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hgjevans

By hgjevans
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hgjevans

hgjevans

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... and greetings from a wet and blustery Worcestershire!  :clouds2: 

I'm not exactly new to this game, but hardly experienced either. I had something of an interest in astronomy when I was a teenager back in the 70s, but so many other things got in the way, as they do. Then I had a minor epiphany a few years ago when I lived in Dorset and, putting the rubbish out late one night, happened to glance up and realized how dark the skies were. Well, I just grabbed what was available - binoculars and a small spotting scope that I use for watching wildlife - and made do with that.

Now I live in Worcestershire with rather less dark skies, but on a good night they're not as bad as I feared, and so I've finally taken the plunge and bought the (almost) obligatory Skywatcher Newtonian. It's had a few brief outings to the back garden since it arrived the other week, but with the moon and clouds hampering my efforts it's still really waiting for a good session. Hopefully before too long it will be trained on globulars, doubles, and whatever brighter DSOs I can actually see with the light pollution as it is.

Anyway, that's me. Hope to get to know you all in due course.

Huw.

 

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hgjevans

hgjevans

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Again, thank you all for the warm welcome. And I can confirm that it did stop raining and turn into a very nice day here on Friday, followed by a very nice evening... until the dew put a stop to everything! :-(  But I did at least get to enjoy M15, the Dumbbell, the Ring Nebula, and a few other odds and ends. The dew hit whilst I was trying to latch onto M37. With the scope back in the garage (a few degrees warmer than ambient) I thought I might get another go later on, but even two hours wasn't enough to clear the primary mirror and I gave up.

Ah well, I suppose if it was all easy it wouldn't be worthwhile, would it? I'll maybe try the 'General Help and Advice' board later for some tips on preventing/dealing with dew problems. I already had a mental list of stuff to ask about - filters, eyepieces, dark sky sites, etc. I guess dew has just gone straight to the top. I've found a few threads about dew on various boards, but they all seem to imply that primary mirrors on solid tube newtonians aren't generally a problem. Just me then!

Oh, and Michael - now I know who to ask about Worcester AS. Thanks for volunteering! ;-)

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Billy Bluelight

Billy Bluelight

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Again, thank you all for the warm welcome. And I can confirm that it did stop raining and turn into a very nice day here on Friday, followed by a very nice evening... until the dew put a stop to everything! :-(  But I did at least get to enjoy M15, the Dumbbell, the Ring Nebula, and a few other odds and ends. The dew hit whilst I was trying to latch onto M37. With the scope back in the garage (a few degrees warmer than ambient) I thought I might get another go later on, but even two hours wasn't enough to clear the primary mirror and I gave up.

Ah well, I suppose if it was all easy it wouldn't be worthwhile, would it? I'll maybe try the 'General Help and Advice' board later for some tips on preventing/dealing with dew problems. I already had a mental list of stuff to ask about - filters, eyepieces, dark sky sites, etc. I guess dew has just gone straight to the top. I've found a few threads about dew on various boards, but they all seem to imply that primary mirrors on solid tube newtonians aren't generally a problem. Just me then!

Oh, and Michael - now I know who to ask about Worcester AS. Thanks for volunteering! ;-)

Welcome!  Dew is a problem and I need to find out about heater elements and the like.  In the meantime, I keep one of my wife's  hairdryers handy - a few seconds soon clears it all

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Tommohawk

Tommohawk

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Again, thank you all for the warm welcome. And I can confirm that it did stop raining and turn into a very nice day here on Friday, followed by a very nice evening... until the dew put a stop to everything! :-(  But I did at least get to enjoy M15, the Dumbbell, the Ring Nebula, and a few other odds and ends. The dew hit whilst I was trying to latch onto M37. With the scope back in the garage (a few degrees warmer than ambient) I thought I might get another go later on, but even two hours wasn't enough to clear the primary mirror and I gave up.

Ah well, I suppose if it was all easy it wouldn't be worthwhile, would it? I'll maybe try the 'General Help and Advice' board later for some tips on preventing/dealing with dew problems. I already had a mental list of stuff to ask about - filters, eyepieces, dark sky sites, etc. I guess dew has just gone straight to the top. I've found a few threads about dew on various boards, but they all seem to imply that primary mirrors on solid tube newtonians aren't generally a problem. Just me then!

Oh, and Michael - now I know who to ask about Worcester AS. Thanks for volunteering! ;-)

Yep, I have the same dew issues at the moment. As per the other comments, I'm surprised it's your primary which seems to suffer though. I've had a few good sessions spoiled by dew on the secondary, but the primary is usually OK.

A quick waft with the hairdryer fixes dew on secondary or guide scope lens - I guess the primary would be slower to clear cos you cant really blow the front surface. Heating the back might risk overheating.

I am working on a heater - will post when/if sorted. The mark 1 version is due completion soon, but a few issues already so may wait for the Mk 2 before posting!

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