Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

MalcolmM

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    872

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

 Content Type 

Posts posted by MalcolmM

    First time to the Southern Hemisphere: what goes on the list?

    in Observing - Discussion

    Posted

    54 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

    Forget the imaging. Spend time using your naked eyes, binoculars and those lovely dobs. You will end up with wonderful memories of how impressive the southern sky is, not a pile of images of objects that have been imaged 10,001 times before.

    I would agree with this. Don't waste any time not looking up :) I have been to Namibia once (and would love to go again) and the skies in the Namib desert are simply spellbinding! So many stars and colours, I spent evenings just marvelling with my eyes and a pair of small binoculars. Admittedly I did not have a telescope with me. Whatever you do I'm sure it'll be fantastic!

    Malcolm

    • Like 4

    Trapezium and Pup with 60mm?

    in Observing and Imaging Double and Variable Stars

    Posted

    33 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

    The first time I saw the Trapezium E & F was in my 10" dob, just over a year ago and they've been pretty reliably seen with this, assuming it's not crummy seeing.

    Since then I've (just) managed to see one of them in my FC-100DZ, but haven't yet been able to spot either using FC-76DCU (with and without extender), FS-60CB or indeed my FOA-60Q... I have a feeling that if any 60mm was going to manage it, then this last one should be the one. Maybe I'll get lucky with it one day, but I my impression is that aperture does indeed matter here (along with good visibility).

    I've yet to see the Pup, as whenever I've tried it's not been the best conditions... something for next Winter 🤞

    Thanks for the info @HollyHound, I was wondering if the 60CB plus extender might have done E and F as A-D were nicely separated and so steady in the conditions but from yours and everyone else's replies, it would seem unlikely in 60mm.

    I think I had a 'probable' on the Pup with the 100DC a few weeks ago, posted elsewhere on this forum. Conditions were steady, though not as steady as what prompted this thread!

    Envious of your FOA-60Q! Everything I've read and seen about it makes it sound like absolute perfection :)

    Malcolm

    • Thanks 1

    30th Birthday Present - What would you get with this budget?

    in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

    Posted

    What a lovely present! I can give you a very biased suggestion ... anything with Takahashi on it :)

    FS60CB plus AP accessories. This'll do you as a travel scope and a wide field AP scope (though I am 99% visual so I know nothing about AP). Then get a longer focal length Tak for more zoomed in AP and it'll also be great visually (or could get the extender module for the 60CB to get longer focal length). Then I'd go for (and I don't have one so can't speak from experience) a Tak mount, just because it's a Tak :)

    Might just bridge the gap between dabbling/starting in AP and fantastic visual!

    Malcolm (who is not at all obsessed)

    • Haha 1

    Trapezium and Pup with 60mm?

    in Observing and Imaging Double and Variable Stars

    Posted

    I experienced the most steady seeing I have ever seen recently and spent a little time on Trapezium and the Pup with a 60mm scope (FS60CB).

    Trapezium looked totally steady, resolvable with a 10mm Tak LE and very nicely separated with a Nagler zoom at 3mm. But no sign of E and F. Should it be possible to resolve E and F in a 60mm scope?

    Then onto Sirius. Incredibly steady, minimal flaring and lovely diffraction rings, but no sign of the Pup. Again, should it be possible to resolve in excellent seeing with 60mm?

    I didn't get as long as I would have liked on these targets but I'd be very interested to know if they should be possible in a 60mm scope.

    Malcolm

    • Like 3

    Baby Tak goes to Portugal

    in Observing - Reports

    Posted

    @Highburymark my partner is already wise to my scheming :( Unfortunately we are tied to school holidays however last night the seeing was so steady that that in itself was a wow factor! I'll look into that website, sounds good.

    @Stu the forecast is looking good but I'm going to have to lavish just as much attention to my partner as I do to the Takahashi :)

    Malcolm

    • Like 1
    • Haha 3

    Baby Tak goes to Portugal

    in Observing - Reports

    Posted

    I cannot describe how happy I was that I was able to fit a 60CB, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto head and 3 eyepieces into the tiny bag Easy Jet allow on as free cabin baggage!

    We are spending a week near Monchique in Portugal walking and I thought I'd try to take the Tak. It was bought as a travel scope after all, these though it gets used constantly due to it's ease of use as a grab and go!

    First night and it's a shame the moon is out as I think the dark skies here could be amazing (up quite high and virtually no lights to be seen). However, I have never seen such steady seeing. The trapezium was easy with a 10 LE. Rigel was easy with a Nagler Zoom at 3mm. Orion seemed very high in the sky and despite only 60mm and a bright moon M42 showed much structure and was surprisingly bright. Even Sirius was steady with lovely diffraction rings. No sign of the Pup but i presume 60mm is simply not enough aperture. The moon was as steady as a rock! Hardly a ripple! It's going to be such an anticlimax to observe from my home skies when I'm back :(

    Unfortunately I didn't take my moon atlas and I had no mobile signal at the scope for an on-line moon atlas so I was not able to identify much of what I was seeing (being new to this game). But Gassendi was stunning with N and M very easy. Schiller looked interesting and the mountains around Schiller T on its west side were lit up like a jewel. Clavius's floor was littered with craterlets. Lots of interesting features/mountains just south of Plato. I find this area fascinating as the individual features really stand out against Mare Imbrium.

    The sun was just lighting up a large crater in spectacular fashion just beyond Sinus Iridum which I think was Herschel.

    It was an amazing experience observing in such steady conditions; just wish I'd sneaked the 76 objective module in amongst the hiking gear :)

    Malcolm

    • Like 20

    WO Binoviewers

    in Discussions - Eyepieces

    Posted

    An update ... I have fairly consistently been able to merge 20mm and 10mm eyepieces with the WO Binoviewers. I had bought a second Tak LE 7.5 a while ago thinking naively it would provide good high power for steady seeing.

    However, I have never been able to merge the images and was on the verge of putting one of them up for sale/swap on this site.

    Thought I'd give it one more go tonight as seeing was good and there was lots of contrast on the moon tonight. And ... it worked! I managed to merge the images with the 7.5's. Ridiculously high power but the view was stunning. I spent half an hour soaking up Hyginus Rille, Ariadaeus Rille and the Straight Wall. Couldn't get Hadley Rille but I'm not sure the illumination was suitable.

    The trick was not tightening the compression ring on one of the eyepieces and basically fiddling with both of them until the images snapped together! I've come to the conclusion that it's a bit of a black art!

    I also spent a good while using the stock WO 20mm eyepieces and although the power was obviously much less, the view was equally fascinating in a different way!

    When the Binoviewers work I've got to say the views really are breathtaking!

    Malcolm

    • Like 6
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.