Astro Noodles

Welcome to SGL

Just now, Andrew INT said:

Thank you ever so much  Astro Noodles. Hope you enjoy it.

I'll let you know. 

Thanks Andrew -I'll get it for my Kindle.

5 minutes ago, Stephenstargazer said:

Should it also have a Sanity Clause?🤔

 

 

Or maybe one of those warning like they have on gambling adverts. Maybe something like

"Purchase astronomy equipment responsibly - Remember, you have to eat for the next month."

Or " Purchase astronomy equipment responsibly - when the bailiffs arrive it's too late."

Hi

Would anyone be kind enough offer some advice to a novice?

I would like to do some Solar imaging, can you tell me what basic kit I would require?

I already have a mount, DSLR etc for night-time imaging along with a basic 60mm refactor of all metal/glass construction.

11 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

I love the summer months for solar imaging. A calcium II K filter and a 70mm to 100mm refractor you can image lovely features using your own scope. Cost is comparable to a decent refractor but what's not to like. Plug and play unlike HA where you have to tune and clock the solar scope to get even illumination. Screenshots for info in Calcium II K yesterday 22nd May.

That's food for thought.

2 minutes ago, Swoop1 said:

Perhaps the companies who are responsible for putting the stuff into orbit should feel beholden to pool their resources and develop a freeware programme for that purpose?

I think we should let Mr Musk focus on getting to Mars, even If this is what he needs to do to create a revenue stream for his endeavor.

I'm certain that the software will become available when there is sufficient demand for it, as with all things. Until then, we will all have to take shorter exposures and throw more of them out. There is nothing else to do about it.

I was out the other night with a pair of binos (1st time in the whole of May because of the weather), looking at Hercules for an hour or so I must have had 20 satellites pass through my FOV.

3 minutes ago, scotty38 said:

I wouldn’t want to see Uranus though.....

Haha - you beat me to it. I wouldn't want to see  Pollux either! 😲

So, this morning I said - "You have got six sewing machines. Does that mean that I can have six telescopes?"

She said - "Ah yes, but I only paid for two of them. So you are only allowed to buy 2 telescopes, the others have to be free, or gifts or inherited. Is that fair?"

36 minutes ago, Chefgage said:

I still image throughout summer. There area still plenty of things to image, just because there is no astronomical darkness does not mean you cannot produce good images

I was going to try to ignore the absence astro-darkness and carry on imaging things like globular clusters. As much as anything, for practice. I wasn't expecting a solid month of cloud. I've only managed one hour of observation in May so far.

I think it's a shame to blight the night sky with endless satellites. It is just another example of pollution. Having said that, I don't think one can stand in the way of progress. We had better all invest in software to remove satellite trails because it is only going to get worse.

5 minutes ago, John said:

I think it might be known by some as the "sword".

Here is another link that applies names to regions of the nebula:

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/see-orion-nebula-3d12172014/

Thanks John -  it's definitely the sword 

2 hours ago, BrendanC said:

Personally I'd sell the wife and invest the money in some really tasty astro equipment. The kids too if you have any. But keep the dog. 

No. I couldn't do that. 😲 If I had kids or a dog, I would have sold them a long time ago.

1 minute ago, CraigT82 said:

Almost a mile of silk... What on earth is she making?! 

Or maybe it is £1500 worth of silk. I'd better get my story straight as I'm bound to get quizzed on it at some point. 😁 Anyway, it is a lot of silk.

She makes handmade vintage silk lingerie and sells it on ETSY. It started as a hobby, but is gathering pace. Now she only works part time and spends the rest of her time in her sewing room making knickers.

I wonder if anyone can help me with this.

In the Orion Nebula, there is a feature to the left of the Trapezium. I n the below image it starts about 1" at about 7 o'clock. It continues for about 1" at 6 o'clock. It is a region where the gas seems to fold back on itself and is very prominent in OIII. Does this feature have a name?

4 minutes ago, Whistlin Bob said:

Yes- it is nuts, for all the reasons you've outlined.

But it's not as daft as observing. At least with imaging you can capture the full beauty of the object, even if it's a pricey way to achieve worse results than a Google search. For most objects, observers catch a faint hint that's barely recognisable and then get all excited about it.

I say this as someone with a passionate love of both pursuits. I've been observing for 6 years now and imaging for 4, and it has enriched my life even more than it has emptied my bank account.

All a bit silly really, but I'm very happy with it.

She really gets the observing - sometimes comes outside to look at the moon, or some doubles. Just the imaging that she thinks is mad. Perhaps when I get some better results I will appear less insane.

My brother is a keen photographer and when I told him what I was doing he just said "Good luck with that mate."

2 hours ago, david_taurus83 said:

Yes, we are all a bit mad. It has caused the odd argument in our house...

I'm still doing it though! 

Oh, don't get me wrong, this isn't a point of contention in our household. Our hobbies are very important to us. I just think she is a bit worried that AP is too good a source of fuel for my more obsessive characteristics. Perhaps if I bankrupted us in the process I would have some explaining to do. 😄

She just bought 1500 metres of Chinese silk, so I'm safe on the expenditure front for the moment.😁

5 minutes ago, scotty38 said:

“What is the point?” Could probably be applied to most hobbies by those not interested in it. Train spotting is maybe a good alternative example when you could quite easily browse for pictures too.

Well, It's just what she said. I think she gets the point of the obsessive pursuit of a goal. It's what I'm like ,and she wouldn't have stuck around for 25+ plus years if she didn't get it. She just thinks that this is the least attainable of all the madcap ideas I have come up with for hobbies down the years. 

I like this one because it is a bottomless pit - I won't run out of things to learn about, and then get bored of it.

2 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

I just think of it as a challenge. 🙂

Yeah, that's what I said but I just got a funny look.😄

My missus is concerned about my sanity in pursuing astrophotography as a hobby.

She said "When you said that you were going to take photographs of space, I thought you were going to take pictures of the moon and maybe some nice constellations."

Later she said "I don't understand why you have spent so much time, money, and disrupted both of our sleep to take pictures which are a hundred times worse than anything you can get on the internet."

And finally she said "it has gone way past the stage where I can even see the point in it."

Is she right, or missing the point? Or has the last year of lockdown pushed me over the edge?

P.S. Don't tell her I've posted this or I'm dead. 

Since when have geekiness or price been factors for astronomy related purchases ?

1 hour ago, Grumpy Martian said:

Unusual topic I know. But one of my favourite coats got a slight pull. So what to do?. No fear. An astronomy badge came to the rescue. 75 mm diameter.

You could have binned it and bought one of these:

Men's Bomber Jacket – SpaceX Store

 Still no improvement. I did get out for an hour last night but the transparency was poor.

One of the things which worries me a bit is the greater precision required with a narrower FOV. I'm not ready to start guiding yet.

27 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

Such is the production and shipping of astro equipment at the moment, I'd order it as soon as possible then you may stand a chance of getting it by October 😊 I have the sw 72ed and love it and you can always get a flattener /reducer to make it even faster 

FLO have 14 Zenithstar 61s in stock. Not much else though.