Observing site frustrations.

[Franklin]

Throughout the whole of the pandemic I have been living in a 3rd storey flat which does have a south facing balcony, but I have had a very limited viewing window on the sky for some time and it's been impossible to use any of my lovely refractors other than the little Vixen A62ss grab and go. This has all been very frustrating and me and my partner have been looking to move somewhere more suitable.

Finally I think I have found the right place and am all set to move next week. It will soon be time to dust off my scopes and give them some starlight. I'm so excited, here's the view of the garden from my, soon to be upstairs window, facing south, overlooking farmland. 😃

 

[Varavall]

 

10 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Throughout the whole of the pandemic I have been living in a 3rd storey flat which does have a south facing balcony, but I have had a very limited viewing window on the sky for some time and it's been impossible to use any of my lovely refractors other than the little Vixen A62ss grab and go. This has all been very frustrating and me and my partner have been looking to move somewhere more suitable.

Finally I think I have found the right place and am all set to move next week. It will soon be time to dust off my scopes and give them some starlight. I'm so excited, here's the view of the garden from my, soon to be upstairs window, facing south, overlooking farmland. 😃

 

Looks a nice flat site to build a housing estate 🤣

[mikeDnight]

That certainly looks like a very nice site to observe from. Hopefully your neighbours won't have insecurity lights. A nice pier at the top of that garden path would be my first project. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by mikeDnight

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

10 minutes ago, Varavall said:

 

Looks a nice flat site to build a housing estate 🤣

Yes, and Franklin before you move, have you been there at night to check there isn't a mile away a massive warehouse depot lighting up the sky with huge floodlights? 😁

[Franklin]

3 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

have you been there at night

I have indeed and, compared to the orange glow of Sheffield skies, its like the black hole of Calcutta! Both neighbours are elderly ladies, one has a light at the side of her house but none around the back. So i'm pretty thrilled to have found this, Sheffield and it's glow to the north but just Derbyshire countryside to the south. I think I sense a ROR project in the near future 😀.

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

I have indeed and, compared to the orange glow of Sheffield skies, its like the black hole of Calcutta! Both neighbours are elderly ladies, one has a light at the side of her house but none around the back. So i'm pretty thrilled to have found this, Sheffield and it's glow to the north but just Derbyshire countryside to the south. I think I sense a ROR project in the near future 😀.

That sounds fantastic! It might be an idea to let your neighbours know about your hobby then you dont get arrested. May be invite them round on a mild spring evening for a coffee and a look at the Moon through your telescope. 

[Franklin]

21 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

It might be an idea to let your neighbours know about your hobby then you dont get arrested

Yes, I'll win them over ok. I'm a self-employed landscape gardener so it won't be long before I'm cutting their grass for mates rates!

[RobertI]

Looks like a wonderful observing site, something to really get excited about. Keep us posted! 

[Franklin]

Finally moved in and had a chance for a mini session in my new garden with the Vixen SD81s on a porta II mount. The sky is noticably darker than my previous spot and very quiet with the field at the back. 45mins of gaps in the clouds but managed to get some nice views of M42, M35, M41 and M44 and also some of Orion's double stars.

Very impressed with the SD81s, it's so light and I have the A80m to compare it with. I love the Vixen 3" achro but I don't think it will get used much now, it may be in the classifieds soon. I also briefly tried out a few LVs that I picked up from a fellow SGL member and sure enough they performed as expected. Clear, crisp and aberation free.

Although it was just a quicky I came away with the impression that my view had improved, which was probably a combination of the new, darker site, a Vixen ED scope and some nice lanthanum eyepieces. Looking forward to spending more time out under the stars and hopefully not annoying my new neighbours too much. 

[jjohnson3803]

On 07/03/2022 at 16:37, Franklin said:

Looking forward to spending more time out under the stars and hopefully not annoying my new neighbours too much. 

You might want to invest in an observing tent - not as a light block, but to shield your activities from neighbors until you build a permanent obsy.   I'd wager you could resell it pretty easily later.

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by jjohnson3803

[Franklin]

I've got a camping shower tent, like a bigger version of a toilet tent, that's the answer I think and if the neighbour makes any more comments I will tell him that it's there for "just in case I need a plop whilst mowing the lawn!"🤣