Hello from Sweden

[cajen2]

You'd need a stable stool, chair or table to stand it on. Some people put the scope in a box, carry it to the observing site in the box and then stand it on the box to observe! You'd need a box that doesn't flex at all, though. Personally, I use a three-legged stool which is very stable.

[cajen2]

Oh, and the scopes have a dovetail which can be used with a photo tripod if you prefer.

[SwiMatt]

Thanks for the precious advice, @cajen2! I will for sure keep it in mind when the moment comes 😁

[wookie1965]

A warm welcome to SGL. 

[SwiMatt]

On 24/05/2023 at 17:28, cajen2 said:

You can split the difference between large aperture and portability with something like a Skywatcher Heritage 130p or 150p. I have the latter and I can carry it around with one hand and yet you can see plenty with it. A 6" aperture allows you to see plenty of double stars, planets and the brighter DSOs, especially if you travel to a dark site.

A question, before I get any more enamored of the Heritage 130/150p

Is the Heritage still worth it if I will need to get a mount to use it (thus driving the price up)? Not saying that I won't use the Dobson mount ever, but much of the time I expect to be walking away from home for anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes in order to use it (as mentioned: a ton of artificial lights around home). I know I can carry the weight, and the size seems ideal for putting it in a backpack, but it would be hard to carry a support stool or a box with me. Unless you have suggestions for easy-to-carry furniture to use as base?

At this point, this is my only fear concerning the Heritage, you people sell it so well, you should consider asking SkyWatcher a cut of the money

(PS: asking here so to not open a new thread for such a basic question)

[Guest]

On 24/05/2023 at 06:35, SwiMatt said:

They told me astronomy was gonna be expensive, but not "4x4-truck expensive" 🤣

Well to be honest i had the truck before the scope, but the OTA of the 10 inch easily fits in the back seat and the base rides in the bed just fine 

[Guest]

On 24/05/2023 at 14:44, cajen2 said:

You'd need a stable stool, chair or table to stand it on. Some people put the scope in a box, carry it to the observing site in the box and then stand it on the box to observe! You'd need a box that doesn't flex at all, though. Personally, I use a three-legged stool which is very stable.

He is going to need a cart to haul all this stuff lol 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SwiMatt said:

A question, before I get any more enamored of the Heritage 130/150p

Is the Heritage still worth it if I will need to get a mount to use it (thus driving the price up)? Not saying that I won't use the Dobson mount ever, but much of the time I expect to be walking away from home for anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes in order to use it (as mentioned: a ton of artificial lights around home). I know I can carry the weight, and the size seems ideal for putting it in a backpack, but it would be hard to carry a support stool or a box with me. Unless you have suggestions for easy-to-carry furniture to use as base?

At this point, this is my only fear concerning the Heritage, you people sell it so well, you should consider asking SkyWatcher a cut of the money

(PS: asking here so to not open a new thread for such a basic question)

Maybe add a cart to the kist to transport everything lol

[SwiMatt]

7 minutes ago, Mike Q said:

He is going to need a cart to haul all this stuff lol 

To be fair, he did say "a stable stool, chair OR a table" 🤣

Unfortunately astronomy seems quite tough for those of us who live in heavily packed residential neighborhoods I wish I had a private backyard to at least screen *some* street lights...

[wimvb]

If you don’t have a car and need to walk or use public transport, I’d strongly recommend to start with a refractor and an alt-az mount with tripod that fit in a back pack. But do visit a local club to see what can work for you.

[josefk]

On 24/05/2023 at 17:19, SwiMatt said:

What kind of mount would that require for visual use? I'm asking because I'm concerned with weight: to me portability will probably mean more than just taking it downstairs to the backyard. Where I am, the only place that has no street lights that I could find for comfortable observation takes a 20 minutes walk to reach.

i have only a five minute walk to my grab n go location and i regularly make that walk - from that experience i would strongly suggest you do a practise run or two to your local site carrying a dummy of the weight you are contemplating in kit. I grossly misjudged how much weight i thought i would be happy carrying a few hundred meters and have reverted to very light GnG kit (small refractor, carbon tripod, video fluid 'alt/az' head) in the meanwhile while i have a rethink about what is really manageable really easily...

Avoiding the need to carry a mount and tripod altogether and aiming for an eyepiece height that needs only a tiny stool to sit at comfortably  is worth putting thought into unless you can load up some kind of hand cart or sack truck as @Mike Q suggests above.

Edited May 31, 2023 by josefk

[SwiMatt]

4 hours ago, josefk said:

i have only a five minute walk to my grab n go location and i regularly make that walk - from that experience i would strongly suggest you do a practise run or two to your local site carrying a dummy of the weight you are contemplating in kit. I grossly misjudged how much weight i thought i would be happy carrying a few hundred meters and have reverted to very light GnG kit (small refractor, carbon tripod, video fluid 'alt/az' head) in the meanwhile while i have a rethink about what is really manageable really easily...

Avoiding the need to carry a mount and tripod altogether and aiming for an eyepiece height that needs only a tiny stool to sit at comfortably  is worth putting thought into unless you can load up some kind of hand cart or sack truck as @Mike Q suggests above.

In all this, the mount seems to be the harder thing to find, judging from reports I'm reading around. Especially if one is looking for an alt-az, I'm having difficulties to find something that I know I can carry comfortably, that fits (with or without bag) on my back or on a shoulder, yet sturdy enough to carry a telescope of good size. I cannot yet afford to have a home setup and a GnG setup - and my home has no suitable place nearby to observe.

I really would love a 6" reflector but I'm starting to think I might need something different. But I also plan on joining my local club before I buy a scope so I get to check out the real stuff.

[Voxish]

Hej, hur mar du?.

[SwiMatt]

15 minutes ago, Voxish said:

Hej, hur mar du?.

Hahah jag mår bra, although my Swedish is quite bad unfortunately 🤣 (and also, I don't want the moderators to ban us for writing in other languages than English )

[wimvb]

2 hours ago, SwiMatt said:

I really would love a 6" reflector but I'm starting to think I might need something different.

I don't do much visual astronomy. But my guess is that a small refractor (80 mm) at a dark site will give you more joy than a larger (150 mm/6") reflector at a light polluted site. The best telescope is not necessarily the largest, but the one you enjoy using, and use more.

 

[SwiMatt]

9 hours ago, wimvb said:

I don't do much visual astronomy. But my guess is that a small refractor (80 mm) at a dark site will give you more joy than a larger (150 mm/6") reflector at a light polluted site. The best telescope is not necessarily the largest, but the one you enjoy using, and use more.

 

Especially if you consider that at this stage for me, any aperture will be a big jump from what I'm seeing with binoculars

[The Lapwing]

On 24/05/2023 at 16:09, wimvb said:

Välkommen till SGL.

Absolut

[SwiMatt]

1 hour ago, The Lapwing said:

Absolut

So there IS astronomical presence in Sweden. And here I thought there was too much light for that 🤣

[The Lapwing]

On 24/05/2023 at 16:09, wimvb said:

Välkommen till SGL.

I think there was someone from a Observatory in Sweden, or had access to one in here recently, I forget. Could even have been in the other channel...

[wimvb]

1 hour ago, The Lapwing said:

I think there was someone from a Observatory in Sweden, or had access to one in here recently, I forget. Could even have been in the other channel...

Not me. Although I do have my own little observatory.

[jfrijhoff]

Välkomna hit! I experienced the Swedish no-dark summers from Stockholm for 7 years. On the flip side, plenty of time to image in Winter 😉

[wimvb]

1 hour ago, jfrijhoff said:

On the flip side, plenty of time to image in Winter

Unfortunately, Sweden gets most of its clear nights during spring. In my neck of the woods, we've had mostly clear nights since astro darkness ended, with maybe just a handfull exceptions. In the last few years, weather patterns have shifted. The clear nights we usually enjoy during winter and early spring, this year didn't materialise until March/April, making for a very short galaxy season. During winter, nights can be very cold and "crisp", with low humidity and excellent transparency and seeing. But last winter most clear nights were mild with higher than usual humidity, giving below average transparency, but good seeing.

[SwiMatt]

...I guess it will soon be time to move again 

[Elbasso]

Hi from København 

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire  🙂