adapter, not that I'm even thinking of the rabbit-hole of AP but the intrigue to see if I can get snapshots of bright things like the Moon.

Exposing it to UV will help kill the fungus, it shouldn't harm the paintwork. White paint is more likely to be de-yellowed by UV and the black parts should resist it too. You won't be leaving it exposed for long enough to do damage.

Wherever you were keeping it is too damp so you'll need a new, dry, storage location. I'd be very wary of cleaning as  DIY unless you're experienced, there are many things to go wrong. If the fungus is not just on the front surface of the front element, I'd say it's a job for a pro. I've removed fungus from camera lenses but you need the right tools, patience, care and knowledge. In one case, the fungus had etched the coating on one element but it suffered no ill effects optically that I could tell (potentially it was more prone to flare).

Ouch, hard to be sure but that looks suspiciously like fungus. Needs dealing with ASAP. Can't help with how it comes apart, or the advisability of DIY I'm afraid.

It's just as well JC wasn't born in the UK. Imagine "sorry chaps, we'll have to camp for a few months coz the cloud's rolled in and we can't see the star now" 🙂

8 minutes ago, Moonshed said:

It’s always puzzled me how it’s possible to “follow” a star across a country and then have it lead you to one specific dwelling that it stops directly over. How can you tell which house is directly under a star? All this before sat navs!

If I followed the imminent conjunction, I'd get my feet wet somewhere around south Wales or Devon and give up 🙂

9 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

I doubt the ancients distinguished stars and planets in the way we do. Doesn’t the word planet translate as wanderer or wandering  star? 

Highly likely they didn't know the difference - everything was all in the "celestial sphere(s)". As for the star of bethlehem, I think there's far too much unknown to decide either way and go beyond wild speculation. Just a filler on a slack-news day?

Welcome to SGL from another learner. If you can't find a maker's name on your telescope, post a picture - there will almost certainly be someone who recognises it. Knowing what it is will help get you good advice more quickly. Before you buy any eyepieces, make sure you have the correct size (diameter of fitting). Most modern scopes accept 1.25" or 2" (or both) but some cheap ones have less common sizes. Yours is likely to accept 1.25" but do check before buying.

2 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Now, why can't all councils specify that 2nd design as the standard, not as the exception?

You really need to ask? Every chance it's down to £

17 minutes ago, bomberbaz said:

I know well what you mean. I was sort of mentally shouting at the TV at one or two parts, the one bit about Jupiter's core especially. 

Plus the bit with a scientist wandering in wellies around a vast water tank, whilst waving a torch around - which is somehow related to whether Jupiter has water or not?

46 minutes ago, reezeh said:

🙋  How tactical is "Tactical"? And what tactics are used?  

Actually, there's a "Tactical" version of the PD35 I posted a link to above. It's the same price, surprisingy and has some minor feature differences. As for what it means, I doubt there's a definition of what makes one "tactical" and the other not. Just a buzzword that's meant to hype it with no real logic and (usually) inflating the price.

I have a couple of suggestions, which may or may not be useful. First one, do you actually need to lock the focus or is there enough friction to leave it unlocked? Second, try and figure if the lock moves focus by a consistent amount and which way. Mis-focus to that extent then lock to bring it back to correct. I agree further action is needed but this might give you a working stop-gap.

4 hours ago, Michael Kieth Adams said:

I know what you are talking about but the fact is  what we see far away happened long ago, what happens right here in our region of space time is slower, was fast is slow, slowing down.  I know the balloon illustration but far away things move faster than close ones.  Long ago things fast recent things slower, slowing down  ( not stopping, yet).  I’m sure there is a flaw in my logic but where?

For starters, imagine you were in a distant galaxy, looking at the milky way - your reasoning would reach the same (wrong) conclusion about Earth/Milky Way. It's correct that looking further corresponds to longer ago, simply because of the finite speed light travels at. What you can't deduce is who's moving: you, the other end or both. Chances are very high the answer is both. There's no absolute position in spacetime and so you can only conclude that local objects are closer to co-moving than distant ones. That's true everywhere. I think the flaw in your logic is that you are taking the view that you are in some special place that is stationary/slow moving. You have no special viewpoint, you are being carried along in (expanding) spacetime like everything else.