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Stargazing Live 2014 (the Brian Cox effect)

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Johnny4365

Johnny4365

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Enjoyed tonights show.

Always interesting to hear astronauts talking about their experiences.

Lots of presenters up in planes though, how much does that cost?

Overdoing the aurora a bit, but it may be justified if we get an amazing psychedelic light show  tomorrow night.

A small piece on looking at the moon through a scope. Sales of moon filters through the roof tonight ??

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FLO

FLO

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Last night's episode generated a 9% increase in traffic to our website.

It isn't worth comparing that to 2013 because they focused on cosmology that year which had almost no affect whatsoever. But back in 2012 (when Mark Thompson showed people how easy it is to practice astronomy) the first episode increased traffic by 36%. 

Still two more episodes so it could all change :smiley:

I think it is clear now they are not particularly interested in encouraging viewers to go outside and stargaze. The total increase in traffic from episode 1 & 2 is 15%. The same two episodes in 2012 achieved 73%. 

Now I don't want to appear ungrateful or talk as though they have some kind of duty to encourage Stargazing. The shows are informative and entertaining. Brian Cox is great at explaining complex ideas, Dara O'Briain is the perfect co-host and Mark Thompson has clearly earned his 'people's astronomer' moniker. I think it is only that the name 'Stargazing' Live and the success of the 2012 series raised our hopes. 

But we still have tonight's show… :smiley:

Steve

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Alien 13

Alien 13

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I have to agree perhaps if they removed the word Star from the title it would be closer to the facts.

I have found it to be very entertaining though and it certainly has sparked an interest for me in solar imaging and did they say on the show that there was 4 million hits on the galaxy lensing site so its not all bad.

Alan

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JamesF

JamesF

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I have wondered if "Astronomy Live" wouldn't have been a more accurate choice of name, but at least people know what "stargazing" is.  Call it "astronomy" and you'd probably find a significant minority of the population expecting a programme on horoscopes...

James

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FLO

FLO

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... it certainly has sparked an interest for me in solar imaging 

Yes, the solar observing coverage was good and I am considering it myself. 

FLO is a demanding mistress and I have two young sons so finding the energy to stay up late is proving increasingly difficult (unless that's age!) but I could have a solar imaging rig setup here at FLO and take it outside whenever the conditions are good. Whilst we have plenty of white-light solar kit we don't currently offer any Ha scopes (we used to offer Coronado but no longer do). But we will almost certainly be offering one of the premium brands of solar telescopes this year… And the Sun is at solar maximum so is putting on a good show... Hhmmm…  <_<

Steve 

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Yes, the solar observing coverage was good and I am considering it myself. 

FLO is a demanding mistress and I have two young sons so finding the energy to stay up late is proving increasingly difficult (unless that's age!) but I could have a solar imaging rig setup here at FLO and take it outside whenever the conditions are good. Whilst we have plenty of white-light solar kit we don't currently offer any Ha scopes (we used to offer Coronado but no longer do). But we will almost certainly be offering one of the premium brands of solar telescopes this year… And the Sun is at solar maximum so is putting on a good show... Hhmmm…  <_<

Steve 

Is that a new development Steve? I remember Coronado being offered on FLO, when/why (if you don't mind me asking :)) did you remove it?

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FLO

FLO

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Is that a new development Steve? I remember Coronado being offered on FLO, when/why (if you don't mind me asking :)) did you remove it?

We stopped stocking Coronado over a year ago, I think the last PST was sold in a clearance sale back in Jan 2013.

It is probably best I don't post the reasons why because if the product and situation improves we will want to reconsider stocking them. 

Steve 

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Mark at Beaufort

Mark at Beaufort

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Who gets free glasses? :)

Could then be used to put over binos to view the sun or is that a big no no?!

Please don't do this as you will be blinded.

This is a flyer I recently produced for a star party -

DO view the Sun ONLY through special filters made for safe solar viewing, e.g. aluminised mylar filters, or black polymer filters, identified as suitable for direct viewing of the Sun, bearing the CE mark AND a statement that it conforms to European Community Directive 89/686/EEC, or use welder's glass rated at no.14 or higher. Always read and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

DO check filters thoroughly for any damage BEFORE use. DON'T use them if they are scuffed, scratched or there are pinholes in them

DON'T stare through the special filter for more than 3 minutes at a time. Intermittent use of the filter is the best way of viewing the Sun

If you use eclipse glasses DON'T ever use them to look at the Sun through any optical instrument, e.g. telescope, binoculars or camera. Such devices concentrate the Sun's harmful radiation and will cause severe eye damage or permanent blindness in a fraction of a second.

If you are not certain that a filter is approved and safe, or you have any other doubts, DON'T USE IT.

Buying from FLO will mean that the product is safe and complies with the safety directives.

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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We stopped stocking Coronado over a year ago, I think the last PST was sold in a clearance sale back in Jan 2013.

It is probably best I don't post the reasons why because if the product and situation improves we will want to reconsider stocking them. 

Steve 

Thanks for the information Steve :icon_salut:

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FLO

FLO

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I am so gutted I never visited youre site for buying my first scope! However any extras I will certainly get from FLO!

Thank-you for saying that but I see from your posts you own an Evostar-90 so you are off to a good start :smiley: 

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JamesF

JamesF

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http://www.meade.com/product_pages/coronado/scopes/solarmaxii_60.php

This looks a bit more afordable.I might buy something like

this my self.I am really getting intrested in this now. 

Trouble is, i dont know any think about solar observing.

Steve

You don't have to know much about it to find the behaviour of our local star fascinating, but if you're after suggestions for learning I'm sure there are a few people on SGL who could recommend places to start.

James

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Grotemobile

Grotemobile

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http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-x-cel-lx-eyepiece.html

These are pretty good EPs.The 5mm will give you a mag of 180.

The 7mm - 128.I would go with the 5mm.A 6mm will give you 150.

These are based on a 900mm scope which yours is .Hope this helps

you a little bit.You can cheaper EPs,but i believe you only

pay for what you get.

Steve

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FLO

FLO

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Can you recommend any eye pieces for the evostar-90?

The nice thing about your Evostar 90 is it works well with simple eyepiece types like Plossls, orthoscopics and Kellners (they are affordable new and easy to find secondhand). If it were me I'd buy some Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces. The 7, 12, 18 & 25mm would work well, provide comfortable eye-relief and 60-degree field of views. The image below shows the area of sky each eyepiece would cover when fitted to your telescope. I have included your existing 10 & 25mm Plossls (yellow circles) for comparison.

To calculate magnification divide the eyepiece focal length into the telescope focal length (900mm for your Evostar-90).

HTH, 

Steve 

EDIT: I hadn't spotted Grotemobile's post before posting mine but it's good to see we have the same opinion :smiley: 

post-54-0-24352400-1389277582_thumb.jpg

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jim247

jim247

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Thanks very much for all you're help! Its all starting to make a little more sense! I have two friends who are also looking at getting into the hobbie, I will certainly tell them about FLO and the forum!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

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Grotemobile

Grotemobile

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You don't have to know much about it to find the behaviour of our local star fascinating, but if you're after suggestions for learning I'm sure there are a few people on SGL who could recommend places to start.

James

http://www.solarscopereviews.com/

Just found this on the SGL,site.

Very good.Thanks to all who posted

Steve :icon_salut:

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JamesF

JamesF

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Also this may sound a really stupid question but do all eyepieces have the same size fitting for all telescopes?

Not a stupid question at all.  Generally telescopes will take a 1.25" eyepiece.  Some can also use 2" eyepieces.  There are older telescopes (and some nasty cheap ones that are still on sale) that use 0.965" eyepieces.

Your Evostar 90 comes with a 1.25" diagonal and will take 1.25" eyepieces.

James

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Also this may sound a really stupid question but do all eyepieces have the same size fitting for all telescopes?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

It's not a stupid question. The two standard sizes of eyepieces are 1.25" and 2" (0.965" is used for older telescopes, and department store type). You can get a 1.25" focuser (which only accepts 1.25" eyepieces) or a 2" focuser (which only accepts 2" eyepieces), but with the latter you can get an adapter to use with 1.25" eyepieces.

You can also get 2.5", 2.7" and 3" focusers, but these always have adapters with them

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