Appetite wetted...

[estwing]

After a 2 year break I'm back....I never went away but neither did the clouds at various star parties 🙄.

Just had an excellent time last week at Galloway star party where the weather played ball...even though I forgot my dew heater battery I managed to get some pretty decent observing in...seemed to of convinced Swamp thing Steve into finally getting a 21mm Ethos...it's still a game changer in a big Dob...Good to be back.

[Stu]

Good to see you back, hope the weather improves!! Is @swamp thing still observing with his 20”?

[Marvin Jenkins]

If you don’t mind me asking a further question before Stu gets a reply? 
I remember when I first joined SGL there was a loose knit group called The Dob Squad.

Are you, were you part of that group? Because I remember thinking how big do these Dobs need to be and would I ever get one.

Marvin

[Stu]

31 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

If you don’t mind me asking a further question before Stu gets a reply? 
I remember when I first joined SGL there was a loose knit group called The Dob Squad.

Are you, were you part of that group? Because I remember thinking how big do these Dobs need to be and would I ever get one.

Marvin

The Dob Mob to be precise 😉.

This is a pic of some of the at SGL10 at Lucksall in 2015. Scopes from 14” to 20”, @swamp thing’s blue 20” being the biggest there 👍

[Marvin Jenkins]

That brings it all back. Covid was responsible for more than health issues. I really got into the hobby then everything got cancelled.

Still feels a bit like that but it may just be my isolation.

M

[Stu]

Just now, Marvin Jenkins said:

That brings it all back. Covid was responsible for more than health issues. I really got into the hobby then everything got cancelled.

Still feels a bit like that but it may just be my isolation.

M

Yes, star parties are something I miss, and they don’t seem to have restarted to any degree either which is a shame. I found lockdown very good for observing solo at home though, had many days and nights where I would observe the sun during the day, then swing the scope back round in the EQ mount and pick up the Moon as it rose.

[Marvin Jenkins]

I too found the lockdown too beneficial in some ways. Very rural so life just went on unlike city and town dwellers.

I was quite new to Astro so I was very much learning on my own and looking in from afar and I couldn’t believe these big events with so many people, then we all couldn’t do it anyway.

The only Astro upside was the complete lack of contrails and no aircraft lights. The quiet was amazing, you don’t realise how much background noise there is. A bit like a power cut, all the low hum is gone.

Marvin

[wookie1965]

Did anyone notice during covid we had some great clear transparent nights but when planes started criss crossing back and forth the skies went back to the usual one good night in a blue moon.

[Stu]

16 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Did anyone notice during covid we had some great clear transparent nights but when planes started criss crossing back and forth the skies went back to the usual one good night in a blue moon.

Absolutely Paul, the skies were fabulous during the first lockdown.

[lunator]

The best 2 periods of clear skies were lockdown 1 and the Iceland volcano back in 2011 (I think 🤔)

Aircraft contrails do cause a lot of cloud. More than just the contrails themselves.

[Mr Spock]

Had a good look through that 20". Those were the days 

[Marvin Jenkins]

27 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Had a good look through that 20". Those were the days 

Oh come on. Don’t leave me wondering. I only have a small newt.

M

[wookie1965]

I remember looking through Damians 22" Omg that was amazing M51 looked unreal. 

[John]

I was lucky enough to have a look through a couple of 20 inch scopes at SGL star parties.

On one of those occasions the owner asked me what I wanted to see and I suggested M51 followed by M13. Those views will be with me for the rest of my life 😲

 

[Stu]

18 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

I remember looking through Damians 22" Omg that was amazing M51 looked unreal. 

Yes, I had a drive of Damian’s 22” once. Conditions weren’t great, but still, M51 was amazing plus a few others. Didn’t see a glob which I regret!

[Marvin Jenkins]

Thank you all. I feel like I was there. One day in the future a big Dob will be mine.

Marv

[maw lod qan]

Those telescopes look unbelievable!

I can't imagine viewing with one!

Seeing them lined up makes me wonder what happens when some spy satellite images the area and they report some weapons treaty violation!

[estwing]

17 hours ago, Stu said:

Good to see you back, hope the weather improves!! Is @swamp thing still observing with his 20”?

Yes he is...made a few adjustments to his secondary and it's up and running again. 

[estwing]

15 hours ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

If you don’t mind me asking a further question before Stu gets a reply? 
I remember when I first joined SGL there was a loose knit group called The Dob Squad.

Are you, were you part of that group? Because I remember thinking how big do these Dobs need to be and would I ever get one.

Marvin

Yes that's us Marvin!

[estwing]

[Paz]

16 hours ago, Stu said:

The Dob Mob to be precise 😉.

This is a pic of some of the at SGL10 at Lucksall in 2015. Scopes from 14” to 20”, @swamp thing’s blue 20” being the biggest there 👍

I think the white scope near the left is the VX14 that was owned by faulksy at the time that I later bought and still have. faulksy went on to have an even bigger Dob!

[icpn]

does the Dob Mob still exists in any form?

 

[Stu]

Just now, Paz said:

I think the white scope near the left is the VX14 that was owned by faulksy at the time that I later bought and still have. faulksy went on to have an even bigger Dob!

Yes, I think that’s right. We had a great weekend that year. 4 clear nights in a row, saw loads of galaxies, M101 was fab as I recall as was M33 (with NGC604) plus the Crescent nebula also great. We also had some of the only clear skies in the country for the partial solar eclipse 👍.

Funniest moment for me was when @Moonshane (come back Shane!) looked through my 17mm Ethos and compared with his earlier type 17mm Nagler, previously thinking there was not much difference 😊.

[DirkSteele]

I need to leave this thread. All those photos of the big Dobs are stirring something inside me.

 

Repeat after me, mirrors are for shaving! Mirrors are for shaving!

 

Phew, think my wife might kill me if another scope shows up. Especially a monster Dob.

[Paz]

1 hour ago, DirkSteele said:

I need to leave this thread. All those photos of the big Dobs are stirring something inside me.

 

Repeat after me, mirrors are for shaving! Mirrors are for shaving!

 

Phew, think my wife might kill me if another scope shows up. Especially a monster Dob.

My clearest memory of getting the VX14 was the first moment my wife saw it standing in the living room the next morning. It looks huge when it's indoors and my other half wasn't entirely happy.

So when you get your big Dob just make sure it's outside when your other half first sees it, there will be less trouble!