UKDiver

Chris Lintott is speaking in Exeter in a couple of weeks, https://www.agile-rabbit.com/event/people-powered-research/ Meanwhile, during the current cloudy weather, I'm classifying galaxies as part of a Zooniverse project, Galaxy-Zoo https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zookeeper/galaxy-zoo I might just be the first eyes to see an image of a particular galaxy... Adrian

An interesting read, even though it does not apply to me. Currently. If true, the manufacturer response re fixing the RPi end of things was disappointing.

I want Morph to step out of the door. 🙂

Take my money!

Yes, no issues with focusing, at least land based!

Now that's an approach that I can handle. It's actually very similar in terms of tubing (usually garden hose) and jubilee clips used for stage rigging dive cylinders! Some serious consideration to be applied.

Yes, can be high, but direction an issue too. Domestic planning permission unlikely! More seriously, I think that would currently be a step too far while I'm in a position of learning what works best for me. I will however go and dig out my concrete and steel design notes* and speak to my planning colleagues *composted a decade or two ago.

The TS options look OK to me, but I have some longer post-Brexit concerns re any large purchase and warranty returns. Possibly unfounded in this case - who knows. Had the UK not taken a running jump into the unknown, I'd not be so worried. Apart from Brexit concerns, I'm not really excluding anything, the 200PDS purchase was more opportunistic (fools rush in?) in a time of stock and ease of speaking/seeing kit limitations. FLO are a 20 minute walk from me and normally I think I'd have spent a fair bit of time there discussing options. Expectations. Nothing set in stone, but tending towards recognisable, so likely planets and moon. Some of the galaxies maybe (I can stare at a poster of Andromeda for hours), but I realise that what I can see will not equal well processed images taken by Hubble! I don't yet know what is visually possible for a set of limitations which are themselves not yet understood by me - cost, size/weight, local light pollution (locally Bortle 5-6, but I'm not far from 3-4) etc. I'm happy to sit or stand. I guess for long durations sitting preferred (like drinking beer ). I've not yet set up tracking (yet to sort a laptop & cables), so currently prepared to control manually. Portability - well tripod/mount lives in shed. OTA indoors, but upstairs. A little bit of bulk hassle, but far lighter than my scuba gear! All goes easily in estate car when boxed, so no transportability issues. SkyTee2 looks like a good plan, potentially the AZEQ5 or 6. I did see a AZEQ6 come up second hand locally, but I'd just started looking and did not know enough about options etc. to realise I'd been looking at a gift horse. .

Gotcha. I did move the tube in the rings a couple of times while focusing on various man made and natural objects in the distance. It just seemed like a lot of potential faff for looking at various objects in different directions, with risk of a disaster - good tip of a third ring. It did show that one of the rings was not squarely mounted which was fixed. Good to hear that Newtonians are used in the manner I think I intended.

Hi, Having rekindled a general childhood interest in astronomy and a fair bit of reading (no access to societies etc.), I was able to find a combination of HEQ5 mount and 200PDS with various bits and bobs on the second hand market. This was in May 2021. While AP seems to get a fair bit of comment, I'm more of a visual person. Plus my day job involves a fair bit of data processing so time away from computers is a bonus. I'm not saying no to AP, just not for now - there's enough to learn as it is. I daresay my thread title and kit purchase are raising a few smiles with some already. Not long after purchase I had a long bout of sciatica. Spaced out on painkillers combined with bad weather has meant the kit has not really had any significant time in use. Until yesterday. Still bad weather, but I was able to spend an amount of time practising assembly and positioning. It is now clear to me that this can't really be a general visual set of kit - the eyepiece is almost certainly going to be in the wrong orientation. So, what can I do to mitigate my errors? 1) I could get a different OTA. Visual interests do make a decent refractor appealing. I would have got one second hand if I could have found one at the right price & location. I'm not afraid to pay for quality, so a Takahashi (probably doublet) is not necessarily out of the question, but am I jumping in at the deep end? I realise eyepieces etc have to be allowed for and my eyesight is terrible (strong varifocals) so these elements and a diagonal could get pricey too. So is a cheaper, but larger, refractor more beneficial apart from mount limitations. 2) Build a Dobsonian mount for the 200PDS. Not impossible for me, but is this a reasonable solution? What have I missed in thinking about this route? Even if I do 1) I might still do this just because (and I can leave it elsewhere). What else have I got wrong, not considered or other suggestions? I'm aware I don't yet know enough to be asking questions intelligently... Let the comments begin. Adrian

Hi John, When times are right, what society would that be? I think my nearest would be the Norman Lockyer Observatory, but I'd be interested to hear of others that might be worth a visit. Adrian

Thank you for clearing up my confusion Jeremy. Does not help my jealousy mind.

I'm a little confused Hi Jeremy, I'm a little confused, you infer that this is a quadruplet, yet FLO and others including Takahashi describe this model as a doublet. Is this something to do with the removable section? Adrian

UK Met Office could learn from your number three.

Works for me.

I've the same set-up. Personally, I'd not move the rig as a complete unit. Heavy and unwieldy, too much chance of knocking something. I'm at the early stages too, sadly brought to a screaming halt by nearly two months of sciatica. Yet to see polaris through it, let alone anything else!

Just blows my mind. https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2111/ Edit: apologies for typo in title. Sigh.

Having said that, do FLO have the ZWO sale this time every year? I'm just wondering whether to jump the gun on something I don't yet know enough about...

Currently visual only while I learn how the kit works. Well I would be if sciatica and summer were not getting in my way! I like to see things with my own eyes, rather than a picture - especially someone elses. In my other (main?) hobby, cheap underwater cameras abound. In some way I think it sad that some go through a dive looking through a viewfinder. My 'viewfinder' is THIS BIG (holds arms out wide) when I'm underwater. I do appreciate than many do like their holiday snaps, even if they never look at them again. With respect to astronomy, I can appreciate wanting to record what I've seen too, especially if I want to share the experience. It seems to me that astronomy is usually a solo effort - scuba is usually not. Now there is affordable recording kit around, it's easy to take photos that only a few years ago would have been almost impossible for most of us. Now some are just cutting out the middle-man's eyeball and going straight to the camera rather than seeing for themselves. Adrian

It's 7m in diameter. https://my-mars.org/about/ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/luke-jerrams-mars-at-the-university-of-bristol-general-public-tickets-162261828497

Different sensors though, so I think they'll keep Hubble going for as long as possible. JWST is all infra-red to capture redshifted light. I really hope the Arianne launch goes well after all the delays and loose nuts and bolts. I'd like to think SpaceX etc will have a high orbit collection system in place by the time it's time is done - what a great museum piece.

Oh yes, it's been wonderful. I am often amazed by the work of a friend who analyses exoplanet atmospheres based on Hubble data. They have been been somewhat relived by return to service. The lucky sod also once had an office looking overlooking JWST construction. Jealous, me, oh no. Not at all.

I'd argue that the problem has not been resolved, but that switching to backup enables service to re-start. I hope they continue to work on the failed equipment to see if there's hope for it, else if the backup fails...

The Total Perspective Vortex came to my mind.

Considering my own ideas for similar, I was thinking that the timber would move with moisture content changes, but you've got all the adjustment you'll ever need to cope with that. I like it. I'd put dome nuts or larger on the top of the studding, I'd be hitting them with my elbow or worse. Timber posts rot in concrete (water is held against the post). I give that 5-10 years max (I had unloaded 3" fence posts get to 4 years), but worth it compared to the less attractive steel alternative. Certainly something I'd have to consider to get domestic planning permission. Adrian