Getting back in the saddle, with a Moonlit 8” f8

[Alan White]

@Stu With how the weather has been, world and uk issues and your now driving west to east each week,
we’ll your mojo struggling is very understandable. 

I think @F15Rules described a similar outcome for some of the same reason for him and many of us all.

A rest and recharge of the Astro enthusiasm is part of the hobby as far as I am concerned,
makes the jump back in in Mid August all the better.

Nice car, a bit brightly coloured for my taste though, looks like fun and I can see why you had a return to an old hobby now.

 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Interesting read Stu. I have started to observe again after 5 months and your report makes me want to get out.

Of course I have sold quite a bit of kit but I still have the eyepieces and the 6" Newt. So with the darker nights starting again in August I will try and get out.

 love the scope and the Moonlite. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Piero said:

Great report, Stu, and happy to read that the Moonlite CR2 works well!

It happens to lose a bit of motivation in this hobby. It is not like reading a book on the sofa! It's a rather tough hobby, outside, often in damp conditions, in the night, equipment to lift, etc.. as you said though, the sky has unique wonders to show. To me, this and the direct interaction with nature are driving forces, which take me out when I can and feel like.

I work mostly remotely and will hopefully continue doing so. That said, work has been literally crazy since Dec 2021, due to a tender (which was won, but forced me to work insane hours). In my free time, I bought a new house and moved into just a week ago. Finally, over the past few months I redesigned my 12" f6 whenever I had some spare time too. Despite all of this, my biggest problem is and remains insomnia, which does not allow me to recharge properly..

Anyway, I only wanted to say that it happens to be busy and exhausted, but the sky is (and will still be) there, waiting for people like us.

 

Regarding whether installing the focuser to the left or right in a Newtonian telescope, it's a personal preference.

In my 16" and 12" dobs, the focuser was installed to the left when the telescope points to the South. The reasons are:

1) I prefer to pull the telescope towards me, rather than push it away. (It is also safer with the 12" as I need a step to observe near the zenith with that telescope).

2) I'm right hand and I use that hand to move the telescope. 

3) I'm left eye and find it easier to move my head between focuser and finder, as well as turn my head to the Telrad/Rigel.

My skywatcher 8" dob has the focuser on the other side instead. It's okay, of course, but I just find it easier when it is to the left.

Thanks Piero, interesting stuff. It certainly isn’t a hobby for the weak willed that’s for sure!

It’s interesting, I think my scopes are a mixture of push and pull because they are whatever they are when I acquired them. I’m sure it would focus my mind more if I needed to be in a step in the dark! Thanks for the input, I’ll have a think and then maybe have a play around with different setups 👍

The Moonlight is ideal actually! I was toying with putting a Feathertouch on it, and actually had a spare focuser but getting the various adaptors needed to fit it just got too much hassle. The extra spacers on the Moonlite put it at the perfect distance, and the focus knob is nicely clear of the scope so easy to access.

[niallk]

Nice report @Stu!

I haven't been out in >6 months meself... run ragged with work, family plus my unwell elderly mother.

I also totalled my alt encoder (😖) but replaced and have a bodged soldering job working - need to sort it robustly for cable strain relief though.

Itching to get back out there now tbh - as darkness returns during August and the late summer DSO treats near Sagittarius become possibilities 😀 

Edited July 31, 2022 by niallk

[UKDiver]

I've got to an age that such a commute would have me dead on my feet by the end of the week, if not the road. I used to commute Dartford to Hampton, then Reading every day which led to me changing job and location completely. How you do it every week I don't know. I can understand whey getting a scope out late might not appeal currently.

Give my regards to Dartford please Stu. I only seem to go there now for funerals.

[badhex]

On 30/07/2022 at 13:41, Stu said:

Sorry about the title, best I could think of.

I’ve been struggling with my Astro mojo over recent months; weather, exhaustion and being busy with work and just daily life all contributing. I’ve certainly not lost the love of the skies, in fact on Wednesday morning leaving the house at 4.30am, I was greeted by beautiful Jupiter shining brightly, and also spotted Mars. Driving East up towards London, I then got lovely views of a very thin crescent Moon and Venus hanging in the sky to keep me company until it got too bright to see them sometime after 5.15am I think.

Somewhat inspired by this, I finally got around to fitting the Moonlite I bought from @Piero complete with 8” fitting kit and spacers. I was hoping that it would eliminate the need for an extension tube and so it proved. This scope had previously had a quite decent single speed focuser but adding the dual speed was something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, just to be able to nail focus more easily, and have a lighter touch on the scope as it is prone to vibrations. I did a quick collimation with Concentre then laser. It may not be perfect but it is pretty close. Will refine it next time.

The sky looked reasonably clear, although transparency was variable with a few patches a thin cloud around. I just picked a few obvious targets, not wanting anything too tricky to find to allow me to get back in the saddle.

First up I just centred on Vega. Actually finding things was a little tricky because I had removed the TelRad to fit the focuser and hadn’t put it back on again. It was a case of eyeballing along the tube then panning around through the finder to get on target. I used the 31mm Nagler as a finder/low power, Leica Zoom as mid range and then Pentax 10mm XW as my highest for the night, x160. Collimation  looked good on Vega, so I tried the Double Double next. It wasn’t the cleanest of splits, showing the seeing wasn’t the best but there nonetheless at around x150 in the Leica Zoom.

M57 at similar powers was nice and clear even without a filter, although shielding my eyes from local glare really helped the contrast. I tried a towel over the head but things started to mist up fairly quickly due to the humidity.

The Veil was next, and I struggled to find it at first. Deliberate mistake number one, I was looking at Epsilon Cygni, not 52 🤪🤪. Once on the right star, there was the Witch’s Broom. Not the best view I’ve had by any means but it was clear enough. No sign of Pickering’s Triangle, but panning across gave me the Eastern Veil, complete with the two ‘hooks’ at the end. Again, a little muted but nice to see. I actually think my primary needs a good clean, having been sitting out in the garage for a while.

M71 seemed a good option to try, and with the 31mm looked like a barely resolved glob. Popping the 10mm Pentax in resolved it beautifully, nice one.

M11 was another excellent one, particularly at higher power. I find it really justifies its ‘Wild Duck Cluster’ name when viewed like this, with the V shaped strings of stars and also dark lanes showing up really well.

A scan around the sky showed Hercules really well positioned, although I had to move the scope a few metres to avoid a tree. Found it ok as a faint blob in the finder, it was fabulous in the zoom and also the 10mm. It resolved deep into the core, really sparkling with averted vision and the propeller showed up quite clearly too.

That was pretty much it, I tried Pi Aquilae which did split although somewhat untidily, but Zeta Herc was a fail, even with the 3.5mm in. The seeing was pretty poor although I was setup on the terrace near the house to that likely made things a lot worse.

So, a long report for a very ordinary session, but I’m really pleased with the Moonlite, and it was just good to be out there again. I really need to get the 16” down to the darker skies on the coast for a proper go at the Veil soon 👍.

Nice report @Stu, thanks for sharing. Glad to hear you're back on the horse! I was in a similar funk with observing a while ago, and I found same as you, sometimes a little change of observing gear or a new toy helps to reignite the flame. In my case getting out a hefty tripod (2" steel tube) and mount (Skytee-2) and dragging it up two flights of stairs was definitely not helping and as mentioned elsewhere the Gitzo + mount zero combo has made a huge difference to motivation. 

Thanks again for the great writeup! 

[Stu]

17 hours ago, UKDiver said:

I've got to an age that such a commute would have me dead on my feet by the end of the week, if not the road. I used to commute Dartford to Hampton, then Reading every day which led to me changing job and location completely. How you do it every week I don't know. I can understand whey getting a scope out late might not appeal currently.

Give my regards to Dartford please Stu. I only seem to go there now for funerals.

I bet Dartford to Hampton was a slog. One benefit of my trip is that I’m going against the traffic most of the time. The M25 flows quite nicely normally but looks like a car park going the other way. I do feel pretty spent  on Thursday night/Friday I must admit.

[JeremyS]

On 31/07/2022 at 15:21, UKDiver said:

I've got to an age that such a commute would have me dead on my feet by the end of the week, if not the road. I used to commute Dartford to Hampton, then Reading every day which led to me changing job and location completely. How you do it every week I don't know. I can understand whey getting a scope out late might not appeal currently.

Give my regards to Dartford please Stu. I only seem to go there now for funerals.

Well, if I moved to Exeter, I fear my daily commute would be to FLO with an empty boot on the outward legs and full on the return 😊

[UKDiver]

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Well, if I moved to Exeter, I fear my daily commute would be to FLO with an empty boot on the outward legs and full on the return 😊

Unfortunately I've had to pay postage as they were closed for much of the COVID period. I've not seen the inside yet.

 

[JeremyS]

10 minutes ago, UKDiver said:

Unfortunately I've had to pay postage as they were closed for much of the COVID period. I've not seen the inside yet.

 

Aladdin’s cave by all accounts 😊👍🏻

[HollyHound]

Lovely report @Stu and good to hear you're getting back into astronomy again, after a bit of a lull 😀

I'm in a similar situation with work being super busy and with lots of overseas travel (in a good way fortunately)... it's meant I've only been able to do short(er) grab and go sessions for the last few months... no worries, it will all calm again in time for Autumn/Winter 🤞