Outreach and airline portable kit for nighttime and solar

[Dr Strange]

I am a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador and do quite a bit of sidewalk astronomy outreach. Prior to the global mess we are in I was doing about 2-3 events per month. I am just starting up again. I went from the absurdly large kit using a EdgeHD 14 on a CGX that was difficult to deal with (see my other thread) I completely revamped my kit. I was tired of having to use a trolly and several firm grunts to cart everything around. I also wanted something I could take on an airplane without checking it. 

I decided the Takahashi FS-60Q was the best route to take. I started my research. During it I found Matthew Hodgson's review of the FS-60 (http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2016/04/03/takahashi-fs-60-review/) and the interesting things he had done with it. Including his creation of two scopes from one. I went the same route and took it a step further. I tell She Who Must Be Obeyed that my astronomy hobby keeps me out of the pub's so it is money well spent. She patiently smiles and nods as though she were dealing with very dim Border Collie...

In addition to the FS-60Q I bought the 76DCU,  a second Q module, a Lunt 60mm HA etalon and B600 blocking filter, a Lunt white light herschel wedge, two AZ-GTi mounts, the ADM Accessories Losmandy saddle, Nagler 3-6 zoom, 11mm, 17mm and 24 Panoptic EP's, ASI 553, ASI Air Pro, and misc other kit to round things out. The Lunt HA uses a adapter that fits in front of the 76DCU or 60. They are the same diameter so they are interchangeable.

This gives me a very flexible two scope outreach setup where I can have one scope doing EAA and the other for visual, Solar HA and white light, or two visual scopes for outreach. It also gave me a nice setup that I could take on an airplane as overhead/under the seat backpack as well as my roll on so I would never have to check bags.

The two scope setup gives me:

A 60mm f/5.9 355 mm focal length scope

With the Q attachment a f/10 600mm focal length scope

A 76mm f/7.5 570mm focal length scope

With the second Q attachment a 76mm f/12 900mm focal length scope

I also added a 2" Feathertouch focuser (FTF2015BCR-LW), Starlight Instruments Takahashi Adapter (A20-302) the FS-60CB tube (TSK06211) per Matthew's site's recommendations. All of the above fits in a camera backpack. So I am now able to carry my outreach kit on my back instead of lugging everything in a trolly. I like to visit the local Farmer's Market and ocean pier to do sidewalk outreach and having everything on my back makes things so much easier! I recently started back up on the outreach front and the system worked very well on the moon and Jupiter. I am only doing verified carefully controlled scheduled NASA/JPL events now like schools and libraries but as soon as the pandemic is finally over I will go back to the sidewalk stuff. On to the photos. I only had one AZ-GTi at the time I took the pictures but since I have put the second one in the bag and the tripod fits on the other side. It works very well and is very comfortable.

For airline travel I would slim things down by removing the 60mm setup. This will free up some space for toiletries and a change of clothes as a "just in case" emergency kit in case I have to check my roll on and the airline loses my luggage. Unfortunately this has happened before and I am now the wiser for it. 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Dr Strange
Added Lunt photo

[Nicola Fletcher]

Thanks for sharing your setup and photos - I love the idea of using the AZ-GTi with these scopes. I use my FC76-DCU with a Giro Ercole mini but can definitely see the advantage of a portable GoTo mount.

[Dr Strange]

49 minutes ago, Nicola Fletcher said:

Thanks for sharing your setup and photos - I love the idea of using the AZ-GTi with these scopes. I use my FC76-DCU with a Giro Ercole mini but can definitely see the advantage of a portable GoTo mount.

Cheers. 

The nice thing about the mount is there are built in encoders so if someone yanks on the scope (happens even after I repeat "please do not touch the telescope" and provide a step stool to use as a place to put your hands) it is a simple process to go back to the target. In addition you can slip the clutches and just swing the scope then reengage them and go back to GOTO plus it will track.

I am considering a StarSense for Skywatcher addition to the kit since it will now work and I have a HC from Skywatcher but am hesitant. My targets are usually the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn since they are the most recognizable objects for most people. Occasionally I will use M42 Orion nebula and M45 Pleiades or NGC 457 Dragonfly cluster as targets if planets aren't up.

The other nice thing is if I have one scope doing EAA and the crowd able to log in via their smartphones the AZ-GTi tracks and with total exposure stacks of under 30 seconds I don't need to use a EQ wedge. 

[Stu]

What a great setup @Dr Strange. I had an FS-60C and FC76DC for a while (together), both with FT focuser a so know something of what you are enjoying. Great to be doing a lot of outreach, with more to come when possible 👍👍

[Dr Strange]

Cheers Stu. 

On the subject of outreach I was just asked to help about 60 Girl Scouts get their Astronomy Badge this coming November. Should be fun...