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WADAS (Wakefield and District Astronomical Society)

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nicks90

nicks90

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post-26554-0-27858700-1415902026_thumb.j

last night I had a quick go in the back garden at andromeda again,

used my samsung nx100 with the 80-200mm zoom set at 135mm F4.5

took 65 10 second subs and stacked the best 45 and got this.

DSS still wont stack my raw files - even though v3.3.6 recognises them fine. However if i convert them in to 16bit TIFFs it then stacks them great. No idea if im loosing data though.

Quite happy with the final image though! Not done any stretches etc yet - so i might be able to improve it.

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Vicky050373

Vicky050373

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Wow, thanks for all your tips chaps. Definitely going to give Greenwitch a call. Been on their website and they look like they'd give good advice and their prices are reasonable. Do they have a shop I can go and have a look at the stuff or is it purely web-based? Have never dealt on e-bay and would be nervous about buying a "duffer". I'd probably speak to one of you guys before taking the plunge on there as I know second hand telescopes etc can be bad news if they have been treated badly. Think we'll more than likely get some decent binoculars and I'll look into the Celestron Ultima 80mm as I cannot see what kind of price that is at the minute. I'll probably look at getting a telescope next year when Luke knows what direction he wants to go with his observing. Thanks again for all your help :o)

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hazegood

hazegood

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Yeah Greenwitch has a shop its at Birstall on the high street,  (when you go on the website looks at Greenwitch north) for the details,  Dr Sproats is brilliant at advising people even if it means he does not make a sale, his customer service and after care is also second to none

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Vicky050373

Vicky050373

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Currys currently have the Celestron Ultima 80 at £129.99 which seems reasonable looking at other retailers. Will be giving Greenwitch a call to see what they would recommend as I would be happy to pay that much, however he may recommend the 15x70 binoculars with a tripod. Luke and myself mainly just want to start being able to observe things such as planets, Andromeda, Orion Nebula etc. we are not ready for the leap to a new telescope yet. Maybe next year.........

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nicks90

nicks90

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you wont go far wrong talkiing to Lee at greenwitch, plus dont forget to mention you are WADAS members - society discount :grin:  

spotting scope on a tripod V big binoculars on a tripod... tough choice. tripod will be the same for both though!

but if astro is what you want and not just widefield views of the milky way - then it has to be the spotting scope. that ultima spotter has ax20 to x60 mag. you wont get that with binoculars.

have fun chosing!

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Vicky050373

Vicky050373

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Going to GreenWitch with Luke and the other half tomorrow for some advice. The other plus for the spotter scope is the 45 degree viewing angle which would make it more comfortable for myself with me being tall. Myself and Luke will both be using whatever we buy, so we need to get something that we can both enjoy. My husband says it might be worth getting a beginners scope instead, so we are going to see what they recommend for what we want to use it for. I'll let you know what I opt for, but I am looking forward to choosing!

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hazegood

hazegood

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Looking good so far! Anyone out tonight?

nah tired , and a little bit   annoyed (cant get Fleetwood mac tickets despite   Mrs H being  on the arena site,  well before they went on sale)  so getting drunk and sleeping

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nicks90

nicks90

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In preparation for the trip up to kielder,I thought people might like an alternative observing guide.

Although the messier list is good, it was never intended to be an observing list. The NGC catalogue is massive and doesn't describe good visual objects to view without first doing a lot mof research before your session.

So I've attached patrick Moore's Caldwell list, 101 objects for visual observing. Its quite easy to use and should be a nice observing guide as it lists the NGC number, what it is, where it is and also a little circle for you to sketch it. Hope people find it useful.

TCOL.pdf

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Vicky050373

Vicky050373

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Thanks Nick,

The Caldwell PDF is really interesting, and there are a lot of things I can have a go at. Shame we haven't had clear skies for the past few nights. I also have the Messier list bookmarked, and have previously had a go with a couple of those using Luke's old scope and our compact binoculars. Didn't get many though - should get more with the new binoculars.

Went to see Lee at Greenwitch on Saturday. What an interesting guy! Gave myself and Luke loads of information and advice.

Ended up getting some decent Helios 10x50 binoculars. After trying out those, the larger 15x70's and 80mm spotter scopes (the latter 2 obviously both needed tripods), we decided on the smaller binoculars that we can easily hand-hold and share.

The idea was to have something handy and quick/easy to use within minutes. The smaller binoculars seemed the obvious choice so we don't have to worry about setting up a tripod. We can literally drag a chair into the back garden, sit and enjoy!

Shame we haven't had clear skies to test them yet!

We got a good discount as members too - so well worth mentioning.

Hope the skies improve for your upcoming trip.

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mapstar

mapstar

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Glad you got sorted out with something useful Vicky. The best scope or equipment is the one you use the most, and I am sure you and Luke will use those bins lots. Once we get clear skies that is :)

Agree with Soupy on all points especially the weather.

I did manage to see the moon, Bootes and Ursa Major this morning at 5am on my way into work and it always keeps my enthusiasm buoyant. The clouds will clear eventually just hope its from Wednesday when me and Kieran are in Galloway ;-)

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Astronomer69

Astronomer69

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Agree with Soupy on all points especially the weather.

I did manage to see the moon, Bootes and Ursa Major this morning at 5am on my way into work and it always keeps my enthusiasm buoyant. The clouds will clear eventually just hope its from Wednesday when me and Kieran are in Galloway ;-)

It's not lucking good Damian but fingers crossed.
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hazegood

hazegood

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Great little doc that Nick... Might get one printed off to take with me!

That is a big shame Leigh, I thought you didn't have to work weekends. Will have to make sure you are free for the next one in April ;)

 I don't usually have to work weekends, except the ones in December for the Christmas rush, but this year as we have got really busy the decided we have to work them from this weekend until Christmas,

Probably wont sell up, just going through a bit of a rough time at the moment,

Having said that, one for the photographers, not just astro but daylight as well,

I bought a carl ziess Jenna 135mm f2.8 prime lens M42 mount, anyone got an recommendations on an adaptor to make it fit my EOS mount 1100D,  there seems to be loads of them around

Leigh

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