conjunction Venus & Pleiades conjunction plus Hyades

[mikeyscope]

Just a quick cropped image of the Venus/Pleiades conjunction with Hyades looking on by moonlight from last night.

Pentax K5 / Pentax 12-24mm lens / 1.4x rear converter / Exp. 30secs @f10 / iso 500

Ioptron tracker at siderial.

[Physopto]

Hi Mike,

 Nice shot as usual from you.

Haven't heard from you for quite a while so, hope you and Elise are both well.

Derek

[Scooot]

That’s a great image.  

[mikeyscope]

Derek & Richard

Thank you for kind feedback, lucky to get a short break in the clouds before we were hit with a heavy shower.

 

Derek, well we took a few knocks since we last saw you, just hit with one thing after another which kind of killed my enthusiasm for anything including imaging & astronomy, I guess we all go through times like that but otherwise all fine thank you.

Scope been sitting under a dust sheet past couple of years but I recently bought a HSM (motor focuser) from Starlight Instruments and waiting 3 Astrodon filters on backorder.

Hopefully get back up to speed later in the year, just difficult to plan ahead for any starcamps at moment apart from current situation.

Hope yourself and Annette are well too!

 

Mike

 

[Physopto]

I always like to see your images Mike. Just wish mine were as well done. We will have to see how it goes with all these blasted satellites going into orbit.

Like you, my scopes were basically unused for about 3 years until the last Autumn star camp in Galloway.  I have some flats done there, but on the wrong computer at present. So can't work on my last lot of pics. The starlight focusers are great,  I don't think you will regret buying one of theirs, I have two one for the WO 132 and the other for my Tak 85.

Examine your Astrodons carefully. My first ones had some of the black resin on the filter faces. I could not shift it as directed with cleaner, Isopropyl Alchohol or Baader fluid. I had to return one. After an email to Don at Astrodon, I was given an excuse that the filter was fabricated by hand in the outer metal ring (only the narrow band ones). But to be fair to Don, he did say the method was to be automated by the next year. So it should not happen again. Still at £400 per filter not acceptable, and should never have  passed inspection.

Your 150 is far to nice to leave under a dust sheet 🙀  😁

Derek