Astro_Dad

Perfect night for astronomy here in the Yorkshire Dales. Kids asleep so an opportunity to take the SS Dob out. No StarSense required, just a very simple manual hunt for well known easy targets. The moon, Jupiter, M42, M45 etc. freezing but worth it. Love the tech in all of these new imaging and AI equipped ‘scopes but for me nothing beats a “real” view through my own eyes - albeit these days a little more infrequent than I’d like. Absolutely freezing of course and warming back up inside now! 

Good write up Paul, looks to be a fine instrument - will have to visit soon to have a look first hand! 🙂

Having sadly missed the aurora tonight, clearly  visible from local gardens and of course Lime Tree it seems , I was nevertheless inspired to view Jupiter on what is a very clear Bonfire night here. Lovely views of the disc and Galilean moons through my 8” with 150x power using the Baader Zoom. It’s been a while but good to be back out. 👍

13 hours ago, SkySafari said:

Hello,

We wanted to confirm that SkySafari Plus and Pro on iOS now have StarSense Explorer functionality.  You will need your SSE unlock code to activate the feature in SkySafari.  The below link takes you through the process.

https://go2.skysafariastronomy.com/activate-starsense-explorer

Android is coming soon.

Enjoy!

Excellent news! Will look forward to setting up later.

Great write up Paul, and some fine sights!

On 18/07/2023 at 06:21, Second Time Around said:

I note that the only eyepiece supplied with the 12 inch f/5 is a 32mm Plossl.  This gives an exit pupil of 5.3mm, that for those in light polluted skies or those older observers whose own pupil size is less than this, won't be able to make full use of all of the 12 inch aperture.

Presumably this was chosen to give a wider field of view (1.05 degrees) so that objects that Starsense Explorer found were always visible in the eyepiece.  My own experience suggests that this is conservative as this is easily so even for the 0.83 degree field of view I use for a finder eyepiece.

Yes, Starsense Explorer is that accurate!

True but an exit pupil of 5.3 is probably going to be fine for many in reality, and in any case those who are prepared to invest in a 12” Dob are probably also those who will immediately upgrade the stock eyepiece (even a quality plossl) or likely have one or two already. 
 

It’s amazing how accurate SS is though isn’t it - even in a narrow field EP as you say. 

On 18/07/2023 at 01:08, Sunshine said:

This is a great little scope to recommend for beginners, Starsense has worked absolutely flawlessly for me in the seven or so months I have used it. One really must try it to be fully convinced and converted. Having said that, I can’t even find these on the celestron websit, what’s the deal? interesting.

They do appear to be all on the website now -

https://www.celestron.com/products/starsense-explorer-130mm-smartphone-app-enabled-tabletop-dobsonian-telescope
 

Celestron branded as well, rather the Popular Science brand they sometimes use. 

I also think they would be ideal for beginners but also for more experienced observers who need a good travel ‘scope or quick grab and go. I can imagine the 114mm or 130mm tabletop versions for example to be ideal to take away with my kids. 

Tricky on the 150mm though. That’s going to be quite big still as obviously doesn’t collapse down like the SW Heritage models. 

I'm obviously tempted and was genuinely excited when I saw these on FLO's website today - I've long been a fan of the SW Heritage 150p  (both standard and Virtuoso GTi versions), but the frustrations and foibles of GOTO in general along with the extra hassle and need for a home made shroud and PTFE tape to fix the basic focuser on the Heritage has always led me to imagine a SS version of a tabletop "Dob". I even looked into a DIY mod to retro fit my Heritage with a SS dock at one point, but the Celestron version is finally here. I think the 5" version would make an excellent grab and go set up to complement my 8" model. Mmmm, interesting. I'd expect an 8" SCT version on a newly designed mount to be in the pipeline soon.

On 07/06/2023 at 09:57, wookie1965 said:

Got this yesterday so now I am mobile a lot easier than dragging my battery box out with the leisure battery in. (going to sell it) 

Cannot wait try it I will do some solar later if the sun comes out supposed to be coming out at 1pm according to metoffice.

Have the same Paul - handy for keeping the phone charged on longer SS Dob sessions! 

Postie brought this a few days ago but having been away I’ve only just opened. Thanks @sorrimen for sending so quickly though. A nice Baader zoom (MK III) to complement my new eyepieces.

Only a brief session late afternoon and into the night yesterday with the new SS Dob - having my brother over reminded me how amazing a first view through a telescope was - we spent a long time on the moon from late daylight into the night- he was awestruck by the clarity of the craters and general features along the terminator, and later asked “What star is that?” pointing to Venus. Again was similarly inspired when saw through the ‘scope it was a crescent shaped planet - not a star. I imagine running outreach sessions would be a lot of fun !

Lovely to be back out observing tonight after a nearly six months break with my second first light with a Celestron SS 10” Dob. As reported on a different thread circumstances have essentially resulted in a several month hiatus from the practical aspects of astronomy but good to be back to a purely observational, immersive approach, no AP or similar “distractions “ Tonight was a reorientation of sorts  to check all OK. StarSense alignment completed using the stock 25mm Plossl but quickly switched to the ES 24/68 and Morpheus 12.5/76 for excellent views of some well worn targets - the lunar terminator, Venus, M13 and M81 the main highlights. Partly to check the SS push to was working properly after initial alignment and partly  to simply get my eye back in. Fantastic to view a globular again in moderately clear skies !

It’s been an “interesting” 2023. After a forced several month hiatus from the practical aspects of this  great hobby (due to personal reasons - divorce, unexpected redundancy and sale of family home) I’ve now decided to return to the fold and hopefully will be back on SGL after what seems like ages.

I’ve moved to a new place in the Yorkshire Dales with elevated commanding views in all directions so keen to get my eye back in.

I learned a lot from my last phase in the hobby which was underscored by frequent testing, trying and selling on of a wide range of scopes (and eyepieces), dabbling with AP and generally getting addicted to technicalities and kit rather than actually enjoying the night sky. All change now. I sold most of my previous kit save for a good pair of 10x50 bins, but have just taken delivery (Courtesy of RVO) of what was surely the best scope I ever owned, and missed ever since selling  - the Celestron StarSense 10” Dobsonian. I posted an early review of this instrument here last Summer and started the StarSense owners thread which I’ll be dipping back into. My first telescope was the 130mm DX version from the same range in early 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, and it was that that got me hooked on the practical side  after lifelong interest in the theory and science of astronomy. Now looking forward to getting back into purely observational, relaxing and immersive astronomy without the distractions of AP and eyepiece obsession (he says with a knowing smile), and so I’m delighted to be the owner of this excellent ‘scope once again.

I've deliberately curated a very limited range of eyepieces this time (I realistically know this may change over time!) that I will actually use, rather than having umpteen different options in my case that I rarely if ever took outside. So, over the past couple of days postie has brought a 24 mm ES 68 Deg for low mag wide field (thanks to @paulastro for the sale and sage advice as always), and a 12.5 mm Baader Morpheus also from the brilliant team at RVO. I also have my 2x and 3x barlows that I held onto to help broaden the range of magnifications possible. Zoom eyepiece on the horizon for kids and others to use...

Good to be back here 🙂

Having enjoyed entering (and recently writing) Astronomy quizzes for my local Astro society (York), I am delighted now to have come joint 4th place in the British Astronomical Association's Christmas quiz 2022 - a very challenging and fun "exam"!

The postie brought the prize today - collection of novels by Astronomer Tom Boles - personally signed 🙂

I’ve just tried in my SS app and C/2022 shows up on my list no problem. Not that that solves the problem here, but thought I’d check. 

Happy Sunday! Another one from the “Big Man” on the 25th 😂

I wasn’t going to post this delivery from Santa as not a pure astronomy book, but having started it it has quite a bit of astronomical phenomena incorporated, and the rest of it will no doubt be of interest to the general population on here!

Excellent images also - very sharp. Thanks for posting the report Paul. No observing for me that day unfortunately. 

“Warming up” for the occultation of Uranus later. The big Dob is out ready and already showing some nice crater detail e.g on Copernicus here. 

Just back inside after a great evening with the 10” Dob. The first night out this Christmas break after fairly bleak conditions of late. 
Mars looking impressive under pretty good seeing at c170x power, albedo features prominent (Syrtis Major and Sinus Sabaeus notable features). 
On deep sky, was looking for some of the elusive nebulosity in and around The Pleiades. Not sure I quite achieved that , but the view was impressive nevertheless (with 32 and 25mm Plossls). 
The Orion Nebula was stunning - even without zooming in too far - just a simple wide field of view at low power was breathtaking enough. Nice to be back outside under mild conditions too - I remember distinctly how much colder this time last year was. 

Incredible find Paul. Reminds me of the meteorite specimens I saw at the local cave recently. Amazing what can be found at charity shops if one has a keen eye!  To @happy-kat’s point, what they represent is quite amazing. 

Merry Christmas to all on SGL! This thread in particular has been a constant source of information and learning for me, in addition to being somewhere sensible for me to record my observations and experiences beyond my offline records. Thanks to all for sharing valuable and insightful notes throughout 2022. I’ll look forward to enjoying another year of Astronomy with you all in 2023. 

Best wishes,

Andrew 

3 hours ago, Ratlet said:

Excellent.  My goal next year is to get a 10" dob.  I was a bit worried it might be too big so possibly just get an 8, sounds like the 10" is the way forward.

The 8” Dob is the perfect size for many. However, the Celestron StarSense 10” Dob was the best scope I’ve owned for observational astronomy, but such is the lack of clear skies it was an expensive asset sitting idle most of the time and with other demands on time and financial resources it made sense to trade off to the still excellent 8” SL. What I learned though was that having the Heritage 150p on hand meant that for my situation it was rarely worth the extra effort of taking the 8”outside when the ultra portable Heritage provides so much. Hence for me personally it was a false economy. A 10” though provides enough separation from the 6” to make it worthwhile taking outside when a longer session is likely (and frankly no less manageable than an 8”) and although more basic, the SW version provides a better value equation given my own situation. That was my logic-others experiences will naturally differ and things will change over time.  Of course it does mean  I now have a very nice 8” SL to put up for sale shortly after Christmas!

6 hours ago, Ratlet said:

Is it my imagination or have your tried a lot of dobs?

No you’re quite correct. Selling my previous 10” was something I regretted (was a false economy in the end as was no less convenient than an 8”) and having lost money I decided to re buy a “basic”  10” and possibly upgrade to StarSense  and the other extras the SL offers over the next few months. 

Sellers remorse indeed - so full circle! Thanks to @FLO for amazing service. A 10” Dob delivery within 24hr of order at one of the busiest times of the year… A back to basics Dob to be upgraded and modded over 2023.