PeterStudz

23 hours ago, Dark Vader said:

^^^ What he said. I'd love to get something like that, but my phone camera won't do 1 sec let alone 21 😄

Sounds like it’s time for an upgrade 😀. From my understanding the stock iPhone 12 camera app when in NightMode takes 3 second  (possibly 3.3) exposures and then stacks to make anything up to 30 sec maximum. The iPhone 13 is supposed to improve on that. And Android smartphones can do similar and more. Modern smartphone cameras have some interesting and clever low light tricks. 

Mind, some of the pictures I’ve seen you take of the moon are very good!

Thanks for the nice comments! I do enjoy trying to get the best of what I have. And also using bits and bobs form down my shed left over from previous projects in order to do a bit of DIY modifications/improvements.

And as @MalcolmM says - I’m also impressed with the stunning images posted on this site. Some of which I hardly thought possible. But also those using more modest gear. I know that in the past I’ve taken smartphone pictures and thought that they weren’t good enough to post. This is a mistake.

You could argue that a modern smartphone is an expensive bit of high tech. Which of course it is. Although I had the iPhone before I got into astronomy, so it is a case of using what I already have. And these days it’s something that virtually everyone owns. 

Had a go last night taking a picture of the Orion Nebula with the little Skywatcher 1145p. Came out OK I think for a single shot on a phone plus small telescope in my rather light polluted Bortle 7-8 sky.  I’m sure it would be better at a site that was actually dark. The wind was playing games with my wobbly EQ1 too. 

Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p, EQ1, StarGuider 12mm, iPhone 12, single 21 second exposure. Cropped plus a little basic editing. 
 

Had a nice session with my 10yr old daughter before bed last night. The Met Office app did forecast some clear sky’s so it wasn’t a surprise, although not before a heavy shower. Maybe it’s just me but some of the better seeing seems to occur immediately after rain.

Since last year and due to the weather, it was the first time we could get a good look at Orion. While the telescope was cooling we used our binoculars to do a little tour of the region around Orion. The Hyades cluster looked fab as did the Pleiades. In fact I’d say that the Hyades looks best in binoculars. She’s starting to know Orion and its stars quite well and it was interesting giving her instructions on star hopping. Binoculars are a great way to teach and learn your way around the sky. They also allow your eyes to get use to the dark without hanging around getting bored which is definitely an issue with children. Well, adults too.

Finished off by observing the Orion Nebula in the telescope. Seeing was decent even for Southampton although terminated a little early as some clouds rolled in. But just before that we were treated to a bright meteor with an orange glow to end the night.

All, in all about 1 hr 45 mins of observing which is plenty for a 10 yr old. And it wasn’t even cold which does help too.

I’m most jealous, well done! I had noticed a brief spell without cloud here too but I was just too busy with work.

Out of interest. During the last “spotty sun” at the beginning of September I was surprised how much my daughter enjoyed observing the sun and it’s spots. She also had a friend over who was equally impressed. And her friend isn’t nearly as interested as my daughter. You could tell from the “wows” and series of questions, not all of which I could answer. There was certainly more interest than something like the Orion Nebula. 

Some of this was down to the fact it was warm, no waiting around in order to get eyes use to the dark, we had a BBQ going and I gave a long lecture on the dangers of looking at the sun. Kids love anything that sounds risky. I also rammed it home by using a magnify glass to burn a hole in a bit of paper and then light the BBQ. All a lot of fun. 

Thanks for the nice comments. 

Just as I thought I’d have a little free time to finishing the OTA a load of work came in. Don’t you just hate it when that happens! I just need a couple of free days maximum - I think! Will probably be early in the New Year.

I’ll try and post some pictures as I strip the OTA down and flock etc. I’ve got most of the bits I need together now. I have a feeling that there are pits where the secondary adjustment screws meet the holder. At the moment the secondary is a pain to adjust. Eg as soon as I get it bang on and tighten the screws it slips out of position again. Will probably do the milk bottle mod but will see when I take it apart. 

And happy Christmas!

On 08/12/2021 at 17:20, wookie1965 said:

The only thing stopping me is the weather and only have a few days before it ducks under the horizon. 

I tried at the beginning of December. From my garden Leonard is not in a great  position so I’ve only have a few chances.

I got up at 4am. It was clear then with only a few high clouds. I quickly setup and allowed some time for cooling. And it was chilly.

On that morning Leonard wasn’t far from M3, so I planned to hop from there. Quickly found M3 which was a nice sight, especially after not seeing it for some time. Maybe I lingered too long but as I was looking at M3 clouds suddenly rolled in - and that was it. Typical! 

Looks good. I’ve downloaded it.

Theres also this free one which I’ve found useful.

https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/SMBooks/AstrophotographyV1.pdf

At last, the base is finished! Took a while for me to paint as during the summer and early autumn my daughter (me too) got into observing Jupiter and Saturn. And it was at every opportunity. From camping in the garden to late nights, whenever it wasn’t cloudy. Somewhat fortunately most of this was during the school holidays, although it did tire me out! Work also got in the way too.

Painting would mean at least a week off as I would need to allow the paint to fully cure. Unpainted It also allowed me to fiddle with the setup. I’m really pleased with the textured ABS sheet on Teflon/PTFE pads for the azimuth bearing. Hardly any stiction even at high magnification. Tried some other possibilities but nothing that I tried was better than this. 

The altitude bearings took a bit more effort. Just running on PTFE pads there was too much stiction for my liking. Some dehydrator sheets (basically PTFE paper) which I had at home and stuck to the sides of the trunnions with PTFE tape worked perfectly. The last picture shows what I mean. Initially this was just a temporary installation but it’s lasted so well that I’ve kept is as is. 

I’ve also made the rocker box easy to remove from the ground boards without tools. I thought it might be easier to transport via car this way and  if necessary, it allows possible future modifications. 

Just got to give the OTA some more attention. I intend to take it apart, give it a good clean and flock. Probably add a handle. However, I already have a primary mirror solution. More on this later. 

1 hour ago, callisto said:

I have just received these cheap and cheerful snow boots after a recommendation from a fellow SGL member...thought I'd give them a go for the price and honestly, they are fantastic, they really are 

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-warm-waterproof-snow-hiking-boots-sh100-x-warm/_/R-p-108105?mc=8344304

 

Mark

Yes, I have those too. They work well for me.

Hi, and welcome to SGL. I’m in Southampton so in Hampshire too.

Is it possible to get the thing back together and in reasonable working condition? You might be pleasantly surprised at what you can see even with a mirror in poor condition. 

Well done! I think that’s a great result, especially with the equipment you were using. 

11 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

This is white and red but I've owned mine two years and the torch is still working fine. Separate switches for each colour and cheap!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Torch-Headlamp-Headlamps-Adjustable-Resistant-Batteries/dp/B019MK6DX6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1/?_encoding=UTF8&crid=1G13W3ID4BRV0&keywords=headlamp red light&qid=1638485461&sprefix=head lamp red%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1&ref_=navm_hdr_signin&

 

I use this one too. It’s been great. So much so that I bought another for my daughter or for guests. 

47 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Thanks for the encouragement. 😁 The problem now is the sky was fantastic for a short period around dusk... but see above. I'm hoping a miracle happens and it's great later. Last January was the last time I managed several hours observing. 

That sucks! I’ve just been out with the binoculars and had a scan about. It’s not bad but the cold and wind is enough for me. Orion is up and got a good view of the pleiades. However the stars are twinkling like mad and I wasn’t tempted to get a telescope out!

3 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Sod's Law in action tonight. It's crystal clear outside and forecast to remain so until tomorrow morning. The temperature will dip to around 1°c. The perfect night if it wasn't for the 15mph wind gusting at 25mph. Am I a wimp for not setting up, or sensible? 🙄

In my book it’s definitely sensible! 

Similar weather here in Hampshire. Although with the wind chill it’s forecast as -7C later on. And this kind of damp northerly wind can make it feel even colder. 
 

However, in my limited experience every time I’ve tried to observe in windy weather the seeing has been rubbish. 

Well, I’m jealous. From my garden Venus is     behind a neighbours tree

39 minutes ago, savcom said:

Don't forget that a youngster can probably see more of the stars in the sky than we can, so their view of Andromeda, for instance, will likely be more colourful and brighter to them than it seems to us.  Likewise the Orion nebula.

 

Yes, my daughter (at the age of nine but she’s ten now) says she can see some colour on the Orion Nebula. She says that she can see a bit of pink in some parts of the cloud. To me it just looks totally grey.

And I’ve had other examples too. Eg she was the first to see the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. I got a “Daddy I can see the spot”. At first I didn’t believe her and it was a “let me see that” moment. Sure enough when I looked carefully it was JUST appearing on the limb of the planet and as such still hard to see. 
 

Now I’ve learnt to ask her “what can you see?” Rather than telling her what she should see. 

Very good! And a nice idea, basically an observation table.

I’m relatively new to this but there’s  hardly a  nighttime session where I don’t drop something. There’s got to be a better way, although simply being a bit more organised does help.

Out of interest. Where do people put eyepiece, focuser & finder caps? I’m forever searching for those on the dark. Sometimes trying to shove different size caps from one make of eyepiece onto another. 

On 22/11/2021 at 22:37, Spile said:

Mirror washed and dried. Refitted (a very tight fit) to the OTA and collimated. Celebrated with some nice views of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter. 

Well done! The primary mirror cell is a tight fit. Harder to get back in than take out.

Any hits, tips, dos & don’ts when applying the flocking?

And can you see any difference/improvements?

I had some good views of Jupiter and Saturn in my 8” Skyliner in the summer and early part of autumn. 
 

But since then and recently the seeing has been poor to terrible. Not sure why but for me (every time I’ve tried) it’s no where near as good as it was earlier in the year. 

10 minutes ago, Spile said:

I am very pleased how it has gone. I rolled out two 1m coils from each end and it went on easily with no bubbles or imperfections. That left a strip in the middle and I used two sections to fill that. My goodness it is dark in there now. I think Ozzy Osbourne would struggle with the lack of light. 
The secondary has been cleaned and fitted with the spider assembly. 
Next task is to take apart the primary, give it a wash and shampoo then refit.

OK, you’ve convinced me now 😀 Can you tell me how much you used/needed to flock the whole tube?

@Spile interested to see how this goes. I’m thinking of doing my 200p in the near future as I’ve got to take the mirrors out anyway. 

On 19/11/2021 at 12:36, BinocularSky said:

However, if you have time to teach them how to hold the thing properly, a 10x50 will show more.

This is brilliant! Wish I’d seen it earlier.  Should be a sticky/pin.

3 minutes ago, Andy350 said:

You've got some lovely photos there.  When you see a photo like this, are the two bright object galaxies and the rest stars?

Yes, that’s it. It’s getting on for how you might see them with your eye at the eyepiece IF you can.

Although in this small telescope I could not see M82 (the top galaxy) at all using just my eyes. It was just too faint. M81 (at the bottom) I could JUST make out with averted  vision. 

It was only when I took a picture that they both appeared. The phone camera, especially with a little extra exposure time, can bring out details and objects that your eye cannot see.