What did the postman bring? V2

[bosun21]

31 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Light pad?

For taking flats 

[cajen2]

3 hours ago, badhex said:

Bumper day for me! A couple of sales of bits I don't need (thanks @Mr Spock and @adyj1) plus refund for a couple of truly dreadful rail journeys (thanks EMR) have allowed me the purchase of a lovely new StellaLyra 30mm UFF to add to my burgeoning low power EP collection (24mm, 30mm, 35mm, 40mm, 41mm) 😂

You'll like that, BH. I have the Celestron clone of it (Ultima Edge) and it's a fine EP for the price.

[cajen2]

Grrr, sorry, double post.

[badhex]

56 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

You'll like that, BH. I have the Celestron clone of it (Ultima Edge) and it's a fine EP for the price.

Yes indeed, cheers! I have the APM 24mm and the 30mm has been on my list for some time. I seem to collect low power EPs at this point. Maybe I should sell my Aero ED 35mm as I rarely use it. 

[badhex]

1 hour ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Ooooh, what is it about a lovely bit of coated green glass?

I don't know but it is very attractive. We're getting rather into lickable glass territory as @JeremyS would have it! 

[badhex]

4 hours ago, John said:

8mm of ER, according to Baader.

 

Cheers @John, I noticed the ER was listed on the spec sheet from Baader too, I guess in practice I'll have to see if it works out. I was thinking about our conversation on another thread about comfort at the eyepiece, and one thing I've always disliked about the BCO is the silly eyecup flap which shields you from nothing! 

[bosun21]

9 hours ago, badhex said:

I don't know but it is very attractive. We're getting rather into lickable glass territory as @JeremyS would have it! 

It's the purple/magenta glass that works for me.

[uhb1966]

On 09/11/2023 at 16:33, Paul M said:

I'll keep it in the box! 😁

But seriously, I'm hoping for it to be low maintenance as it will, hopefully, be sited 70 miles away from home in Rural Cumbria. Providing that dew isn't a problem, the dome will reach an equilibrium of everyday grime and the odd bird poop. Copious rain will do the cleaning and I guess the dome will eventually tarnish and weather to the point of needing a replacement.

I have been thinking about some sort of protection film being slowly moved across the dome... like they had in the formula one cameras

[Ouroboros]

A 30cm dew strap from W&W Astro just arrived in the post for my new Askar FRA300.  All tested and working.

Unfortunately it came with clouds. I’m sure the forecast for tonight was clear. No longer it ain’t! Sorry.

[Ratlet]

Not the postman, but my brother who delivered a cabinet which he thought might be useful.  I was expecting something about waist high but I got... This:

Absolute beast (shy 10" dob for scale).  My racking that was there could split in half and get bolted on top so now I have somewhere to keep my tripod legs and obsy chair and somewhere that locks to keep my mount and imaging rig.

Freed up a lot of space in the shed that did, which was handy because to posty did arrive a bit later with a DeWalt table saw.

[Mr Spock]

Something I've waited a long time for!

And now my collection is complete 

 

[doublevodka]

3 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

And now my collection is complete 

I thought eyepiece collections were ever-evolving... 😂

Now you need to get some shadow foam to make it look pretty in the case  https://www.shadowfoam.com/

[Space Oddities]

Something I've wanted to try for a long time, since I looked into a solar telescope during a star party  

I couldn't find any in EU shops, but @FLO had a few in stocks and cheaper than EU prices, after adding VAT and various customs fees. Purchased on Monday, arrived on Tuesday... Thanks FLO!  

Funny enough, the box didn't contain clouds, but sunlight. Which is pretty amazing since we've had so much clouds and rain these pas couple months... I feel I haven't seen sunlight for a while now.

Perfect timing, so I had a chance to test the Quark this morning at sunrise. I didn't even have to go outside, since my windows are facing east. I repurposed my old 72mm doublet refractor specifically for solar viewing (figured a Quark is cheaper than a 72mm solar telescope, and more versatile), and the view was really nice! I used the Baader 8-24 zoom, the whole disk barely fits at 24mm. I could see some nice protuberances and a couple sun spots. I tried a photo of those protuberances with my phone, it's quite ugly, but a good souvenir of my Quark's first light!

I'll try my 120mm StraTravel another day, to have a better look at those protuberances. And of course, try out some solar imaging at some point, with the handy T2 adapter, also courtesy of FLO  

Now, all I need are some binoviewers... 

[Franklin]

20 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Something I've waited a long time for!

At last, hooray!

[Mr Spock]

It looks happy in its rightful place 

[uhb1966]

On 15/11/2023 at 10:16, Space Oddities said:

Something I've wanted to try for a long time, since I looked into a solar telescope during a star party  

I couldn't find any in EU shops, but @FLO had a few in stocks and cheaper than EU prices, after adding VAT and various customs fees. Purchased on Monday, arrived on Tuesday... Thanks FLO!  

Funny enough, the box didn't contain clouds, but sunlight. Which is pretty amazing since we've had so much clouds and rain these pas couple months... I feel I haven't seen sunlight for a while now.

Perfect timing, so I had a chance to test the Quark this morning at sunrise. I didn't even have to go outside, since my windows are facing east. I repurposed my old 72mm doublet refractor specifically for solar viewing (figured a Quark is cheaper than a 72mm solar telescope, and more versatile), and the view was really nice! I used the Baader 8-24 zoom, the whole disk barely fits at 24mm. I could see some nice protuberances and a couple sun spots. I tried a photo of those protuberances with my phone, it's quite ugly, but a good souvenir of my Quark's first light!

I'll try my 120mm StraTravel another day, to have a better look at those protuberances. And of course, try out some solar imaging at some point, with the handy T2 adapter, also courtesy of FLO  

Now, all I need are some binoviewers... 

Daystar Instruments QUARK - H-Alpha ? Wow. Pretty expensive hardware... have lots of fun 👍🏻

[Franklin]

On 15/11/2023 at 09:16, Space Oddities said:

Something I've wanted to try for a long time, since I looked into a solar telescope during a star party

I got a Quark Chromo earlier this year and it's been very impressive. When you've had a chance to play around with it, you'll have to post your findings on what you think is the best setting. The instructions say to start in the middle at 12 o'clock but with mine I find 2 o'clock position seems the best for surface and prominence details together.

[Mandy D]

So, after purchasing a 300PDS, I have now gone the opposite way and bought my smallest mirror telescope, yet - a Skymax 90. I looked long and hard for one to use as my travel scope for the eclipse in Fuerteventura and failed, so ended up using a 600 mm lens on my DSLR, instead. Of course, almost as soon as I got back, one came up in here, so I had to buy it! Now, I have clouds.

[Space Oddities]

22 hours ago, Franklin said:

I got a Quark Chromo earlier this year and it's been very impressive. When you've had a chance to play around with it, you'll have to post your findings on what you think is the best setting. The instructions say to start in the middle at 12 o'clock but with mine I find 2 o'clock position seems the best for surface and prominence details together.

Yes, I have no idea what setting I should use, I used 12 o'clock by default too but I'll need to test every setting. Looking very promising so far!

[Space Oddities]

23 hours ago, uhb1966 said:

Daystar Instruments QUARK - H-Alpha ? Wow. Pretty expensive hardware... have lots of fun 👍🏻

Thanks  It's indeed pricey, but I think it's a good investment overall for H-alpha imaging and observing, since it can be attached to many types of telescopes. Similarly priced alternatives only include entry level telescopes, so you're more limited. 

And that's one less scope to bring to a weekend or star party !

[Franklin]

4 hours ago, Space Oddities said:

I have no idea what setting I should use,

Same here but I found that each click makes only a very subtle difference. I wish there had been a bit more info in the instructions on this.

[saac]

Raspberry Pi  5 arrived - now I need to think of a suitable project

[Captain Scarlet]

Another long journey but this finally arrived. A correct-image adapter for Newtonians that Vixen used to do. It appeared on ENS and I was curious. Telescopic sights for rifles have them built in.

SW used also to supply very cheap such adapters with their scopes, but this is supposedly high quality.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Captain Scarlet

[Astroscot2]

Love this little book, brings back so many memories.  Robert Aytons artwork is excellent. 

[nickarp2000]

So here she is. The rainmaker. Just my little contribution to the appalling weather systems running through the UK at the moment. 

Received in excellent condition from FLO last week:_

Starfield 102 ED

Starfield adjustable reducer/flattener

Oklop Bag

New ASI 120mmm mini guide camera

SORRY ALL. 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by nickarp2000