PeterStudz

That’s a good summary! Although I’m a fan of Scottish whisky. Especially from Islay.

Although the title is ‘WHISKEY AND STARGAZING”. So I presume that gin, brandy, cider etc are OK. And I drink whisky not whiskey 😀

Thanks! I prefer visual, but do find the smartphone only images fun and interesting. And to see what I can do with something that I already have. It doesn’t cost anything and if I need to use a computer or laptop then for me it loses that straightforward simplicity. Not that I have a computer or laptop! They are also handy to help record my sessions - especially if I tag an observation report to the image. Transparency is one of those things that you learn to appreciated with experience. On that night I’d already taken a look at M81 and M82. Something that I’m familiar with. And this confirmed that transparency could have been better. I’d certainly seen these two better in the past from my back garden. The app that I used - AstroShader - does a good job of keeping the background sky dark when under an urban sky. When taking a smartphone image through a telescope, using the stock camera app, it also magnifies the surrounding light pollution. And you then need to go through a load of hoops trying to minimise it. Which is why you are always at an advantage (aren’t you always!) when taking a smartphone image at a dark/darker site.

I really enjoy seeing what you can do with a smartphone. And apart from an adapter (which cost me £9.99) and a few apps of around £2.99, it hasn’t cost me anything. Just about everyone has a smartphone and it’s something just about anyone can do. Even without a telescope. Your image reminds me of the first time my daughter saw the Orion Nebula. She wasn’t impressed! Although it was in Bortle 7 with a small 4.5” reflector and I doubt that her eyes were dark adapted. However, just hovering our phone camera over the eyepiece showed colours and literally had Alice jumping up and down. And that was without even taking a picture. It kind of saved the night and got her very much interested in Orion.

Nice little session on Sunday 3rd March that included testing/trying out a secondhand Astronomik OIII filter which had just arrived in the post, well, on the very day, from @bosun21. It arrived with some clouds, but not enough to completely stop play! This to add to my Astronomik UHC, also purchased secondhand from SGL. And to make things more interesting I chose a target I hadn’t successfully seen. I’d not yet been able to see M97 - the Owl Nebula - from my light polluted Bortle 7 back garden, which is the only place I’ve tried. Conditions on the night weren’t great with poor seeing and below average transparency. But at least the moon was out of the way and M97 at a good altitude. I used the PushTo feature in the smartphone app PS Align Pro which always gets me on target. But looking through a low power eyepiece M97 simply wasn’t there. I tried averted vision and at one point, but only for a brief split second, thought I could see something. Mind, I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t my imagination. But, when I tried the OIII filter there it was - M97 - right in the centre of the FOV. Sure, it was just a faint fuzzy circle without detail, but no averted vision necessary. Really surprised that it would make the difference of not seeing anything to seeing something. Looking forward to trying it out again & experimenting (plus the UHC). Hopefully at a dark(er) site too. I was going to play around with different eyepieces, but clouds were coming in and I decided to try and take a smartphone image. First without the filter and then hopefully with. I did this via the AstroShader app which I’d last used properly and described here way back in May. Using the apps live view quickly showed the outline of M97 on the phone screen. It’s like a simple EEVA and in this case showing something that I couldn’t see without a filter. I took a shoot using a few subs, but that clearly wasn’t enough, so took a few more and by luck got a decent image. I’m still not sure on all the app settings. And I could see the “eyes” of M97 in the image! A bit of editing in the app and on the phone gave the resulting image. Honestly I’m pleased with that. I don’t think It’s an easy smartphone target! Unfortunately thicker clouds soon rolled in and I called it a night. I had work in the morning, so probably just as well. Would the image be any better using a visual OIII filter? I’m not sure. 03/03/24, Southampton urban back garden, Bortle 7. SkyWatcher 200p Dob on DIY EQ platform. BST StarGuider 25mm. iPhone 14 Pro on no-brand smartphone adapter. Image taken via the AstroShader app. Cropped plus basic editing only on the phone using AstroShader, WaveletCam & Lightroom.

For deep sky objects the night sky isn’t dark enough for most targets during the summer months. So most observations are outside of summer anyway. Personally and in my location (I’m in an urban environment) the sky is darkest between 1 and 3am. So you can always do what @Stu suggests. However, I also do white light solar which is obviously daytime and even some planetary (eg Venus) during daylight hours too. It doesn’t need to be all nighttime stuff!

Fabulous sketches! Sadly the view to this is totally obscured from my house. Might give a go at looking somewhere else. That’s if we ever get a clear evening.

An Astronomik OIII filter from @bosun21 - much appreciated and I look forward to trying it out! Only posted via Royal Mail yesterday and arrived today, obviously a Sunday. I didn’t think/believe that they did Sunday deliveries, so a nice surprise.

Ahhh… OK, my mistake! But as you say “a whole lot better”.

The particle board that the bases of Chinese manufactured Dobs are made of is also far heavier than plywood. I think Orion Optics use plywood but I could be mistaken. Certainly when I made my own plywood base it was lighter and stronger/stiffer than the manufactured particle board examples that I’ve had experience with.

Great ideal and a good job. I like it.

Although the website also says… ”Our expert comment: The mount connector (type Vixen GP / Skywatcher EQ-5) varies greatly between different manufacturers, different models, or even different production batches of the same model. It is therefore not always guaranteed that the tripod will fit your mount. (Elias Erdnüß)” My bet is that a HEQ5 mount head would fit. However, you could also ask them. On the webpage there’s a link for “Product Questions”. Any decent supplier will reply. If they don’t then maybe best to avoid!

Normally when bought new the Skymax 127 comes with 2 eyepiece - a 25mm & 10mm. Was yours new or secondhand? In your telescope you really want something at or near 10mm in order to see detail on a planet like Jupiter.

As mentioned above any modern smartphone will be fine. There are a few pluses and minuses but they are trivial and not worth worrying about. I started off with an even smaller SkyWatcher SkyHawk 1145p and when using and selecting a smartphone adapter (phone too if you have a choice) it’s important to have something that’s relatively light. Otherwise the focuser will flex resulting in images that are not so sharp. People can get hung up on the best adapter but I use something simple, cheap and light. To make things easier and before I start I’ll often have the phone attached to the adapter plus an eyepiece that’s reserved for images. All I then need to do is pop the whole lot in the focuser, focus and start snapping away. Saves faffing around in the dark. Alternatively have a go at handheld too. With practice and a steady had the results can be surprisingly good. Start on something easy and bright like the moon. This was taken several years ago - handheld with a standard iPhone 12 on the little 1145p. Cropped and basic editing with the stock camera app. One of the first images that I took. For taking pictures I haven’t found many apps that help and go beyond the stock camera app. Some features that allow you to change camera setting are quite hidden, so lean how to use them. Deep sky objects are a little more tricky. As always it helps to have a dark sky. Unfortunately I don’t - I’m in Bortle 7. But there are a few phone apps appearing that you can try. These were taken with an iPhone app called AstroShader. Taken back in last May and since then the app has improved. For these I had a SkyWatcher 200p Dob. AstroShader is interesting as it live stacks and aligns, no tracking necessary. I really must give it a proper go as this was just my second attempt at using it. Not sure if there’s an Android version but if not then there might be something similar. M13 Globular Cluster M57 Ring Nebula M27 Dumbbell Nebula

I had a brief look at it between clouds during my lunch break. Seeing not great, but worth it. I could also easily make it out just with eclipse glasses.

Thanks! I do enjoy trying to push the maximum out of what you can get from just using a mobile. And that includes the processing. Although it’s usually an addition to visual astronomy - I could not look through an eyepiece! It’s not just the camera, but the limited applications on mobile for doing this sort of thing. As you know I don’t want a computer. However, my daughter now has a laptop for “school work”. Well, it seems to be more gaming! I might just download some stacking and processing software and take a look.

I have a 200p Dob and still don’t know how he’s managed to get such good images. Manually or otherwise! As for carrying. I have a weak knee and carry my 200p in two parts anyway. It’s not the weight but the awkwardness, especially having to go over a step into my garden. Although even just carrying the OTA as-is was awkward. Which is why I drilled some holes and installed a sturdy carry handle. Personally I don’t find it any bother doing it that way.

Yes, I now always use the EQ platform for planetary. For me having a planet, especially Mars, stay in the FOV without having to nudge does help me see more. But unless I decide to do planetary imaging then I’m really unlikely to get a GoTo Dob. Although with this hobby it’s hard to predict the direction you’ll take!

I can see how the tracking part of a GoTo Dob can be useful for planetary imagining, but I was referring more to the actual Going-To a target stuff. I’m sure that the base is good enough, but after having built my own I’d find anything else just too annoying 😀

This sums up what I think too. One of the things that I like about Dobs is how easy it is take everything apart with simple tools, modify and DIY, then get something that perfectly fits your personal preferences. But I understand that this sort of DIY isn’t for everyone. When I eventually upgrade from my 8” Dob (probably to a 12”, maybe secondhand) I’ll almost certainly make my own base. Having made one myself I’m now certain that I can make something superior to the ones sold with “standard” mass produced Dobs. I might be missing something but I can’t see the point of GoTo Dobs, when all you need is a mobile phone app. Maybe that’s a bit unfair as I’ve never used one. I do enjoy star hopping, but if I want to find something tricky I’ve been using the PushTo feature in an iPhone app called PS Align Pro. You need to sync to at least one known target, but it’s never failed to find something. After syncing on the sun (white light filter) I’ve even found the likes of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter in daylight. Oh… Mars too. When I did a little solar “outreach” with some kids finding/looking at Venus as an afterthought in daylight made a big impression. And if you get fed up with PushTo just move the Dob around in the traditional way. There’s no clutches etc to engage/disengage. I also have a DIY EQ platform. Made following the instructions (linked to in the post above) on this site. Really simply, cheap and easy to make. Most of mine was literally constructed on the kitchen table with the only power tool being an electric drill. I think that these are great bits of kit and so simple that they do follow the Dob “principle”. In my garden I have the platforms position marked on the ground so all I do is plonk it down, plonk the Dob on top, switch it on and away you go. Sure, after an hour or so you need to “rewind” it but that’s the only extra fiddling. I don’t always use it, however, for outreach (for obvious reasons) it’s been excellent and in this situation I wouldn’t not use it.

Thanks John. The artwork was an afterthought - it just looked a bit empty especially after painting white. I based it off a design I saw online. Drawn on freehand with soft pencil and then painted freehand. Quite a relaxing thing to do on those far too many cloudy nights!

@Kon, that great that you’ve sorted out the issue and also good to know the reason. I did check my Cheshire and it’s fine. In fact I have two and they’d both show the same problem, so two are unlikely to both be out in the same way! And if you look hard the little aline collimation cap that I have would show the offset problem too. As an exercise I once tried collimation from scratch (both mirrors out) with just the cap. It’s more of a faff and takes longer but I was surprised, when I check it with the Cheshire, how good it all was. Out of interest… I think you have a short Cheshire. Is there a reason for that? Maybe a low profile focuser?

It’s been a while since I “finished” my platform (about 18 months plus took a while to paint it) and it’s been superb. But I realised that I haven’t posted any pictures of the completed item, so here it is. I made a few modifications most of which are personal choices. I did move a couple of the adjustable feet closer to the pillow bearings as it seemed to make it a tad more solid. Not that it was wobbly in the first place. I also added a micro switch to automatically shut it down when it reached the stop. And a chunky toggle switch to turn the whole thing on/off. It’s easier than fumbling for the little slider on the drive unit. Plus a decent sized knob on the variable potentiometer. I cut off the pointy ends of the arcs as they didn’t do anything and got in the way. There’s a “stop” at the southern end that makes it easier to slot-in the feet of my Dob when it’s dark. To save batteries I’ve used a 12v rechargeable lead battery, knocked down to 9v with a cheap converter. There’s also a mini volt meter across the motor terminals so that I can easily and more accurately judge motor speed. It all gives a constant 9v to the drive unit which does makes the whole thing run smooth. Eg the little standard 9v starts to struggle when it gets cold - as I found out. The wiring could be tidied up, but it was originally done for my EQ1 on a tripod in those “early days”. I could replace the 12v lead battery with something more advanced, but I’ve had it for years and it just works.

It’s sadly been mostly cloudy here with some showers too. However, I got a glimpse of it during a brief clear spell just with eclipse glasses which in itself was impressive. But I wasn’t dressed as well as you - at the time I just had my dressing gown on. Well, plus silly glasses. I hope that the neighbours didn’t see! Hopefully it’ll clear-up later.

I’ve managed to see it between a brief clear/ish spell with eclipse glasses. But it hasn’t been clear (there are showers around) for long enough to view through the telescope.