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Your biggest regret or mistake?

markclaire50

By markclaire50
in The Astro Lounge

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Rob

Rob

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Thanks to John there for his reply on the OO quality & range details ?. Personally I I love a Newtonian scope on a GEM. Granted I am 6ft 3in tall, which helps. The main issue at the time was the GP could not cope with the weight and length of that scope. If only I had a HEQ5 back then.

Some pics added. And I'm no imager!

My knowledge of the VX range is very limited to be fair.. Best Rob

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mikeDnight

mikeDnight

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50 minutes ago, Geoff Barnes said:

...and 105 and a half for me so pushing it a bit ! Then again, my grandmother reached nearly 103, so there's hope, though my eyes may be pretty shot by then !  ?

I'll be a youthful 100. Why does that make me feel better? 

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JeremyS

JeremyS

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5 hours ago, John said:

I first read about the 1999 total solar eclipse when I was a lad reading "The Observers Book of Astronomy". I made a mental note that I wanted to see that one. 40 years later I was in the right place (Marazion, Cornwall), at the right time but we were (mostly) clouded out !

That reminds me of one of my mistakes. I too had been looking forward to the 1999 eclipse ever since I was a boy. Now, in 1999 I was living in Dubai and I could easily have  hopped across the Gulf to watch it under guaranteed clear skies. Instead, I wanted to fulfill my dream and see it from the UK. So I took annual leave back here. I think you can guess the result......  ? 

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markclaire50

markclaire50

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5 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

I'll be a youthful 100. Why does that make me feel better? 

Perhaps between us, we'll be able to help each other set up one Scope. I'd do the heavy lifting as I'd only be nearly 97,and it wouldn't be fair on you guys otherwise! ?

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markclaire50

markclaire50

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1 hour ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I'll be a sprightly 87 yr old when it returns.

Knowing my luck, I'll pop my clogs the day before.

 

Ah, then I won't have to be the one to set up the scope at the halley party.. You will be the spring chicken! ? ?

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markclaire50

markclaire50

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5 hours ago, Rob said:

post-12654-133877405675_thumb.jpegpost-12654-133877406944_thumb.jpegpost-12654-133877406949_thumb.jpegpost-12654-133877387595_thumb.jpg

Thanks to John there for his reply on the OO quality & range details ?. Personally I I love a Newtonian scope on a GEM. Granted I am 6ft 3in tall, which helps. The main issue at the time was the GP could not cope with the weight and length of that scope. If only I had a HEQ5 back then.

Some pics added. And I'm no imager!

My knowledge of the VX range is very limited to be fair.. Best Rob

Hi Rob

So, what would be the largest newt you would place on the heq5? 12"F5???

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John

John

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1 hour ago, markclaire50 said:

Hi Rob

So, what would be the largest newt you would place on the heq5? 12"F5???

One thing I've noticed over the years is just how large a newtonian optical tube seems to be when it's on an equatorial mount. They seem much more compact when on dobsonian mounts.

 

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markclaire50

markclaire50

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39 minutes ago, John said:

One thing I've noticed over the years is just how large a newtonian optical tube seems to be when it's on an equatorial mount. They seem much more compact when on dobsonian mounts.

 

Hi John 

Yes. I can imagine. ?

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Geoff_L

Geoff_L

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On 05/03/2019 at 20:15, Ags said:

Putting a 150 Newt on an Explore Scientific Twilight I mount.

FWIW, I remember doing the same thing. IIRC, both of us tried to put a Skywatcher 150 PDS on that mount. Thankfully, I also have an EQ5 Synscan that works well with the 150 Newt. That said, putting a 150 Newt on an ES Twilight I is by no means my biggest mistake, for which ATM I have two candidates, both of which I can chalk up on my "Apprentice Astronomer" tallystick:

  1. When I first got the EQ5 Synscan, I first used it on 10th February 2017. I'm British, so I entered the date as "10/02/2017". When I tried to do a three-star alignment, I was offered Vega. I hit "Slew" and the mount slewed somewhere other than Vega. Checking Stellarium showed that Vega was below the horizon. I muttered something about contacting the dealer who sold the mount, cancelled the alignment routine and carried on observing using the arrow keys on the handset. It wasn't until the drive home that I realised I should have entered the date in US format.
  2. Last night we had almost perfect skies -- among the best in two years. We took our motorhome out to a campsite where the local astronomy group was holding a practical session. After brief visual observation, I made my excuses, returned to the motorhome and got the EQ5, an ST80 and my EOS450D out of the locker to set up for a few hours imaging. I'd levelled the tripod when it hit me that I'd forgotten to bring the counterweights. Due to weather and other circumstances, that's probably the only shot I'll get at the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades until Autumn wasted.
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AlexB67

AlexB67

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Soon after I got my Flextube Dobsonian, I took it out, but forgot to remove the lid from the lower part of the tube while it was cooling, it was so dark by then, I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting any views looking through the eyepiece. I'll just leave out the bit how long it took me to realise the fact  ?

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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On 08/03/2019 at 14:25, markclaire50 said:

Ah, then I won't have to be the one to set up the scope at the halley party.. You will be the spring chicken! ? ?

I was called middle-aged the other day by Lorna's sister-in-law. Im only 2 yrs older than her. 

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Ags

Ags

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On 09/03/2019 at 00:41, Geoff_L said:

When I first got the EQ5 Synscan, I first used it on 10th February 2017. I'm British, so I entered the date as "10/02/2017". When I tried to do a three-star alignment, I was offered Vega. I hit "Slew" and the mount slewed somewhere other than Vega.

That's why we have ISO8601: 2017-02-10.

Still waiting for a Goto mount that accepts stardates...

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