Ags

Had a wobbly session with my grab and go kit and it gave me a new idea for equipping the observatory - a SkyTee. It would more than cope with a C6 and my 90mm refractor, and of course both would be permanently set up.

I have to rise early tomorrow so I didn’t have much time but I could not let the first clear night in two weeks to go to waste. Especially when I have an Svbony 3-8 Zoom nagging me for a first light. For simplicity’s sake, my 90mm was mounted tonight on my photo tripod with an AZT6 head - a wobbly setup, but it got me to go out. I ran through a few quick doubles - Mizar, Cor Caroli and Polaris, and had a look at the carbon star La Superba. The zoom seemed to give sharp views at all magnifications - from 60x to 170x, but I needed to refocus significantly through the zoom range. I think that is more of a comment on my not so youthful eyes and my f5.5 scope than anything else. The color of La Superba was vividly red, and Polaris’ companion was easily seen, despite the extreme local light pollution tonight.

@Rusted thanks for the points, I have given them some consideration. cold winds - I dress warmly when observing and will continue to do so. claustrophobia - for me at least it is about being enclosed more than the cubic meters of the space scopes limited to SCTs and refractors - the only scopes I own access to horizon - lots of light pollution in my area, so the sky low down is not worth much. But the view to the South low down is important for planets of course. I guess a tall tripod is my friend. DIY is cheaper - if there were good open source plans fora ROR I would be happy to use those, still using a professional to put it together. I’ll do a bit of research. Apartment questions - I have a ground floor apartment with a large (walled) garden by Dutch standards. I have upstairs neighbors. If I can’t control noise the project is a non-starter.

Not sure what the roof is made from - some kind of imitation tile with foam insulation. I have a chat going with Teleskop-Service on this and will check this. Funding was agreed for the fully automated version, but I don’t think that's needed for my back garden. Maybe save 1500 by cutting automation and getting a big mount or a big dob... Looking at the OO UK site and drooling. Good advice about the pier - locating it was proving stressful!

Yes you are right... an AZ-EQ6 sounds like the right choice... with the wrong price tag!

I wonder how noisy the roof would be? I’m hoping for a gentle, soothing hum… After further discussion, it appears funds may be released for the motorized obsy, but not immediately for the AZ EQ5 and big cat. My astropad might be a bit comical for a bit, a cathedral of astronomy occupied by a plucky little AZ-GTi on a photo tripod 😄 Rome wasn’t built in a day…

@iapa what swayed you to the dome option? My thinking is 2.5 square is a lot more room than 2.5 round, and the ROR will intrude less over my neighbor’s fence. Also, I think I personally would feel a little claustrophobic in a dome and cut off from the sky, while a ROR is more open (open to stray light too of course).

Whoa!!!!!!!!

I have toyed with building an observatory for some time, but we had plans to move so went no further with the idea. We’ve now decided to stay where we are and spend some money on home improvements. There is agreement on adding an observatory! I noticed this ROR observatory kit today: https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p13624_ECS-ProAm-2-5-Roll-off-Roof-Hut-for-Telescopes--2-5-x-2-5-x-1-8-m---automated-Version.html The price seems reasonable (for observatories), it’s automated and the dimensions are good (2.5 x 2.5 m). We are having the garden remodeled. This is a DIY Obsy forum but very likely the garden company remodeling the garden will pour the concrete floor and erect the thing. Sadly there is no Off-the-shelf Obsy forum The DIY part would be strictly limited to interior fittings, like bolting down a pier and adding storage. The Obsy is located in urban Bortle 8 skies, and would mainly be for solar system imaging. The benefit of an observatory would be to move the astronomy equipment out of our small apartment and allow the use of larger equipment. I’m thinking ultimately of a C11, and hoping an AZEQ5 would be sufficient.

The 3 mm setting is key for me; it will get plenty of use on doubles and Luna, assuming I can find a way to get close enough to the eyepiece!

AFOV might be 61 degrees at 3 mm but while observing theSun today I couldn’t actually see more than 30 degrees due to the infernal eye relief. No issues at 4 mm and wider.

I had a very brief first glimpse in some scurrying cracks in the cloud. Only a few seconds at each zoom setting, but I think I will like this eyepiece. Firstly I found eye relief behaved well at infinity focus - I had found earlier when focusing on a much closer stairwell that the eye relief at 3 mm got eyelash-crushing tight. I was keeping the eyecup rolled down. Secondly, in my 500 mm scope the 8 mm setting frames the whole Moon nicely, with what seemed like good sharpness. The zoom adjusts nicely between the settings but two hands are needed. With my eyes, and in an f5.6 scope, I need to refocus for the 3-4 mm settings, when dialing in from the 8 mm setting. At 3 mm the Moon possibly looked glorious, but the clouds were in the ascendant and I quickly lost the image. A very nice eyepiece for small refractors. Also, the field of view seems much larger than 56 degrees, it felt “widefield” if that makes any sense.

I don’t think visual color is a matter of wishful thinking. Going back to the very first time I saw color... (1) I then "knew" it was impossible to see color on the Moon and so (2) I wasn't looking for it. I was quite taken aback when I saw quite vivid coloration. However, this has only happened on a couple of occasions.

I see these can be picked up for about €200 second hand. Would it be a good idea to get one and have it Astro modified? I would use it with a 500 mm focal length APO. I am guessing getting a bigger sensor is a better idea than getting a smaller telescope? https://www.mpb.com/en-eu/product/canon-eos-5d

The ES 20/68 is a compromise eyepiece, offering the widest 1.25” field with a usable exit pupil given my light polluted sky. I had the 24mm variant but it wasn’t great as the sky background was too milky ( bear in mind the C6 is usually used with an f6.3 reducer). I expect the 16mm to be used more often on more targets, simply because the exit pupil is slightly better and the field is still wide enough for most targets. The SLVs are for sentimental reasons; they don’t obey the rules of logic The SLV 25, aside from sentimental viewing, is really for my solar scope as an alternative to the 30 mm plossl I usually use.

Ok, still thinking and now being heavily influenced by FLO's option to pay in three installments. The new plan is: ES6.7/82 >> ES11/82 >> ES16/68 >> ES20/68 SVB3-8 >> SLV6 >> SLV12 >> SLV25 I'm dropping the Nirvana 4mm as every application for it is covered better by the Svbony 3-8 zoom (maybe first light on that tonight). I hear the ES 14/82 suffers from field curvature, which is a problem for my eyes, so I am going for the ES 16/68. Because I am going for a 16 and not a 13, I will include the ES 11/82 to bridge the gap to the 6.7mm. I am also picking up some more SLVs for a 6/12/25 doubling progression for those nights where I want a more retro plossl-like view. With an x3 telecentric, the SLVs give a high power progression of 2/4/6/8.

A Svbony 3-8 zoom!

I was considering my blue ZS66 for this thread, it's been around the forum... might be the same one?

Its hard to say... my first grown-up scope, a NexStar 4SE, deserves a mention as my only scope for a decade. At the moment the favorite would be my Long Perng 90, but just because it's the new thing.

Looking at the full Moon with my family on a hazy night. My granddaughter wins the internet with this handheld afocal snap of Luna. They're obviously teaching the kids well in Photography GCSE.

I'm thinking a 10" dob on an EQ platform would be just about doable for me. But there's still a lot to squeeze out of my C6.

Fine images. Makes me want a bigger telescope!

Here are some lighter brighter versions.

You pay more for SCTs for the low weight and relative small size. I think they are a bit overpriced new, but there can be bargains.

I took a break from photography to oggle the Moon with my C6. I started with a 20 mm eyepiece, but the Moon was too full to provide a good view. Nevertheless the rille system around Aristarchus was very prominent and easily seen. I changed down to a 6.7 mm eyepiece, but this was too much for my eyes, way to many floaters. Best view of the night was with an NLV 9 mm, giving very sharp views of Aristarchus, Herodotus and Kepler. I spent some time on Gassendi trying to see the rilles there, but no luck - maybe too late in the lunar cycle for these. on the weekend I was unloading 15 kg bags of pellets for our wood burner. As I was lifting each bag I dwelled on the thought that a 250 mm dob breaks down into parts of similar weight… more aperture on the Moon would have been nice tonight. But maybe 15 kgs weighs more when it costs €600 and is made of optical glass.