Why did such a frustrating hobby pick me ?

[robbierankin]

Hello kerrylewis;

I think the focus is ok.

On the C8 everything started well. I was seeing varying levels of star brightness (magnitude?). 

15 mins later it was only the brightest stars that I could see.

When I looked at the glass (front plate?) on the C8 it had fogged up. 

Dew know what I mean ? 

Robbie.

[kerrylewis]

I dew know what you mean!

I had the same problem and got one of these: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/astrozap-flexible-dew-shield.html

Instant solution

Kerry

[kerrylewis]

Btw meanwhile a hair dryer will clear the dew

[robbierankin]

I had a homespun shield attached to the C8. Obviously didn't spin it well enough.

Will probably purchase all the necessary extras after my visit to the Baker St meet next week.

As for hair driers - they're a rare thing in my house - unless you count towels.

There's more hair in my ears than on my head. 

Robbie.

[Feral Rabbit]

If it's any consolation I was out Monday night on the lawn. 1 hour to align ( I'm new to this game) started observing Mizar and Alcor no problem, Slewed around to look for the Andromeda Galaxy nothing in the eyepiece, no stars, nothing. Thought I was in the wrong area of sky. Checked with RDF. Nope, roughly in the right area and I could see stars through the sight and naked eye. Back to EP, still nothing. At this point I had been out observing for about 2 hours. I then saw that the dew shield was dripping with moisture looked inside the dew shield and the lens was dripping wet from dew. Packed up around 23.00hrs approx 2 hours out. Still, I had the bins to use

I am sure it's the type of ground I am observing from. Will have to go back to the hard standing of the drive, nowhere near as good FOV and until around 01:00 plagued by cars driving by  . When I can afford it I will go to a heated dew shield to see if this eleviates the problem.
 

[Feral Rabbit]

@ kerrylewis. I have a Celestron dew shield but isn't lined. I may have to line it with some felt.

[robbierankin]

Well .....

Eventually I followed some of the list members advice and bought a new eyepiece (Baader Hyperion zoom) and focal reducer for my C8 SCT.

Rigged up the scope, wrapped up my body and took to some star gazing.

Looked at Jupiter and its moons, Orion and the seven sisters. Wow 

I was most impressed with the zoom and cannot wait to play with it when conditions are more 'optimal'.

What a difference a good (better) eyepiece makes.

The only gripes are that the eyepiece is probably too much for the stock 1.25 diagonal on the scope.

A WO 2" diag is now on order.

Oh, and the bleedin' dew. New shield on the way.

All courtesy of FLO.

Thanks to the members again. I DID take your advice, eventually.

Robbie.

[LMC]

Hello Stargazers lounge forum.

..... the effort put into the 8" SCT and the patience waiting for reasonable london nights have dampened my spirit. I'm about to give up - unless there is another way.....

Thank you for your patience and apologies for the long post.

Robbie.

Note: I'm in no way knocking the 8" SCT. I just don't think me & it agree.... 

Of course their is.

You could drop astronomy altogether and take up something relatively inexpensive, like restoring classic race cars or  building wooden boats.

[Joves]

Glad to hear you've at least fnd some encouragement since your initial post.

I'm thinking your new eyepiece has probably also coincided with better seeing than you were experiencing when you first posted. Better eyepieces can make a big difference, but better seeing can't be bought... It's priceless!

I'm pretty certain the old saying, "patience is a virtue", must have been penned for this hobby. There are sooooooo many variables to determine whether a planned nights viewing is a success or not, so patience is an absolute MUST! Good news is... If this star stuff does actually tickle your fancy (which, for most people, it doesn't for some strange reason) the the rewards have a tendency to make the patient waiting seem absolutely worth every minute of it.

Best of luck!

[Ianladd]

Someone mentioned double stars as a good thing to be pursuing if you live in London. Damn right.. I live in Ealing, and although I have managed to see the odd fainter object, even the brightest galaxies like Andromeda are a tough call under these light polluted skies. Last night with the moon out I popped the scope out on the patio to cool down whilst i made a cup of tea and had a scoot through my copy of Sky and Telescopes 'Pocket Sky Atlas' to see where some likely double star candidates might be:

Meisa in Orion was just about doable with a barlowed 10mm (although focusing seems problematic at that magnification with a Heritage 130p) Then I had a gander a Eta Cassiopeia. BEAUTIFUL! Golden main sequence star being orbited by an orange dwarf. Pretty Colours! Looked it up online afterwards to find out that Eta Cassiopeia is almost identical to our own sun. Wowsers.. I have found that reading a little bit of background information about each object I'm viewing really helps keep me inspired. Also, it seems to help me learn the sky more effectively. What was at first just a glowing yellow star with a red blob next to it suddenly became a really inspiring part of the night sky.

Like yourself, I would love to be able to see more of the 'faint fuzzy' things, but will have to wait until I get under some darker skies for that to happen properly. Keep at it. There's ALWAYS something to look at even under London's orange glowing sky (Unless it's cloudy that is)

Ian.

[ghostdance]

Couldn't agree more Ian. Great post!

And as soon as my evil shoulder permits a scope night, Eta Cass is a must-see Thanks for that, really looking forward to seeing it after your lovely description.

[Charic]

Robbierankin.........you like the 130 you stole! And your suffering with the SCT? For ease of use and set-up, try and get a look through the Skywatcher Skyliner 200P- Dobsonian mount. ( or any other branded 200mm 8" Reflector Telescope) The Skyliner has no set up regards polar alignment, just needs a fairly flat surface, and with low power, its possible to observe straight away, without cooling? The length of the telescope helps to prevent any dew, and if the Skyliner is dewed, conditions are too bad, go back in-doors and do something else! If the views are what you require, then also consider the 300P and the 250P in that order ( my preference with the focal ratio ) as they will both offer even more light gather than the 200P can achieve. Even under light pollution, a larger aperture still has the ability over lesser aperture to see fainter objects.

[Dave Lloyd]

I'll bet your godson loves his little frac.