Bongo

Plenty of things for me to try there. Thanks everyone!

2 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

Digicam Control supports D40. You should get live view on screen with that. You'll just need a suitable USB cable.

 

https://digicamcontrol.com/cameras

Aaaaah! That's interesting. I'll take a look. Thanks.

2 hours ago, Mandy D said:

@Bongo What DSLR do you have? Most recent (manufactured in the last 15 years or so) DSLRs have live view, where you can zoom in and focus using the LCD on the rear of the camera. If you can tell us which one you have we can probably help much more.

Hi! Thanks for your reply. Yeah, it really is an aging DSLR - a Nikon D40 - and as far as I know it doesn't have live view. It was languishing unused in a drawer si I thought I'd try to put it to some use. 🙂

Hi,

I have a modest telescope (see footer) and have recently had a go at some photography. Using an aging DSLR and a 2x Barlow I was able to get some OK-for-a-beginner's-first-attempt pics of Jupiter, and some nice moon pics (see attached). I don't expect amazing photography with my set up, my goal is to be able to show family and friends what I'd seen through the 'scope with my own eyes.

One of the problems I have is focussing - through the viewer of the DSLR, Jupiter is a tiny, bright speck and its hard to tell whether its in focus or not. I tend to guess, take a photo, view it on the cameras screen, zoom in, adjust focus and repeat until its 'near enough'. Is there a way of doing this more precisely and/or quicker?

Also, if I was to invest in a 'proper' camera e.g. one of the cheaper ZWOs, would I be able to preview images live on my laptop? I guess it would be easier to see if I was in focus on a bigger screen.

Any and all tips welcome! Thanks in advance.

Just now, Alan White said:

Visually interesting curiosity, no doubt for an imager extremely annoying though.

Hah! Yeah, I thought exactly the same. Pretty cool to see for the first time but I can imagine it could get annoying pretty fast!

Hi all,

Hoping someone here can help me identify what my son and I saw on Saturday night, here in Driffield, East Yorkshire, UK. It was about 7.30pm and we saw what looked like a satellite travel roughly west to east (constant bright light, steady path, no noise). It was followed by another, and another, with maybe 5-7 visible across the sky at any one time, all travelling in the same path, more or less evenly spaced. We certainly counted 15 of them, but there were definitely more (we only thought to start counting after a while!).

Now, from descriptions I've heard/read, I assumed it was Starlink, but the app I use (StarWalk 2) seemed to suggest that Starlink wouldn't be visible. So, I guess, either the app is duff, or I'm misunderstanding what it's telling me, or I saw something else (what?).

I appreciate I'm being a bit vague, but can anyone shed any light on what we saw?

Thanks!

Rob (and a curious 9 year old!)

On 15/08/2023 at 16:59, bosun21 said:

Are you only using the supplied eyepieces that came with the telescope? I believe that your telescope comes with a 26mm and a 9mm. With your focal length being 650mm this will only give you a maximum of 72x magnification which is not high enough for planetary observation. I would buy a 2x barlow lens and perhaps a 5mm eyepiece. These will increase the magnification and will give you better views of the planets. I would also double check the collimation of the telescope. There's numerous guides to this on YouTube as well as here on SGL.

Thanks. Sorry for the delay in responding. My eyepieces are as listed in my footer - I do have a 5mm BST and a 2x Barlow.

Looking at everyones comments, I think the main issue might be my location. In my garden, although it's pretty dark, I have low buildings all around so I'm always looking over *someone's* roof. I think a trip into the local countryside with the scope may be an idea. 

I'm fairly confident with the collimation.

On 15/07/2023 at 07:19, Ratlet said:

Can I ask what the issue is with the view you are currently getting?

I had awful views of the planets with my 130pds.  If I had to describe them it was like someone had printed a picture on thin paper and was shining a light behind it.  I could see the planet but it was like someone had turned the brightness waaaaay up.

If that's the issue you are having, you should try stacking a cheap yellow filter and a moon and skyglow filter (so screw them together and use them with your eyepiece.  @Louis D suggested this to me last year and it made a massive difference.  I jokingly call it a 'Baargain Contrast Booster' because it massively improves the contrast of the view but costs very little (unlike the Baader contrast booster).

And to be clear, when I say cheap I mean cheap.  I went for the cheapest filters I could find on eBay that had threads on both sides of the filter.  Think it cost £10 for both.

The only downside is a slight yellow cast, but it's very subtle but personally I find it a small price to pay for the massive improvement in views.

That's an interesting suggestion - I might give that a try.

Just now, bosun21 said:

I’d go for the Skywatcher 127 Maksutov go to. It’s a fantastic little planetary scope that will show good detail on the planets. You will see definite banding on Jupiter and Mars as a defined planetary disc as opposed to a twinkly red star. It also has the benefit of tracking which will allow you to observe at high magnification without having to constantly nudge your telescope. It’s also good for lunar and some of the brighter DSO’s like planetary nebula. Out of curiosity have you checked the collimation of your 130 ?

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I've checked the collimation. 

7 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

If you already have a 130mm reflector, and have a limit of £500, that rather limits the possibilities.  For viewing planets you want maximum aperture, so £500 worth of Dobsonian would give the greatest aperture for your money.

Any sort of scope other than a short focal ratio achromat will serve for planetary viewing, but a Newtonian gives the greatest performance per £.

If you want to see lots of planetary detail, try imaging. It often shows far more than a novice observer can see. Not cheap or instant, but satisfying.

Thanks for your reply. Maybe I'll have to save up for a little longer then. Imaging might keep me busy in the meantime though - good suggestion.

Hi,

I bought my first 'scope (a Meade Lightbridge 130mm reflector*) a couple of years ago. I didn't really know what I wanted to look at in particular when I bought it, and it looked like a good general purpose starter scope. As such, I've been pretty happy with it. 

As I've been using it, I've become more interested in planetary observation than anything else. With my current setup I've been able to just about make out the rings of Saturn. I can see Jupiter and the Galilean moons and, on a good night with a little imagination I can make some banding out - the red spot has so far eluded me! Mars is a twinkly red dot.

So, I'm thinking of buying a new telescope with the hope of seeing more planetary 'stuff'. What sort of specs/scope should I be looking at to see a noticeable improvement on what I have? I guess a budget would be up to around 500 GBP.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks!

* This one, to be precise https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/telescopes/mead-lightbridge-mini-130-dobsonian/

Some good pics there! Welcome aboard.

I think the received wisdom about dobsonians is that most of your hard earned cash money goes on the 'scope rather than the tripod/mount. Depending on what you go for, you *may* be able to mount it on a tripod at a later date if you feel the need.

My 130mm Meade can be stored pointing upwards and takes up about the same amount of space as a waist-high pedal bin, so it's not too hard to store. If you're really concerned about space then maybe look at a flex tube option. I can't advise you on these really - no experience of them. But there are some options here:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians.html

Hi,

I think you can certainly expect that for <£1k!

I have one of these:

https://scopethegalaxy.com/meade-lightbridge-mini-130-review/

...and it cost me approx £250, about 18 months ago. That exact model isn't available any more (not new anyway), but there are plenty of others with similar specs. On a good night (and a clear sky/good seeing is *everything*) I have been able to make out the rings of Saturn and juuuust about make out bands on Jupiter (and also the Galilean moons).

I think, in retrospect, I'd have gone with a SkyWatcher, such as:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

...and I still might. But to answer your question, yes, you can definitely get a decent scope for <£1k powerful enough for you to see what you're after.

Decent effort with a phone!

Hi. I don't know of any specific spots, I'm afraid, but it might be worth checking out the North York moors? Not *too* far from your location, hopefully...

https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/visiting/whats-on/dark-skies-festival

https://www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/north-york-moors-events

You'd hope there'd be at least one suitable location in the whole of the moors. 🙂

It might just be bad seeing - non-ideal atmospherics etc?

The first night I observed Jupiter I had similar problems. Turned out to be very slightly dodgy collimation and just poor seeing. A tweak to the collimation and a better night made all the difference.

That’s just my personal experience, I’m no expert and others on here my have other/better suggestions!

good luck!

55 minutes ago, Stu said:

From this part of the spec….

 

I can't believe I missed that bit! How embarrassing! 🙂

Thanks @Stu and @Cosmic Geoff for your input. 

Hi,

I'm pretty much a newbie, so apologies if this is stupidly obvious!

I have a 130mm Dobsonian reflector* - it's not particularly heavy (3.7kg). I was wondering whether its possible to mount it on a tripod?

My main reason is that I don't have anything particularly steady enough to stand it on. Plus if I could get it another couple of feet higher then I'd be able to see things currently obscured by my neighbour's fence!

Assuming it's possible, what should I be looking for/ avoiding?

Any advice and tips would be much appreciated!

Thanks

* this exact one: https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/meade-dobson-telescope-n-130-650-lightbridge-mini-130-dob/p,54287#tab_bar_1_select

On 07/09/2021 at 22:39, Orange Smartie said:

I'm a relative newbie too and I bought a few BST starguiders for my scope(s). They're not that expensive, but they are a significant step up in quality from the stock eyepieces.  

Pete

I'd second that. I'm in a similar position, maybe a step ahead of you in that I've just upgraded from the eyepieces that came with my 'scope..

The BST Starguiders (I got a 5mm, an 8mm and plan to get a 25mm when funds allow) made a very noticeable improvement and were well worth the price.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

Good luck!

Just as a footnote to my original post...

I collimated my telescope at the weekend (for the first time!) and that seems to have been the key. For anyone who's nervous about collimating (as I was), it was dead easy and  took about 15mins max.

The result has been that I saw the bands of clouds on Jupiter for the first time, which was pretty amazing. OK, it took some concentrating and waiting while seeing improved, but I got there in the end.

Very pleased indeed. Thanks to all on here for the hints and tips.

On 14/08/2021 at 14:00, MiladyB said:

My shopping list is getting longer and longer! 😁 I haven't even had the scope out to look at the moon yet - a filter seems like a great option, but I'll certainly try the dust cap reducer whatsit as well!

Seriously, though, thank you very much for the advice - it's hugely helpful. 

MiladyB x

Hello fellow East Yorkshire person!

I'd definitely agree with @Tiny Clanger about the moon filter. My scope is only 130mm aperture and its pretty blinding when viewing a bright full moon. Personally, I don't notice more or less detail, but I am able to spend more time before my retina begs for mercy. I got one of these:

https://www.astroshop.eu/moon-filters-polarizing-filters/omegon-filters-moon-filter-1-25-/p,5085

I've nothing to compare it to, so I can't tell you whether or not its a 'good' one, compared to others on the market.

Wow! 🙂

On 05/08/2021 at 15:24, Starslayer said:

haha. We had the same again last night.  Forecast not so great now though.  🤔

Looks like a few decent nights on the way though!

On 04/08/2021 at 10:42, Starslayer said:

Jupiter and Saturn appeared for me last night. Some great views but as soon as I went over 100x on 6"sct then I started to lose things. At 93.75 x 4 moons of Jupiter were shining VERY bright for me all nicely lined up. 

I'm so jealous! After my initial viewing I mentioned in this post, I've been plagued by cloud cover. Surely there must be *some* clear sky in the next month or two! <crosses fingers firmly>