Welcome to all

[2STAR]

19 hours ago, mapstar said:

I didn't think any of the WADAS crew had been reading any of our posts. No comments or reactions? 

Not seen S@N for a while now but glad he got an image up. 

Has been a bit of a poor result since we moved here for some reason, I don't know why, lets hope it picks up as the Season gets underway.

Eric

[2STAR]

23 hours ago, mapstar said:

Hi all

Hope you are well. Here's my little report from the clear night we had in skye.

At last clear Skyes

Includes some links to my other posts and timelapse stuff.

Enjoy guys

Couple of nice Videos Damian as well as your usual detailed report, looks like you got a nice Aurora Display on your time lapse, I have never seen the Aurora but always feel fascinated to watch this event of Nature.

Eric

[mapstar]

14 hours ago, 2STAR said:

Couple of nice Videos Damian as well as your usual detailed report, looks like you got a nice Aurora Display on your time lapse, I have never seen the Aurora but always feel fascinated to watch this event of Nature.

Eric

Hi Eric,

I'll say it's nowhere near as vivid naked eye as the camera makes out. Each shot was a 30s exposure.

Hints of green and purple were there but it wasn't a transparent night so probably would've been better if it was. I saw it naked eye when I was 15 from Flamborough head north landing and it was brilliant. 

Must get out more and looks like I missed a good night last night. Heavy dew though.

 

[Vicky050373]

The Moon 20.10.2018 at 21.25 BST

Canon 100D on Skywatcher Equinox 80 ED refractor using Altair Lightwave 2 x Tele Extender Barlow

Single 1/400 second exposure at ISO-800

[mapstar]

New moon is nearly here and typically so are the clouds!! 

[2STAR]

Had a short notice trip out with Declan the other night, to a Farm just outside Leeds past Alwoodly, not a bad sky, Milky Way just faintly visible.

Thought this image was appropriate for this time of year'

NGC 6946 Fireworks Galaxy

NGC 6939 Star Cluster

[mapstar]

Lovely eric, I've looked at this quite a few times tucked in the very top of Cygnus,  Skye last year was the best view when the spiral structure stood out nicely. 

NGC 6939 nearby is a nice compliment to this too.

 

[2STAR]

Yes Damian, and with my new scope the fov is wider so got both in on the laptop screen.

ps: my subs are due, will bring to next meeting

eric

[mapstar]

11 hours ago, 2STAR said:

Yes Damian, and with my new scope the fov is wider so got both in on the laptop screen.

ps: my subs are due, will bring to next meeting

eric

I must get on and update everything.

That will be good Eric cheers 

[2STAR]

Tried a few times to get a decent image of M97, last month managed my best to date, but not finished with this faint Nebula as yet haha

[Vicky050373]

A couple of nice images there Eric. Pleased to see you are getting out with your gear. I've just returned from a week in Northumberland with the caravan. Didn't take my scope as the forecast didn't look great. I just took my DSLR and Star Adventurer. As it happened, we only had one partly clear night so I never did get round to doing any imaging. Weather looks shocking for the next week. Typical for the New Moon.

Damian, I will email details of the monies from the last meeting so you can update the membership spreadsheet and financial accounts

[2STAR]

18 hours ago, Vicky050373 said:

A couple of nice images there Eric. Pleased to see you are getting out with your gear. I've just returned from a week in Northumberland with the caravan. Didn't take my scope as the forecast didn't look great. I just took my DSLR and Star Adventurer. As it happened, we only had one partly clear night so I never did get round to doing any imaging. Weather looks shocking for the next week. Typical for the New Moon.

Damian, I will email details of the monies from the last meeting so you can update the membership spreadsheet and financial accounts

Vicky, managed 2 sessions so far, last was a call from Declan to go to his mates Farm near Harewood, the Milky Way was just faintly visible, but sky not bad.

Only stayed a couple of hours but good to get out.

Have to take every opportunity with this rubbish weather !! 

[Vicky050373]

A friend posted this PDF on a Facebook astronomy page and set it for free download and open use. It is a really nice list of objects by constellation, and will be great to use when doing visual astronomy to give ideas on what to observe. Enjoy 

Objects by Constellation.pdf

[gtis]

11 hours ago, Vicky050373 said:

A friend posted this PDF on a Facebook astronomy page and set it for free download and open use. It is a really nice list of objects by constellation, and will be great to use when doing visual astronomy to give ideas on what to observe. Enjoy 

Objects by Constellation.pdf

Hi Vicky 

thanks for the link just downloaded to iBooks.Can you check my membership because on the WADAS members page it says I haven’t paid 

Neil

[Vicky050373]

39 minutes ago, gtis said:

Hi Vicky 

thanks for the link just downloaded to iBooks.Can you check my membership because on the WADAS members page it says I haven’t paid 

Neil

Hi Neil,

Apologies - I have yet to update Damian with memberships paid in his absence. I'll get that information over to him this week, and he will then be able to update the membership spreadsheet and I'll ask Marc to update the WADAS members page. For some reason it shows that I am also due but I paid in July. The committee will work together to get everything up to date.

Vicky

[mapstar]

Sorry guys I must get the memberships updated as I've been rather busy of late. 

[Mark62]

Thank for the link Vicky will come in really handy ?

[2STAR]

 Moon out the way early doors, clear forecast tonight

eric

[2STAR]

NGC 6992 Veil Nebula (part) Atik Infinity OSc  DSO Video Camera, November 11th 2018

56 x 30 secs exposure

[Vicky050373]

Hi chaps, I have acquired a vintage Prinz 660 76mm / 1250mm FL refractor telescope which I was hoping to give to my niece. However, when I collected it I realised it was in a much more "tired" state than I had hoped and the mount/ tripod is original but heavy and impractical for a child to use. So, I have put everything else to one side for now to concentrate on the OTA, which has seen better days, but I'm hoping we can resurrect this classic scope. As you can see in the photos, the tripod is huge and the EQ mount head is missing parts. I can pick up some inexpensive 76mm tube rings to attach a standard Vixen dovetail. I have also done a bit of research and the purchase of a 36.4mm male to 1.25" adapter will allow the use of standard modern EPs as opposed to the supplied 0.965" accessories. I am not good at tinkering and restoration. I have attached a couple of photos. Do any of my more experiences friends think the objective can be cleaned up, or would you just leave it as is?

[Marci]

I've got an EQ head that might be more complete than current one... however, more of my attention has been grabbed by yonder plantpot weatherstation!

[Vicky050373]

1 hour ago, Marci said:

I've got an EQ head that might be more complete than current one... however, more of my attention has been grabbed by yonder plantpot weatherstation!

I have ordered a Vixen 36.4mm to 1.25" adapter I'm hoping will do the trick to enable the use of 1.25" EPs etc. Once I've received that I can try the scope with my diagonal and EPs to see what the optics are like.

I can purchase a set of 76mm tube rings if necessary from 365Astronmy, however we may be able to somehow reuse the existing clamshell, although it is seized onto the rest of the EQ mount. It may be more successful just to bite the bullet and buy tube rings for £20, stick them on a Vixen dovetail bar (which I have a spare), and then I can bung the OTA on any existing mount/tripod.

Terry has already ditched the crazy long tripod and wooden box as my house did not have room to store them, and I declared that I would not reuse them.

Marc - regards to plantpot weather station - this is Terrys but the wind speed bit doesn't work since I sat on it whilst polar aligning one day and broke off one of the spinny-bits! Oops!! 

Back to the Prinz 660 OTA, I will bring to an upcoming meeting, or meet up with anyone who may be able to offer advise on whether or not to attempt cleaning. Some of the marks look like they are between the glass elements, and I'm inclined to leave well alone.

[Marci]

Is it just a 2 element crown & flint airspaced doublet?

[Vicky050373]

Just now, Marci said:

Is it just a 2 element crown & flint airspaced doublet?

Yup, as far as I can see, and from what I have read since doing a bit of research on this old classic. I can see the 3 metal tabs holding the objective in place.

[Vicky050373]

A quick progress update on the vintage Prinz 660 refractor.

She is now looking a right bobby-dazzler and a "proper" telescope in new tube rings and dovetail bar, so she can be mounted on my existing mount for further testing.

I am still awaiting delivery of the Vixen 36.4mm to 1.25" adapter which will hopefully allow the use of my better quality diagonal and EPs.

Although the finder scope and its mount are present and correct, the thread for the finder scope does seem to have worn somehow and it isn't gripping properly. Due to the specific shape of the shoe, and the fact that it is the original finder, I am hoping to get this sorted to enable it to be used properly. Maybe this is something we can look at together at an upcoming WADAS club meeting.

I have had the scope outside, and although it is cloudy and I could only bung the 0.965" 20mm EP straight into the drawtube (unfortunately, the original 0.965" star diagonal was missing), I have had a look at the buildings and lights around 2 miles away on the other side of the motorway towards Crigglestone. The signage on the building was clear and the branches of the trees lining the motorway were sharp. Hoping this bodes well for the quality of the optics.

Unfortunately I can do no further testing until I receive the  Vixen 36.4mm to 1.25" adapter, which may take a couple of weeks as I ordered a cheaper alternative which is winging it's way from China.