Show us your set up in action at night.

[Si W]

My new Setup, first post on SGL in a few years, Hello Again everyone.

[iapa]

Nice kit

[Hertford Stargazer]

A few years ago, lots of lamp post LP but no problem for the Moon. Setup was an EQ5 pro and Evo 120.

[Peco4321]

On 02/09/2017 at 22:07, Si W said:

My new Setup, first post on SGL in a few years, Hello Again everyone.

Look at all those cables ?  

What was your target that night?

[gtis]

Here's mine at a star party 

[Peco4321]

Whilst as astronomers we love seeing every set up under the sun, that is the whole point of this thread for night time shots, moon in background, startrails, constellations over the top of your scope, lit up by red or white light, in your garden, at a star party, in a field or on your balcony,  observing with your kids, set up for imaging, the options are endless. 

[L8-Nite]

I love seeing my set up's under clear skies, something that has been evading me quite a bit; at least the darker nights are upon us.

[Si W]

On ‎04‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 17:48, Peco4321 said:

Look at all those cables ?  

What was your target that night?

To many cables, 3 Dew straps, plus the power cable, 1 for the DSI, USB and Power for the DSLR, 1 Power for the focuser, Power and Comms for the mount, USB ST4 Guiders, looks like an explosion in a Spagetti Factory, also a GPS, TemperHum, and SQM-L meter.

TBH, I have only just got this setup off the ground in the last couple of month's, so still playing around with it and tweeking things up, no help from the weather, only had a few nights out in the last 2 months.

 

[Starlight 1]

Here is my Moon set-up.

[Peco4321]

First real go tonight just using camera on eq3-2 with 18-55mm lens at 55 zoom on Andromeda taking 60 sec subs. Check out DSO eq3 Challenge thread tomorrow for results. 

[Guest]

Clear skies finally - prepping for the pelican nebula

 

...and here's a shot from the scope camera while it's imaging IC 5070...you can just about make out the Milky Way :-) 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2017 by Guest
added photo

[Vox45]

November, it is raining, so I thought I'd post my setup in a different environment ... sorry for the double post

These were taken in August at 3000m in the Alps, we spent a week on a mission to detect exoplanets using the transit method. We used the 620mm 9m focal lenght telescope (seen in the background)

One of the clearest sky in Europe and the highest observatory. This site was selected in the 60's to host the second larget telescope in the world but it was decided to put it in Hawai, it is now known as the CFHT (Canada France Hawaï Telescope)

It was a real treat, a bit wasted on a simple noobie like me I guess, but I had fun spending 7 days with 10 other people sharing the same passion Part science mission, part star party in superb conditions. Good times.

 

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, Vox45 said:

November, it is raining, so I thought I'd post my setup in a different environment ... sorry for the double post

These were taken in August at 3000m in the Alps, we spent a week on a mission to detect exoplanets using the transit method. We used the 620mm 9m focal lenght telescope (seen in the background)

One of the clearest sky in Europe and the highest observatory. This site was selected in the 60's to host the second larget telescope in the world but it was decided to put it in Hawai, it is now known as the CFHT (Canada France Hawaï Telescope)

It was a real treat, a bit wasted on a simple noobie like me I guess, but I had fun spending 7 days with 10 other people sharing the same passion Part science mission, part star party in superb conditions. Good times.

 

 

Thanks for sharing that. Looks like you had a fantastic opportunity that the rest of us can only dream of. I'm sure you had to work hard to get that opportunity though so well done!

Was the altitude a problem? I've always imagined a trip like this would be ruined by the altitude sickness the astronomers in Chile speak about.

Does this place do any outreach, is it possible to visit?

Edit: I just followed the link in your post :-)

Thanks again

David

Edited November 10, 2017 by Guest

[Nojus]

some of moments in my backyard-preparation and action, I would like to do it more often, but the weather..

Edited November 11, 2017 by Nojus

[Vox45]

On 10/11/2017 at 18:04, David_L said:

Thanks for sharing that. Looks like you had a fantastic opportunity that the rest of us can only dream of. I'm sure you had to work hard to get that opportunity though so well done!

Was the altitude a problem? I've always imagined a trip like this would be ruined by the altitude sickness the astronomers in Chile speak about.

Does this place do any outreach, is it possible to visit?

Edit: I just followed the link in your post :-)

Thanks again

David

 

Altitude can be a problem but, apart from breathlessness from time to time I had no issue. The age of the group ranged from 30 to 70yrs old and noone reported issues.

It is possible to visit the observatory, from the village it is a 2 hour hike in the beautiful scenery of the French Alps. Those on the mission are mandated to act as guide for tourists who stop by. We had several groups of hikers during my stay and they were all able to visit the observatory. There is also the possibility to spend the night but you have to pay for that and book the stay well in advance. There is a smaller dome that is reserved for the visitors and you spend the night with a profesional from the observatory.

We had to submit the project to the association who manages the site and then there was a selection process. We had the chance to be selected but from what I understand it is not that hard to get accepted. They only ask for the mission to be well managed, have a scientific goal. We were all amateurs and some on the team did not even own a scope

[recceranger]

[Paz]

Here's a recent outing of my maksutov...

[Jessun]

This is what I ran for some years, with the mount and OTA hanging a foot over the edge of a balcony rail.

Learned a lot from this experiment.

/Jesper

 

[Stu]

28 minutes ago, Jessun said:

This is what I ran for some years, with the mount and OTA hanging a foot over the edge of a balcony rail.

Learned a lot from this experiment.

/Jesper

 

I remember watching you go through the development of this rig, did you have some good success with it? I always thought it was ingenious  

[Jessun]

Yes, in a way. It paved way for the triple rig and taught me most of the basics that I still use.

/Jesper

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Jessun said:

Yes, in a way. It paved way for the triple rig and taught me most of the basics that I still use.

/Jesper

Thanks, glad it worked out. A lot of engineering went into that rig!

[Jessun]

The beauty that was turned into an R2-D2 that had been through a traffic accident...

Basically moved flats and didn't need the overhang anymore...

/Jesper

 

[Davey-T]

Nice bit of recycling Jesper, I'm still using the Gimson ram in my telescopic pier

Dave

[GavStar]

First light with my new mount - very impressed indeed.

[Tonynexevo925]

Last minute VX14 setup tonight - just amazed the weather actually came good and I have a clear sky ? 

inadequate setup on the dew control so may need to get the hairdryer out...

???

TV41mm panoptic, Ethos 21 and 13 gloves and my hat ???