Show us your set up in action at night.

[AbsolutelyN]

My Esprit 80 back in late 2019. Unfortunately the sky was not very clear that night but made for a nice time-lapse. 

[niallk]

At the end of a session the other night:

Edited April 5, 2021 by niallk

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

2 hours ago, faulksy said:

This was Saturday night around 20.00 with my wife at snowdonia 

Big dob little dob 🤣

That looks like a fantastic spot. 👍 

[faulksy]

16 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

That looks like a fantastic spot. 👍 

It really is. Look at my report shows how dark it is 👍

[DaveS]

A bit of a cheat, this is the control room with two monitors connected to the remote PCs

The one on the left is the ODK imaging M106, the right is the TS apo imaging the Leo Triplet.

[gorann]

I love RASAs so much that I bought a second one. Unlike the first, it turned out to need collimation and that was one of my tasks for tonight. The collimation screws cannot be reached when I have a proper imaging camera on so I need to put a mini guide camera there. While fiddeling with the screws the image screen got dark and the defocused star I was looking at was gone. I restarted the program and pulled out and reconnected the USB cable. Still no star. Only then did it struck me to look up and realize it was down to the good old clouds. Goes to show that I trust the atmosphere more than electronics....

Now both the old and new RASA are shooting away at IFN and I am off to bed.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

16 hours ago, DaveS said:

A bit of a cheat, this is the control room with two monitors connected to the remote PCs

The one on the left is the ODK imaging M106, the right is the TS apo imaging the Leo Triplet.

Is there a big red button marked, "Do Not Press"?

[teoria_del_big_bang]

8 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Is there a big red button marked, "Do Not Press"?

What like the AZ-5 button on the ill fated Chernobyl reactor ?

Steve

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

23 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

What like the AZ-5 button on the ill fated Chernobyl reactor ?

Steve

Dave's set up looks more sophisticated than Chernobyl. His button will be bigger and redder than a soviet reactor AZ-5! 😉

[DaveS]

Hehe. I just need a white persian cat to complete the picture  .

[Thorney]

Gone galaxy hunting with the little Redcat. Not the best at 250mm but it’s all I’ve got at the moment. 
 

The second image is a preview from the ASIair

[tooth_dr]

Last night I took a few subs, guiding was at the normal for me - around 0.6".  Now having moved nothing between last night and tonight, simply parking and unparking the mount, at the same target, same time of day, guiding is over twice as good, at 0.31".  I didnt really appreciate the impact of seeing, but I think this is proof of the difference it can make, and I will think twice about wondering if the equipment is to blame etc.

 

 

[faulksy]

On 05/04/2021 at 13:39, niallk said:

At the end of a session the other night:

that looks awsome nial

[Rich1980]

Setting up the other night. 

[wimvb]

@Rich1980, that's a nice clean setup. What's your opinion of the pegasus powerbox?

[Nigella Bryant]

Not night time but my new solar Ca-K frac with little brother ha scope

[F15Rules]

New (to me) Long Perng 80mm F6 achromat for grab n go widefield viewing. This was my second light session and I got some lovely views of Praesepe and the Perseus Double Cluster. I also got a nice last view of M42 in Orion as it sinks into the twilight.. I was able to resolve the Trap 4 main stars at c 50x and with my Aero 30mm 68 degree 2" ep, at 19x the view was just like looking through 19x80mm binoculars!

I've mounted the scope on my trusty Vixen GP head, shown here on a heavy duty Celestron tripod which is overkill..the second photo shows the scope and GP on an old Unitron wooden tripod I've just refurbished with sanding and two coats of Teak Oil.. might give it one more coat.

This rig is much lighter than the Celestron..looks better too I think?

Next job, to paint the white counterweight and mount hub in a more matching colour, green or black..

Dave

[John]

"Praesepe" - not a name that's used often enough IMHO

Apparently it means "manger" in latin.

 

[Rich1980]

3 hours ago, wimvb said:

@Rich1980, that's a nice clean setup. What's your opinion of the pegasus powerbox?

Cheers, one benefit of lockdown time to kill.

I love the pocket powerbox, I have it powering my Canon dslr, zwo guicecam, asiair, eaf focuser & 2 dew bands. Just leaves me to power the mount separately. 

[Sky-searcher]

Turn for the 150p tonight. Misses took the picture at dusk while star testing after collimating. Turned off the garden light pollution as it went dark. Tested the newly acquired ES 24/68 on open clusters, fuzzies & nebula. Impressed with the eyepiece & I had forgotten how good the 150p is as not used for a while. Punches well above its weight.

[Sunshine]

38 minutes ago, Sky-searcher said:

Turn for the 150p tonight. Misses took the picture at dusk while star testing after collimating. Turned off the garden light pollution as it went dark. Tested the newly acquired ES 24/68 on open clusters, fuzzies & nebula. Impressed with the eyepiece & I had forgotten how good the 150p is as not used for a while. Punches well above its weight.

Can we agree this is the nicest back garden ever! I wouldn’t need the brick house part, give me that area and I’m happy all summer.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

7 hours ago, Sunshine said:

Can we agree this is the nicest back garden ever! I wouldn’t need the brick house part, give me that area and I’m happy all summer.

I was imagining moustachioed men wearing denim shorts and sunglasses in the dark. Bikini clad babes with Farah Fawcett hair, the champagne flowing like tap water.

A chap wearing a beanie and padded gilet with a telescope under his arm stumbles in,  "Is this the star party?".

[JeremyS]

5 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

I was imagining moustachioed men wearing denim shorts and sunglasses in the dark. Bikini clad babes with Farah Fawcett hair, the champagne flowing like tap water.

Lockdown getting to you?
🤣

[Nigella Bryant]

9 hours ago, Sunshine said:

Can we agree this is the nicest back garden ever! I wouldn’t need the brick house part, give me that area and I’m happy all summer.

All I have is this, puts me to shame.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Lockdown getting to you?
🤣

Hah. The garden is very nice indeed, but the curtained hot tub made me think of the film Boogie Nights. 😀