Show us your set up in action at night.

[John]

4 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

That is one big eyepiece you have there! did it come with an extra counterweight?

It is a whopper - 2.2 lbs !

When I'm using it with my dobsonian I do need a heavier counterweight.

 

 

[John]

13 minutes ago, Ian McCallum said:

On Jupiter, this evening.  The Wratten #8 made a difference to the CA, making some of the features on the Jovian disk easier to see. I think it made the North and South equatorial bands stand out more. 

Then the clouds rolled in and the neighbour's floodlight came on. 🤬

Oddly, the security light might actually help a bit when it comes to planetary observing, as long as it is not glaring right down the barrel of the scope.

 

[Ian McCallum]

1 hour ago, John said:

It is a whopper - 2.2 lbs !

When I'm using it with my dobsonian I do need a heavier counterweight.

 

 

That's an unexploded hand grenade!🤣

[Sunshine]

40 minutes ago, Ian McCallum said:

That's an unexploded hand grenade!🤣

If I'm correct the nickname for the 31 Nagler in fact was the hand grenade.

[badhex]

4 hours ago, John said:

It is a whopper - 2.2 lbs !

When I'm using it with my dobsonian I do need a heavier counterweight.

 

 

The heaviest in the whole TeleVue range unless I'm mistaken? Just about 50g heavier than the Panoptic 41mm 😱

Edited November 28, 2021 by badhex

[John]

9 minutes ago, badhex said:

The heaviest in the whole TeleVue range unless I'm mistaken? Just about 50g heavier than the Panoptic 41mm 😱

The Ethos 21mm is just a touch heavier I think.

[Ludd]

A brief gap between snow showers was enough to justify hauling out the dobsonian.  

[Sunshine]

39 minutes ago, Ludd said:

A brief gap between snow showers was enough to justify hauling out the dobsonian.  

This great image has given me a sudden and uncontrollable urge to have a dob, I will blame you when my wife sees the credit card bill, home free!.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Sunshine

[johninderby]

First test of the Rowan AZ100 motor system.

Worked rather well with nice accurate slews to targets. So quiet I didn’t notice any noise at all while slewing. Not going to br any problems annoying neighbours with operating noise. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Edited December 1, 2021 by johninderby

[Sunshine]

That is a serious looking kit you have, I love how you have a large monitor right at hand.

[johninderby]

An iPad comes in very handy. 🙂

Prefer it to a phone for running a planetarium app.,Of course will switch to the red screen when I do some proper observing.,

[CCD-Freak]

My SharpStar 150 mm F2.8 Hyper Newt riding on the AP900GTO while doing imaging NGC1333 at SRO last week.

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by CCD-Freak

[Stu]

Managed first light for my FC-76DC on the first night back home after collecting it.

It sits beautifully on the Zero mount and Gitzo, and will be very easy to pop out for those quick sessions I’ve been missing. I mounted a finder shoe to the front ring and my 60x30 RACI sits very nicely out there, very easy to reach.

The seeing is not up to much tonight, but I’ve had a little tour around a few favourites, as well as the lovely first quarter Moon and planets. Venus showed a rather wobbly crescent earlier on, and I managed to track Neptune down fairly easily too, despite it being relatively close to the Moon.

Just had the Pleiades in the 24mm Panoptic, beautiful.

[scarp15]

Battle Hill, Northumberland last night.

 

 

[cajen2]

You never got that scope into that car, did you? 😳

Edited December 11, 2021 by cajen2

[scarp15]

20 hours ago, cajen2 said:

You never got that scope into that car, did you? 😳

Surprising what you can get into a Nissan Note, didn't quite need to keep the boot open with a red flag dangling off the primary. 

[gorann]

This was my surprise tonight with my dual RASA8 rig. No idea how it got in and no idea how to get it out. I guess I just have to live with him/her until he/she dies and falls of the corrector plate and hopefully ends up in a corner and not on the main mirror. Any complaints on my star shapes I will direct to this insect of the family Chrysopidae. Yes, I am an entomologist too so it may be a insect revenge......

[Sunshine]

4 minutes ago, gorann said:

This was my surprise tonight with my dual RASA8 rig. No idea how it got in and no idea how to get it out. I guess I just have to live with him/her until he/she dies and falls of the corrector plate and hopefully ends up in a corner and not on the main mirror. Any complaints on my star shapes I will direct to this insect of the family Chrysopidae. Yes, I am an entomologist too so it may be a insect revenge......

There must be an opening somewhere but given the commitment it took to get in, it deserves to be there 😂

Edited December 18, 2021 by Sunshine

[cajen2]

9 minutes ago, gorann said:

This was my surprise tonight with my dual RASA8 rig. No idea how it got in and no idea how to get it out. I guess I just have to live with him/her until he/she dies and falls of the corrector plate and hopefully ends up in a corner and not on the main mirror. Any complaints on my star shapes I will direct to this insect of the family Chrysopidae. Yes, I am an entomologist too so it may be a insect revenge......

Aww, a cute lacewing!

Yes, I have an interest in entomology too...😄

[gorann]

3 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

There must be an opening somewhere but given the commitment it took to get in, it deserves to be there 😂

Actually, when I look at my picture, I see a slit in the material between the corrector plate and the retention ring, maybe that is where he/she got in? Anyone else with insects in their scopes tonight?

[cajen2]

Hope not....but since I have a Flextube dob, it isn't so unlikely!

[souls33k3r]

17 hours ago, gorann said:

This was my surprise tonight with my dual RASA8 rig. No idea how it got in and no idea how to get it out. I guess I just have to live with him/her until he/she dies and falls of the corrector plate and hopefully ends up in a corner and not on the main mirror. Any complaints on my star shapes I will direct to this insect of the family Chrysopidae. Yes, I am an entomologist too so it may be a insect revenge......

They could be filming the next installment of "Antman and Wasp : The wrath of the lacewing and a RASA owner" 

[Greymouser]

First chance in ages to get out, though only for a very short session so far, with my new scope, so I guess first light.

Only had chance for a quick look at Jupiter, just before it disappeared behind a neighbours house. First time in months I have had a chance to observe at all, so all good. No visible CA at all, but there was an odd visual effect, almost like an elongation of light out of each side of the image. The scope had just come out of a warm house into the cold outside though...

Several bands seen though, at modest magnification, so a good start.

Edit: Not so sure now, between whispy stuff, got to see a few more things, not least M42, but couldn't get much magnification, but did see the Trapezium at 27 X or so. I tried greater power, but no luck at 107 X. I don't know if it was conditions or what. Certainly the scope was well cooled down by then. I was expecting better that that to be honest. Just 57 X was the limit.

I am now left wondering if I have made a mistake buying this scope, perhaps should have waited for the 12" dob. I will sleep on it, give it another try, if weather allows. Certainly relieved I bought it from FLO, so not too worried either way. 🤔

Edited January 5, 2022 by Greymouser

[Stu]

I put two scopes out tonight, thinking it would be clear but packed the LZOS away after a quick look at the Moon and M45 with the 21 Ethos. Very nice it was too.

Good views of the Moon and Jupiter through the FC76DCU with CQ extender, up to x161 was clear, didn’t try any higher. Leaving it out for a while to see if the sky clears at all.

[John]

Gorgeous night here - even better than last night

I'm using the 200mm F/6 newtonian for this session: