It has to be said.........

[Doc]

I have banned the internet fromn the obs as its been responsible for most of my muck-ups...

Billy...

No Multi tasking for Billy.

My missus says that men cannot multitask.

I seem to agree

[Tim]

Great post Dave, and the wise voice of experience I'm afraid i'm still very much in the obsessed mode, and the recent shortage of clear nights just makes each dark hour even more precious. Spring is on its way and the nights are already noticeably shorter.

With all hobbies, I have always taken the view, that I do them to enjoy them. I wont play golf in the rain, I wont go shooting in the cold.

i guess thats in line with your view of;

"So, my view is go out and observe/image when you want to, and not because you feel that you have to, just because its clear."

but when it IS clear, then we DO want to go out, at least 90% of the time.

Bizarre as it seems, forcing oneself to stay awake for longer than is natural seems to provide its own reward, there is the pleasure at having accomplished something, and I find ultimately relaxing, do others find the same? Plus, secretly, i'm a little concerned that this might be just another passing 'phase', I know myself well enough to know I cant be relied upon to stick at something for years and years, so I figure, might as well make the most of the honeymoon period

I'd be interested to hear how others pass the hours. It's a completely different game to visual observation, I can see that if it was purely visual, it may prove difficult to stay out and focussed the whole night, how do you guys break the seesions up?

As an imager, a typical session goes like this;

twilight > midnight ish - get set up and once the kit is running, get either binos or Dob out and do a little visual. Usually look at the same type of thing, just to see if I can still find them. Sometimes I just lay on the ground looking up

Midnight > 3am - Still usually quite awake at this time, and use it for catching up on email, chatting in IRC etc.

3am > dawn - Around 3am I generally slew to a target that will enable me to leave the mount unwatched for longer periods. Check cables, check the forecast (satellite pic comes thru about 03:15) and if it looks ok, set the alarm for an hour or so, and grab some shut-eye, napping on the sofa. Can usually cope with most things with about 3 hrs kip.

If i'm awake enough after this, and if the sky is lightening, I will do a run of flats, but I think it may be better to do the flats before the main sequence, that way if it gets cut short you still get to have them exactly as the image has them.

How about you guys?

One thing that does stand out from the comments, is the difference a dark sky makes. Those of you with regular dark skies seem very much more chilled about the whole deal. But for those of us that live in very urban areas, the trip to a dark sky site perhaps seems all the more precious.

Anybody managing anything worthwhile tonight?

[Tiny]

I did see some stars tonight but they were pulling trains on a Ian Allen train DVD.

[Ant]

Had everything set up at around 5, letting the scopes cool etc ready for the evening.

Looked out at around 6 to total cloud.and rather menacing looking cloud at that! Checked the forcast and one says snow, the other just cloud till sometime between 12 and 3am

So I packed everything back up again!

Ant

[Kai]

The same here Ant

The only exception is that i have left the Dob outside so i can grab quick peeks.

Just looked at Saturn , very low at the moment but still brings a smile

[kniclander]

....but when I am out I wouldn't be online cos I'd be looking at the sky not at a screen.

a fair enough comment, I suppose I have kind of gotten used to waiting 5 mins for the picture to appear, but then being able so see mag 17 objects right there on screen. Im saving up for an 8m mirror so that I can do the same visually.....

...but are you looking at an m17 object or a picture of an m17 object on your screen? I can look at pics of m17 on my screen and I don't need a scope at all. I guess I just like the live view.

got to go now to saddle my horse, ride down to the well and draw some water...

cloudy here tonight

[SteveL]

Best comment I have heard so far, from somebody who shall remain nameless, in response to the question "Are you out tonight?" came back a clear and concise retort;

"Nope, I'm drunk."

I wonder who that was... :oops:

[Greg]

I set up at 5pm then sorted everything out here....had to take the 4x4 back up the lane as the forecast is grim for tomorrow...Made sure my new best friend "Sam Spade" Was in the boot..

Set up the ED80 and canon for some lunar pics and within 10 mins the whole setup was covered in dew..then frost and the trip blew! I need some dew heaters for the ED80 and camera..

I've given up... :crybaby:

Bottle of red..

[Tiny]

Sam spade - I read the other day back in the 50s in places like Salisbury plain locals took spades, jacks, ropes with thoseblocks that multiplied effort, food, drink - including flasks of hot ones plus - a bale of hay - used to stop wheels slipping.

Still - good try - well beyond the call of duty.

[bazza]

I echo what Dave said in his post.

I would love to be out every clear night but some things in life must come first:

ie. Children, Work (puts the roof over our heads!) and as last night - my health....bad cold!!

It's important to keep my hobby of astrophotography in perspective - but it's entirely that, a hobby.

Barring the odd asteroid, the object will come around again!

By the way, I do go out when the moon is full sometimes, it's a great oppurtunity to get 'v-curves' for Focusmax and to check out any upgrades, I may have carried out.

I wouldn't want it to turn into an obsession. I haven't got the time anyway for an obsession!

Barry.

PS:( Do you think that's how the famous 'Dob's' got their name - 'Obsession'?

[SteveL]

PS:( Do you think that's how the famous 'Dob's' got their name - 'Obsession'?

It sounds better than "second mortgage" dobs...

[almach]

I got out for a coupe of hours 9->11. The conditions made seeing most of my targets difficult, but got some good views of Saturn and Struve 761. Eventually I lost the feeling in my feet despite wearing 2 pairs of socks and I retired indoors to have a few beers.

[Tim]

....but when I am out I wouldn't be online cos I'd be looking at the sky not at a screen.

a fair enough comment, I suppose I have kind of gotten used to waiting 5 mins for the picture to appear, but then being able so see mag 17 objects right there on screen. Im saving up for an 8m mirror so that I can do the same visually.....

...but are you looking at an m17 object or a picture of an m17 object on your screen? I can look at pics of m17 on my screen and I don't need a scope at all. I guess I just like the live view.

got to go now to saddle my horse, ride down to the well and draw some water...

cloudy here tonight

You should get one of them new fangled wells in the front garden, either that or move to Wales and the water comes to you....

It's a fair point, nay, a good one. I wish I could get a little more excited by the visual side, but my skies put paid to that. Even with a 12" dob its tough. So I get my kicks from taking MY pictures of things I have seen online or in the books. Then when reviewing them, (astro folder is on screen saver) the memories of that particular night come flooding back, and the challenges surmounted to getting a particular picture are re-lived. This way, I find I am developing a very personal and almost intimate relationship with the universe and the DSO's that surround us. Certain stars stand out for special treatment, some areas of nebulosity reveal patterns that remind you of people or things you know, it's a very personal thing.

Isn't it great that we are all surrounded by exactly the same sky, and yet we all find different ways of enjoying it. Long may that continue!

Cheers

TJ

[James]

...but are you looking at an m17 object or a picture of an m17 object on your screen? I can look at pics of m17 on my screen and I don't need a scope at all. I guess I just like the live view.

I must admit prior to my starting to dabble in the dark side I used to feel that imagers were just looking at pictures on a screen and not the real thing. However, when I was doing a Frame and Focus in Nebulosity and I twitched slightly and it showed up on screen as a jiggle in the stars visible I decided I was looking at 'real lfe' even if it was through a screen

I also learned quickly to not sit with my chair leg in contact with my tripod legs

James

[Tim]

The cameras with the exview HAD chips are extremely sensitive. Although I only use that for guiding, it regularly shows up very small fuzzy objects on screen next to stars. Its in mono, but is about as close as it gets to live viewing of the DSOs for me. I believe there is something that will give you a live view, is it the minitron or something?

I also have a live view eyepiece from Meade that will put an image onto a TV. Havent tried that yet.

One thing, Saturn, Jupiter, moon etc are all WAAAAAY better with the naked eye, nothing beats the thrill of those.

[kniclander]

TJ, James et al,

I have to admit that sometimes, alone in a dark room my thoughts, nay fantasies, turn to faint fuzzies on a screen ... but at the moment lack of time (two 4 year old kids ) and equipment (and technical incompetence) mean it aint happening in real life.... :?

so I guess part of the reason I knock it (albeit ever so gently) is cos I can't do it myself (hey, I never said I wasn't childish ).

I even admit to taking a sneaky peek at some of the images posted (when no-one's around) and I don't feel too dirty afterwards.

so good luck and enjoy and clear dark skies to you

ps - now just supposing I did want to see a real time image on my laptop....

oh stop it!!

no, just supposing.........

nasty nasty imaging

no!! lovely bright pictures and kit, lots of kit.....

[Tim]

I knew it! I just knew it!

If you ever have a "shy friend" who would like to have a go, but needs advice.... he'll know where to come right?

[FLO]

Great thread TJ