Show us your set up in action at night.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

8 hours ago, John said:

Well I'm back in now after a fine session with lots of nice objects observed

I now remember why I do this hobby I think !

 

Glad you had a great session John, Always nice when everything works in your favor and you actually get some quality seeing at the eye piece.

Out of interest how long has it been since you last got to observe? In December I had a fairly good session on 8th but then didn't manage to get out until after xmas again with bad weather and commitments. That seemed like forever.

Regards

 

Baz

[Sunshine]

4 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

I managed to get out very briefly last night for about 30mins -New Dew Shield looks to be blocking out unwanted light nicely. I only had a glimpse at various stars and The stunning M45 but it was worth it. I am hoping to get some good viewing in tonight. Fingers crossed the sky stays clear today. 

 

A pic of my 8" Dob and huge 40" dob attached 🙂🙂🙂

 

baz

I have to say, this is the first time I've seen a Dob with a dew shield.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

1 minute ago, Sunshine said:

I have to say, this is the first time I've seen a Dob with a dew shield.

🙂 I am predominantly using it as a light shield with the added bonus of dew prevention.  I have only used it for a short period last night but it seemed to shield the unwanted light from both of my neighbors  security lights constantly going on and off!

 

Regards

Barry

[Tomjo59]

Looks just like my dewshield (also on an 8” Dob). Made from an old foam rubber excercise mat.

it definitely helps keep extraneous light out, and my secondary doesn’t dew up any more

[Barry-W-Fenner]

10 minutes ago, Tomjo59 said:

Looks just like my dewshield (also on an 8” Dob). Made from an old foam rubber excercise mat.

it definitely helps keep extraneous light out, and my secondary doesn’t dew up any more

Method to our madness 🙂

[niallk]

Got out for the first time in ages last night!  I tested out a new observing spot - it was pretty dark: the sky naked eye was amazing, and I saw the flame neb for the first time  (no filters). E visible and F teased in the trap - I think my mirror was just not sufficiently cooled, and checking afterwards, the jetstream was overhead. 

The new spot shows promise - I wasn't eaten by any territorial farm dogs, and only one car came by - and stopped dead for a few seconds then promptly did a U-turn and left when they spotted me - somebody's amorous plans may have been spoiled 😂

Edited January 19, 2020 by niallk

[wimvb]

Ha ha, @niallk. They probably thought you were peeping. 😋

Nice though that you got a clear night. 

[DeanCJ]

Our new Meade lx65 mount with 127 Mak and ST102, we find this a good combination of high power and nice low power wide field views.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, DeanCJ said:

Our new Meade lx65 mount with 127 Mak and ST102, we find this a good combination of high power and nice low power wide field views.

Nice combo Dean. What is the mount like? Looks interesting.

[AndyThilo]

Waiting for Polaris to become visible.

 

 

[DeanCJ]

2 hours ago, Stu said:

Nice combo Dean. What is the mount like? Looks interesting.

We like it a lot, to be honest I was a little cautious about buying it as I couldn’t find many reviews of it. It can be purchased with a selection of OTA’s and I would have liked the 8” sct but it was a little over budget. 
The primary saddle carries approximately 6.5 Kg and the secondary saddle carries approximately 3.25 Kg. The secondary saddle has fine adjustment in both the horizontal and vertical axis so you can perfectly align both scopes.

It has the AudioStar handset which gives you a little information about your chosen target, not necessary but nice, navigation is a little different to Skywatcher Synscan once aligned the GoTo is very accurate and the tracking is excellent.

I believe Meade GoTo mounts are known for being a little noisy, this is louder than my Skywatcher GoTo mount but mainly on fast slewing, when it is tracking it is whisper quiet, we power it with a 3.2 Ah burglar alarm type battery. It is surprisingly heavy but not excessive, the tripod legs are 1.75” and have anti vibration feet.

Due to the poor weather recently we have only used it half a dozen times but to be honest we are very impressed .
 

Hope this little review is useful.

 

[Stu]

Thanks Dean. Glad you are pleased with it. I had heard a few mixed comments about it but a dual scope goto system is very handy.

[mcrowle]

My Revelation 12" Newtonian on a Losmandy G-11 (non-Gemini), while imaging Comet PanSTARRS C/2017 T2 last night.

Regards, Mike.

 

[Ags]

I tremble at the thought of setting up that beast. Hats off to you. On a simple practical level, how do you manage it?

[Stu]

Quite chilly out last night, scopes needed a defrost afterwards!

[Barry-W-Fenner]

31 minutes ago, Stu said:

Quite chilly out last night, scopes needed a defrost afterwards!

That's dedication right there Stu. When you pack up with frost all over your gear your doing things properly. 🙂

I am not quite up to that level yet. I had to call it a day last night at the point where my toes were about to snap off!

I dont know much about scope setups but that looks like a proper bit of kit you have there!

Baz

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

That's dedication right there Stu. When you pack up with frost all over your gear your doing things properly. 🙂

I am not quite up to that level yet. I had to call it a day last night at the point where my toes were about to snap off!

I dont know much about scope setups but that looks like a proper bit of kit you have there!

Baz

Yep, that's what it's all about! I must say often people pack in because it's cold, just when things are getting good! Often the seeing improves in the early hours once the heat has gone from the land, roads and buildings. I could not have stayed up too much longer last night, as I have to be up at 6am.

Having decent warm clothing really helps, and I must say my Artic Muck boots have made a big difference, having warm feet is wonderful. I think i do feel the cold more than i used to; in the past I've been know to find myself outside in the snow, wearing shorts and crocs which is not to be recommended! 🤣🤣

It is a  nice setup I must say, scopes and tripod are mine, the AZ100 is a pre production unit I've been testing for Rowan, very nice too. Hopefully I should have the prototype adjustment plate to accurately align the two scopes later this week which I'm looking forward to.

[Rob]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Yep, that's what it's all about! I must say often people pack in because it's cold, just when things are getting good! Often the seeing improves in the early hours once the heat has gone from the land, roads and buildings. I could not have stayed up too much longer last night, as I have to be up at 6am.

Having decent warm clothing really helps, and I must say my Artic Muck boots have made a big difference, having warm feet is wonderful. I think i do feel the cold more than i used to; in the past I've been know to find myself outside in the snow, wearing shorts and crocs which is not to be recommended! 🤣🤣

It is a  nice setup I must say, scopes and tripod are mine, the AZ100 is a pre production unit I've been testing for Rowan, very nice too. Hopefully I should have the prototype adjustment plate to accurately align the two scopes later this week which I'm looking forward to.

Nice!.. totally agree "Often the seeing improves in the early hours once the heat has gone from the land, roads and buildings.". So true. I recall when @russ and I were stood in the center of the New Forest at 2am one evening in -8 cold. the pictures actually showed the frost on our coats!

[wimvb]

1 hour ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

am not quite up to that level yet. I had to call it a day last night at the point where my toes were about to snap off!

Two pairs of socks and a styrofoam block to rest your feet on. If you can keep your feet warm, it's a lot easier being out in the cold. "Up here" it may get a lot colder, but fortunately humidity is also a lot lower, so it doesn't feel that cold.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

14 minutes ago, wimvb said:

Two pairs of socks and a styrofoam block to rest your feet on. If you can keep your feet warm, it's a lot easier being out in the cold. "Up here" it may get a lot colder, but fortunately humidity is also a lot lower, so it doesn't feel that cold.

I think my next investment is defiantly some decent socks. I am ok with the cold, Quiet enjoy being out in the cold crisp air. However as soon as the feet start to get cold then everything else slowly starts to follow. I work in the construction industry so might see what Kingspan I have laying around to rest my feet on also 🙂

 

Baz

[Barry-W-Fenner]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Yep, that's what it's all about! I must say often people pack in because it's cold, just when things are getting good! Often the seeing improves in the early hours once the heat has gone from the land, roads and buildings. I could not have stayed up to much longer last night, as I have to be up at 6am.

Having decent warm clothing really helps, and I must say my Artic Muck boots have made a big difference, having warm feet is wonderful. I think i do feel the cold more than i used to; in the past I've been know to find myself outside in the snow, wearing shorts and crocs which is not to be recommended! 🤣🤣

It is a  nice setup I must say, scopes and tripod are mine, the AZ100 is a pre production unit I've been testing for Rowan, very nice too. Hopefully I should have the prototype adjustment plate to accurately align the two scopes later this week which I'm looking forward to.

What time did you pack up Stu? I also have to be up for 6am. Annoying as Last night was by far the best seeing over the weekend. Why couldn't Saturday be that good!

Baz

[Stu]

19 minutes ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

What time did you pack up Stu? I also have to be up for 6am. Annoying as Last night was by far the best seeing over the weekend. Why couldn't Saturday be that good!

Baz

Not late, I was all done by 11pm. I put the scopes out at about 6pm though so had a couple of hours in between dinner, bathing the short person etc.

[John]

Another clear night. I have the big 130mm TMB/LZOS triplet out tonight. First target = Venus at 300x 

 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, John said:

Another clear night. I have the big 130mm TMB/LZOS triplet out tonight. First target = Venus at 300x 

 

Have a good night John, looks like it might be a good one. I have the Mewlon/Genesis duo out again, with dew heaters on anything I can think of to avoid fogging up.

Any particular targets in mind?

[John]

8 minutes ago, Stu said:

..Any particular targets in mind?

I've observed Venus, Uranus and a few nice doubles so far. I'd like to try 32 and 52 Orionis plus E & F Trapezium of course. Might try Sirius if the seeing is decent. And I'll probably have a look for comet Panstarrs too. Plus other stuff that seems a good idea as I go along

Yourself ?