StuartT

Err...

Deep sky darkness is the period of actual astronomical night (so after astro twilight has ended) and when the moon is below the horizon. So basically the hours of proper darkness when you can do astrophotography without the moon messing things up. This diagram shows the actual periods of the various levels of darkness, but without the moon factored in

Uh oh... I am clearly punching below my weight... 😢 (I know what you mean about filling the house with clobber and spending a small fortune! I got my first scope about 15y ago but I haven't really used it in anger until lockdown. Now I have two scopes and god knows how much other stuff!)

I decided to plot out the hours of deep sky darkness (using the APT app) for the rest of the year. Yes, I know.. I need to get out more. Just in case it's of interest, here it is. It's for my location (Oxford), but should be reasonably good for the south east (ish)

Yikes!! That's enormous! I think I'll stick with my 1.25s thanks

thanks both. Very helpful. I tend to only use eyepieces for solar system objects in any case so wide field is less of an issue.

Once again, clearoutside is completely wrong! It’s a perfectly clear sky and here is what it shows

I have a bunch of 1.25" eyepieces for my 20cm SCT, but I now have a scope with a 2" focuser. Fortunately I have an adapter so I can use my eyepieces with the new telescope. But my question is, given that 2" eyepieces are more expensive than 1.25" ones, what size should my next eyepiece purchase be? Obviously if I buy a 1.25" it can be used with either scope, but would there be an actual advantage of buying a 2" one for my new scope (even though I couldn't use it with my SCT) ?

Ok, so I now have the condensation issue under control (thanks everyone!). Periodic airing on a fine day and I'll explore a little heater. The only thing I think I still have one or two concerns about is getting the scope hood on and off easily without snagging parts of the rig and knocking things off or changing the alignment. With a big refractor like mine, the top of the hood is at 7 or 8 feet so it's a bit hard to manage (especially as the cloth is heavy). What do others do?

I wondered about something like this, but surely those would only work in a closed system? A scope under a hood is open to an endless reservoir of moisture containing air, so wouldn't they just be absorbing all the water from the atmosphere (and hence be overwhelmed)? I don't have a power supply outside, so I have been trying to find a rechargeable, low power heater. But so far, I've not found one.

Spot on! 👍

Pro tip! Thanks. Is that a bit like WD-40 then? (for older viewers)

Thanks everyone. Most reassuring. I just started up the mount and it works just fine. I shall make sure I air it regularly. Yes, this is a good point. I am going to get a lot more use out of it this way rather than go through all the hassle of set up each time.

Hi Jeremy Yes indeed. As I said in my post, it is condensation. The hood is not leaking rain for sure. Nevertheless, condensation is still moisture right? Is this not hazardous to electronics?

My current rig is a Berlebach Planet tripod and an EQ6R-Pro standing on a thick concrete base. In order to save having to set up, polar align and then take everything down again the same night (especially at the moment when there is so little darkness anyway) is a pain. So, I invested in a couple of 365 covers from Telegizmos (one for the tripod and one for the scope/mount). I tested the situation by setting up and then deploying both covers. A couple of days of quite heavy rain. Today it's sunny, so I took the cover off to check everything out. To my considerable alarm I found a layer of condensation on the mount (which I have to assume may also have penetrated the interior and electrics). These hoods are expensive and supposedly able to provide protection for longish periods (hence the name 365). But based on two days' rain, I am not at all confident! What do others think?

I wanted to buy a manual Moonlite focuser for my SCT, but they cancelled the order (as they now only do the motorised version and hadn't bothered to tell the retailer!). Yours looks very pretty, but I am surprised to see such an ancient serial port connector! I had no idea they were still being made

oh wow... that's fab! Boy is that a fast scope! Most of my Canon DSLR lenses are slower than that baby!

A question on this reducer.. it has an M48 thread on the back which plays nicely with a camera of course (which is the main use case), but can a diagonal and an eyepiece be used with it? I can't figure out how you'd do that. Thanks

Yes, the 150 weighs in at a hefty 15kg! Looking forward to trying it out once we get proper nighttime back next month 🙂 Great to hear you are pleased with your Esprit! Thanks. Unfortunately the automated ones are twice the price! I'm not really sure it's worth it for my old SCT

I'd ordered a Moonlite for my SCT but Rother had to cancel the order after several weeks because Moonlite have inexplicably stopped making them (and now add a motor for some reason) without bothering to mention this to their retailers! Most annoying.

My gear is all in my signature 😉 After the advice here, I took the plunge and bought a ZWO. Not yet had first light tho. But I have a new scope arriving any day now (SUPER excited) - Esprit 150ED

Haha! Not barmy... jammy! haha! At least, this is the story he told his wife... EDIT: tomato and tomatobro - cute 😊

Ha! Excellent. Dib dib dib! You have TWO Esprit 150s? Stereoscopic imaging of stars...? (sorry for my comments not being in line with the quotes, but the multi-quote function on SGL is a nightmare - can't move quotes about)

I am rapidly beginning to realise that astrophotography is a kind of cable hell.. USB connections to camera and mount. Power connections to camera, mount, dew heaters... (and all needing different voltages, annoyingly) On question about USB connections... (don't laugh) I currently have two loooooong USB cables running from my laptop to my setup (to the camera and mount). But can I just use one looooong cable and them have a junction at the far end? Is there some wizard level guide somewhere about all this cable nonsense? How do you prevent stuff tangling up and wrapping as dear old Mother Earth rotates inexorably on her axis? Thanks

well now... it never occurred to me I'd be able to close the battery door with a great big cable in the way. But wait a moment... there's a little rubber flap jobby that kindly moves out of the way to allow you to do exactly that! (It's almost like they planned for me to do this - clever those Canon chaps) Thanks everyone! Problem solved. (once I had got past the dire warning from Canon "Do you know you are not using a Canon battery? Have you any idea what cataclysmically awful things could happen to you and your family if you proceed with this madness? Are you sure..? Really..??")