SiriusB

Hi all,

           "I am specialising in the universe and all that surrounds it" ~  Att. Peter Cook

(Sorry ,couldn't help throwing that one in, it tickled me.)

           I used to keep up with developments in Cosmology way back in the 80's /90's..

.but  that's a long time ago now, time to get back up to speed.

Any recommendations for a reasonably up to date read on current cosmological thinking & research please? ~Aimed more for the layman than those with a PhD. 😉

For a bonus point, anyone recommend a good laymans guide to Quantum Physics?

All a bit of a causality experiment really.

If buying Astronomical equipment leads to cloudy skies, maybe some theoretical reading material will arrive with an abundance of clear nights & no time to read them?

Either way, it's a win-win situation.

Thanks in anticipation.

No, not done that.

I do have a cosmetically challenged  GPDX, though & have belt drive converted non astro  geared stuff.

Firstly, are you sure the worm is bent?

Sometimes it's the thing atatched to it that's the problem.... for instance of two clutches in a skywatcher eq5  standard dual motor kit, one ran eccentric causing a similar problem to what you are experiencing. I've yet to make up a replacement as i only use RA drive not in any great rush

If the worm really is bent then your proposed belt mod sounds a good way to proceed.

From memory i think you want genuine 'syncroflex'  (??) branded belt, they're a bit more flexible than others i've used.

14 hours ago, Dave scutt said:

Thanks Johninderby. 

But I'm trying to complete the set

Probably not terribly helpful but it's taken 36years to complete my Circle T set.

Is that a record?

Just when you've explored every possibility, given up, someone will offer a minty for sale.😉

Eyepieces are like buses, you wait ages, then three come along together.

14 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

I think it's more to do with my eyesight although I can't pinpoint it physiologically, ophthalmology isn't my field🙂.

I have a dual speed focuser on my 130PDS and I find using the slower speed far less frustrating in achieving what I perceive to be a sharp clear image. With my single speed focusers I'm constantly going backwards and forwards which is definitely frustrating. On my Mak127 I have fitted a Skywatcher electronic focuser which has been a great success but an electronic focuser on my travel scope, a Startravel 102, has not been successful.

Maybe nothing wrong with your eyesight?~ your observations closely follow mine.

Mak127.... focuser just a little too coarse at higher powers~ i fitted a helical micro focusing adapter, guess a motor focuser acheives the same result.

130PDS...@ F5 definitely dual speed is a big help, fitted dual speed  to my Startravel 120 f5, really helps a lot to make the scope a pleasure to use.

Bosun21 fitted DS to Evostar 120, again i agree,~the stock rack & pinion is tricky at higher powers.

The Single speed  S.W. crayford is very smooth IMO.  Your choice at end of day.

If it helps, I was gutted when my original ED80 was superseeded by the dual speed version, but for myself at least i've learnt i don't actually need it.

Critical focus varies with the square of the telescopes focal ratio, Thus an F5 is twice as hard to acheive 'perfect focus' as an F7 & 4x harder than an F10 scope.

Bargain @ the price.

Don't write the mount off..... Hopefully someone else will chip in, but i believe this was the Vixen version of Skywatcher 3/2. (strictly that should be the other way round)

Much as i like the  eq5 & eq3/2, comparing  eq5  against the Vixen Gp.... kinda Asda smart price vs  Morrisons 'the best'. 😉

You used to be able to get a dual speed upgrade kit for this focuser. One brand was 'lacerta' i think.

Do you really need dual speed ?

I have the original skywatcher branded ED80  with  single speed focuser~ for purely visual use, single speed's fine on this scope ( an f5 scope is another matter as would  any photographic use.)

I tried dual speed, went back to stock.

Check out  classic Telvue refractors, pretty sure they were single speed.... If it's good enough for Telvue & Steven James O'meara........??

Just trying to save your pennies Laurence.

😳😳~ that's too many cloudy nights for you!

Might end up looking pretty sheepish on this one but......

Just popped my head out, it's clear!

Noticed a bright star in Taurus that shouldn't be there, twinkling like a star, not moving.

A quick web search revealed no nova's or 'owt. ??

In the vicinity of (or may even be) Tau Tauri.  about same brightness as Aldebaran.  Through handheld  finder,~starlike & orange.

Can anyone confirm or shed any light?......

or will i hang my head in shame?😳

Just going to set scope up now.

wood expands & contracts with moisture content~ you'll be forever polar aligning. 😉

An Ali, steel, or masonary pier would be more practical.

Victorians used cast iron~ nice damping qualities.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/465378-circle-t-towa-or-tany/

Loooks like Tani made eyepieces.~ see sketch in thread.

AH= achromatic huygenian i think?

I have corresponding 1.25" circle T Kellners,which i like.

You shouldn't lose any AFOV in the  12mm & 20mm & (maybe even 25mm?) in the smaller format compared to 1.25" versions.

😉

They look a nice set,~great for a classic refractor.

I've not seen volcano tops in .965" format, usually it's a (i don't have a name for the usual type of top in japanese .965")

1 minute ago, Pixies said:

If it's an owl to you Pixies, who am i to argue . But you've drawn ET in a cape!😉

I was going to say the ET cluster NGC457, but i see it's already been mentioned.....

as a Owl ? ?  All  i can see is ET 😄

You'll have to check it out now O.S. ~ just to see what your brain interprets the pattern as.

....or at least it can be.

Just wanted to share a article i stumbled across, that i particularly liked.(hope that's ok mods?)

https://cosmicpursuits.com/2358/an-ode-to-small-telescopes/

Highlight for me was the image & write up  of the 40mm Unitron. 😉

Takeout from the article was whatever your budget, enthusiasm goes a long,long way. Enjoy the universe  with what you've got.

I started out in 1982 with a rather dubious 50mm refractor on a' blancmange mount'. Really it should have put me off for life, thankfully the youthfull enthusiasm held out.

Also thankfully~ todays' beginners scopes are generally much better!

Some light bedtime reading for you.😄

There you go, alas as it's an very old post the pictures seem no longer with us.☹️

On 20/02/2021 at 08:35, Stu said:

Mosquitoes aside, that it sounds like you had some excellent seeing there Geoff. As Chris said, seeing and transparency are two very different effects and are often mutually exclusive ie a night of excellent seeing has high haze/poor transparency, and nights of excellent transparency often have poor seeing. By definition, that makes some nights great for planets and doubles, and others better suited for galaxies and nebulae. Quite often the best transparency occurs after heavy rain, when all the pollutants have been washed out of the atmosphere. Then it builds up again over time until the next rain showers. The Jetstream heavily influences the seeing conditions; when bad it’s like viewing under flowing water!

That about sums it up Stu.

Sirius is dancing & you may have good transparency but poor seeing.

an Autumn light mist & you may have excellent seeing but poor transparency.

Very rare in UK to get both.

I do remember one memorable night when i had both, 250x mag(scope limit) & Saturn was without a shimmer, but also, dso's were like i had a larger aperture in play.

I stopped out very,very late, in fact till dawn light started to intrude. I never wanted that night to end.

You're welcome.

My advice would be to solve the issue one way or another though.

Brighter dso's? Interesting to discover what you can still see under full moonlight,they will be somewhat washed out, but you'll learn something.

A few years ago with same or less aperture than yourself i tracked m33 through the moons cycles, it was still visible with a 10day old moon, whether i suceeded @ full moon i don't now recall, but i'm quite prepared to try for dso's a little past half moon even now.

....or if you can take the barrel off & take a picture of both ends maybe some kind soul will take pity & find a replacement in their parts bin.

If it's got female filter thread both ends, that's easiest to find a replacement.

Some Variation in ep barrel size & focusser/diagonal bore seems fairly common, least @ the lower end of the market.

By way of reference i have an old vixen barlow,(actually an extension tube now as i can't seem to find the lens element!) 😳

Putting a circle T ep into this there's an air cushion effect~ both neither too big or too small.

I'd offer to machine the barrel down to size for you for free, but with the postage both ways, you'd probably find it cheaper to locate a replacement barrel. But the offers there.

Take the barrel off to see what fitment it is & scour the interweb~ only if you really like this ep though.

Sounds like backlash somewhere in the system.

First thing i would try is loosen the grub screw & see if the knob will push a little further onto the shaft?

It's a long time since i took mine apart,so i forget the exact workings, but somewhere on this site there was an excellent stripdown guide.(hopefully that won't be required)

I find my focuser works very well, though i supplement it with a helical focusser for fine tuning @ high power.

19 hours ago, Louis D said:

Check to see if they're labeled/marked Taiwan anywhere, including the boxes.  I suspect they are made by GSO of Taiwan.

No, no markings as to the origin anywhere.... but very  minor points.

I'm quite sure FLO would have swapped if i'd asked them on receipt, but it really wasn't a biggie for me, for £20.

Can't expect perfection for £20, when others are still chasing it it @ 20x the price.😉

Thankyou Peter, I'll try the rotation method.

When you say "....are an indication of tilt,usually" do you mean of the objective as a whole, or of the elements relative to each other? Thanks.

Ok, Thanks John,  mines like the r/h cheshire & the 3rd star test image.

Glad you're playing with cheap as well as not-so-cheap.  😉 

I'm glad you received a favourable response from the council, ours is not so helpful...just wish they'd turn off after 11pm like Craigs do.

I'm sure the technology is there to provide lighting where it's needed/ 'needed' whilst producing minimal 'runoff' but like most things cheapest solution is perceived as 'best' solution.

Ignoringany  astronomers wishes for the moment, light pollution is an enviromental issue, affects wildlife etc.

we should be doing what we can to protect our environment.

Maybe i'll stop there before i get in trouble 😉