leave that scope in the shed!!

[popeye85]

Last night while sat enjoying a wee glass of vino at home I looked out the window and not a cloud to be seen!

Now since it was getting late I'm afraid that I just simply coldn't be bothered getting out the dob, waiting for it to cool, getting charts out etc, etc. So I went back to basics-I just pulled up a chair, sat down and lookedup! What a joy it was! sitting there in the garden with a glass of wine just gazing into the heavens and picking out all the constellations and letting my mind wander.

Even though I knew the dob was just a few meters away I had absoloutly no desire whatsoever to reach for it. I felt a great pleasure just sat there looking at all stars and the sky as a whole rather than tiny wee bits at a time.

A great reminderof why I fell in love with this hobby in the first place and to be quite frank It was as good a night under the stars as I can remember-plus the wine was pretty tasty aswell!!

 

[cotterless45]

 Can't beat the grab and go mk1 eyes.Nick.

 

[johnfosteruk]

Nothing beats an eyeball on cool down time! Plus with the wine there's less risk

Glad you had a good session.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just sitting under the stars is great,especially with a glass of wine (or a tot of whisky), but I generally can't resist adding a pair of bins. No cool-down, no set-up, just gaze.

[happy-kat]

for me it's sitting out and watching the stars reveal as darkness progresses

[Charic]

One of my previous trips away from the house was so over whelming with the amount of Stars visible to the naked eye, that it would probably have been impossible to even use the scope -  'Star Overload' -  even the major constellations were difficult to pick out against the thousands of  extra Stars, not normally visible from my observatory,  especially on the better nights when the conditions and seeing are just right up here!

I too, sometimes look out and feel the need to leave the scope inside, quite often taking the 8x40's with me, but using the Dob at low magnification before the scope has had time to fully cool, can still be used too good effect. Image distortion is not so bad at low power if the scope is less than ambient!

Folk often talk of tube currents, it encompasses the issue, but the fault lies with the mirror surface on the Dobsonian. Any warm current over the surface of the mirror acts like a weak lens, distorting the image ( like the heat haze in the distance  as you drive along a straight road  on a Summers day! )

Cooling is essential for higher magnifications, and for speed of access, I use a small computer fan powered with a PP3 9V  and some Flexi hose applied to the focuser mount, drawing air from the tube,  thus allowing air to enter around the mirror cell in the hope of faster cooling, especially  Winter nights when temps here are well below zero C°.  Its not perfect, due to the eddying of currents as they pass the mirror cell,  rather than sweeping the mirror surface ( a mod I have considered on many occasions)  but I have noticed how much quicker I can use the higher powered eyepieces, when the need arises.

Nevertheless, just taking it all in, at rest in the garden, its something to savour.

[Macavity]

Getting "back to basics" a bit myself... I have an ST120 on order!
At least I shall be "braving the patio" - With no remote control etc. 

In some ways an *irony*, 'cos an ST102/AZ3 was where I started?
This time it will benefit from a pre-existing focusser upgrade and
sit on a SkyTee (Which does little but clutter the kitchen anyway!) 

I find myself (too often) getting caught up with "concerns" re. the
hardware? Extracting the "consumate" (image) from the mediocre?
Last Winter sometime, I was about to "Lug out the old Newt" and
actually looked up for a change: Two hours later I was still there!

For me, quite a serendipitous(!) thread? I probably won't yet be
totally about the "aesthetic"... I'll continue "measurements"! (lol)
Astronomy is also about the (un-shareable) personal experience?
But no bad thing to restore a *balance* between these aspects.  

 

[cloudsweeper]

It's often the lure of the stars vs. the lure of the vino.  Best not to succumb to both - not with a telescope, anyway!

ST120? - I just love mine - so quick and easy, with fabulous widefield views.  (I gave it a focuser upgrade too.)

Doug.

 

[Special K]

Very nice to just take it all in, glad you enjoyed it!  And I find that I get a better sense of where things are in seeing the constellations in relation to each other....even picking an interesting new part of the sky to research for scope sessions.