PeterStudz

He mentions “a=b” earlier in the thread with a link to his guide which explains it…

Like you I prefer viewing the moon without a filter even though it’s so bright. However, I have one of these and find it to be excellent when observing Mars and Venus, especially Mars where it definitely helped in bringing out the subtle features. I spent quite so time with my daughter, viewing Mars without any filter, various colour filters plus this variable polarising filter and we both agreed that this one could make a significant difference.

Funny how some people get this straightaway and others don’t. I can think of two examples. One where my daughter had a friend over in the summer for a sleepover. They’d already done similar before so they knew roughly what it was about. I’d set the telescope out and gone to bed for a a while as Saturn & Jupiter weren’t up until about 2am. The girls were so excited that they couldn’t sleep and I got a text telling me to “get up we want to see the planets”. Mind, some of that could have been down to the promise of hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows! Or when I had an old university friend staying over at the weekend. He had never looked through a telescope before. But when I showed him Saturn & Jupiter I couldn’t get him away from the eyepiece. Continued observing for over 2 hours, mostly Jupiter, as Saturn was starting to get low. I was going to try some other targets but soon realised that there wasn’t any point.

@Mr Spock is spot on. Someone on here once said that “astronomy is a hobby that rewards patience”. Something that has stuck in my mind ever since because it’s so true.

As @John says. I use to think that I was a bit “keen” getting up to observe Jupiter at silly o’clock during the last two summers, but some of the best views I’ve had have been as the sun was coming up and the sky not completely dark. And at the beginning of this year, when we had some of my daughter’s friends over, we managed to locate and observe Jupiter in the late afternoon. Watched as it slowly got dark. Some of the best views I’ve had. And NOT getting eyes use to the dark. You are looking at something with colour and something with subtle colour contrast. For that you need the cone cells in your eyes working. I often look at a light (like my phone screen) from time to time. Or go back inside to make a coffee etc. When back out the difference can be surprising. Having the telescope cooled. My 8” Dob needs around an hour for planetary. Observing for lots of time - but I’m like that anyway. I’m not one for looking at lots of targets in one night.

Don’t worry. It can be confusing at first but you’ll get there. As someone said - it’s a bit like learning to ride a bike - sooner rather than later you’ll get the hang of it and wonder why it was once such a faff. I started out collimating less than 3 yrs ago. I had a gifted 8” Dob that needed some work and as a complete beginning I had to completely strip it down to just a tube, fix and modify some things, then put it all back together. Initially very scary but I got there in the end. If you still have issues then @bosun21 offer of help sounds like something not to be missed! I think that if someone who knows what they are doing shows you the procedure firsthand it’s a lot more obvious than any online guide, text or video.

I’ve been very busy and was lucky to not have to get up that early the next day. And for once seeing was actually quite good! Maybe I was lucky with the weather here in Southampton, but I didn’t see/notice any other reports or anything in the imaging section of this site. The jetstream was out of the way, just, and the sky was clear for the time being. I setup the Dob at about 8pm and left it to cool. By 9:00pm Jupiter was nice and high and looking through the telescope immediately noticed that colours and colour contrast was good and the image nice and sharp. The GRS was also swinging into view. I could get magnification up to x240 before things started to go fuzzy. My daughter also joined me too. I’ve been using the excellent graphics initially posted by @Chandra in this thread to identify features. I could easily make out banding in the SPR, as well as minor details around the orange GRS. Might just be me and the conditions, but the GRS seemed a little bigger. The SEB had some details too and I could make out a few blue-ish projections & festoons in the EZ. The NEB has been active recently and had some interesting details and knots including a rift at about 45% that almost, but not quite, dissected the belt. It was bounded by a reddish-brown stripe. Visually very obvious. Couldn’t make out much in the NPR, apart from a dark band going part way across the disc. Took a few smartphone videos before taking a short break. At about 10:15pm Ganymede emerged from behind Jupiter. Always nice seeing one of the moons do this and looking at the other 3 it was clear that Ganymede was the biggest. By about 11pm clouds started to appear so called it a night. But some of the best views of Jupiter I’ve had since early September. Location - urban back garden in Southampton. Skywatcher 200p Dob on DIY EQ platform. Image taken using a BST StarGuider 3.2mm, iPhone 14 Pro on no-brand smartphone adapter. Video 4K at 60fps taken using the stock camera app. All editing and processing on the phone using the stock camera app, VideoStack, WaveLetCam, Lightroom and SnapSeed. The image does a good job of what I could see visually over the period of observation. I’ve kept it orientated to the way I saw it in the Dob. For recording what I saw I prefer it that way! I’ve marked the “rift & reddish-brown stripe” in the NEB on the second image. Rift and reddish-brown stripe… I’ve also included an image from the 4th September 2023 (seeing also good) for comparison or, well, because I can! Processed slightly differently and I always struggle with colours and white balance. 4th September 2023

I have an iPhone but in Night Mode my iPhone 14 Pro takes 10 sec subs but only up to 30 seconds. The iPhone 12 did 3.3 sec subs. You can see in the camera data for these Milky Way shots. Although I don’t have an Android phone I think the clue is in “Astro mode”. On an iPhone Night Mode, and its associated 10 sec exposure, cannot be accessed by 3rd party apps.

An Astronomik UHC filter courtesy of @PeterC65. In superb as good as new condition. Thanks once more Peter.

I had/have one of these that was used to drive my EQ1. Personally I found that it transformed my EQ1 from something barely adequate to useful. Eg when setup properly you didn’t need to touch anything, so wobbles were less of an issue. And when observing with my daughter, changing eyepieces etc there was lots of time. When observing the moon Alice enjoyed going up and down the terminator, stopping at something she found interesting, asking me what it was, knowing that that whatever it was would still be in the middle of the FOV by the time I took a look. I also added a bigger rechargeable battery, larger knob on the Pot and a little cheap volt meter over the motor so you could dial back the same speed. It now drives my DIY EQ mount for my Skywatcher 200p Dob which I find superb. At the time it cost me £28 - best astronomy purchase I’ve made and one of the cheapest.

Better now. I can make out some “knots” in the NEB plus a couple of Blue Patches leading off into festoons. There’s also a strong thin band along the top of the S. Temperate Belt.

Just come in after having a look at the Io shadow transit. Seeing rather naff but I could easily see the shadow, GRS and banding, but sadly not much detail. Best at around x170. Will give it another go later.

Got a Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p as a first telescope. Still have it (on an upgraded tripod and mount) and use it as a grab and go plus travel telescope. I have a tight budget too but got hold of an 8” Dob for free. Needed a bit of work but if you are OK with basic DIY, are careful and patient have a look around. There are some bargains out there. But I agree with what others have said - a second hand 6” or 8” Dob is possible within your budget and will give much better planetary & lunar views than your Skyhawk.

If you have an iPhone I’ve had great success using the PushTo feature in an app called PS Align Pro. You need the Pro version, but at the time it cost me £2.99. It works-out an offset by syncing on a known target(s). I’ve even used it to locate planets like Venus and Jupiter in daylight too by first syncing on the Sun (solar filter of course). Once setup It’s never failed to find a target in a low power eyepiece.

Just setting up with a view to looking at Jupiter after dinner. There’s hazy cloud around so don’t know if it’ll be clear later on. Nice halo around the moon & Jupiter! iPhone shot.

-2C here last night in tropical Southampton, the same forecast for tonight. However, the jetstream forecast looks better.

In my experience (limited to many on here) seeing is never straightforward. I also think that it can be subjective. Using Jupiter as an example, and I have spent a lot of time on Jupiter over the last few years, some of my best seeing has been during the summer, which of course has been in the early hours. This year is no exception and my best seeing on Jupiter so far was back in July and early August. I’m in an urban environment so it might be down to that, but I’ve noticed it mentioned in the imaging section too. Then there’s the observers experience. Eg sometimes, under certain conditions, the seeing will briefly (for a split second) flick from fuzzy to sharp. Especially noticeable under high power. Over time at the eyepiece plus careful observation your eye/brain can combine those good split seconds into a good image. On some nights colours and colour contrast is better than others. Not getting your eyes use to the dark helps here. At first I wasn’t sure if this was seeing or transparency. But I’ve noticed that on nights of poor seeing Jupiter can often look washed out in colour and an overall shade of brown. It seems to coincide with a strong jet-stream and I’m getting to think that it’s something to do with poor seeing.

There’s some discussion about this here. Personally I prefer to carry the OTA and base separately. In fact I fitted a handle to the OTA of my Skyliner (although I do have a homemade base) in order to make it even easier to carry. I guess it comes down to personal preference and circumstances. Eg I have a dodgy knee - it’s not the weight but the awkwardness of carrying the whole thing. And I often use an EQ platform & it’s easier/quicker for me to plonk the base onto the platform without the OTA.

Those little EQ1 motors mentioned above are all virtually identical (whether they are branded Celestron, Meade or whatever) and probably all come from the same factory in China. I got mine from here… https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-mount-accessories/ra-economy-motor-drive-for-eq1.html Initially to power an EQ1 mount which it’s designed to do. Then used to drive my DIY EQ1 platform. One of the best and cheapest astronomy purchases I’ve made. It drives my 8” Dob with ease and my homemade base is relatively heavy and solid. I believe that @Mr Spock uses his platform with a similar/same motor drive for his 12” Dob. A 12” Dob is PROBABLY the safe limit, but as long as everything is well balanced you actually don’t need a powerful motor.

I managed to see it. And as @Kon says “what a sight”. Although for me the seeing was rather pants and it clouded over soon after.

Nice image and I really like your composition. I should make more of an effort to try and do similar with my phone camera. After all, it’s with me most of the time!

I built an EQ platform for my 200p Dob which has a homemade base. The thing has been a revelation and greatly improved my observations. The one I made was from an excellent thread on here (see below). It’s simple, can be constructed with basic tool - eg electric drill, hacksaw, panel saw, screwdriver and materials easily available from eBay plus some plywood from just about any hardware store like Wicks. If you look through the thread there are complete instructions, even links on where to by your bits and bobs.

When you have your target long-press the screen. That’ll put the lock on. I then fine focus using the telescope focuser to the lock, rather than trying to focus the phone camera to the target.

Somehow I missed your comment until now. But been busy most of this week. But looking at that I think what I saw is something else. It’s in a different position - there’s a lot going on in the NEB recently. You can make out the “bite” or “notch” feature in the smartphone images, especially the last one with the shadow of Io, that I took (link below), although visually it was even more obvious.

I struggle with that too. To help I fiddle with exposure and brightness in the stock camera app. Then, when happy, put AE/Af LOCK on so that the camera doesn’t hunt around with exposure, focus etc. Also edit the video afterwards and play around with white balance in light room. Although in better seeing not only is the image sharper but the colours better too. Mind, I’m still learning.