|
Ok Comboomer posted:why not one of the StarSense Dobs like I’m saving for? (you’ve all convinced me to go for the 10”, btw, will probably aim to buy sometime when the nights get a bit warmer) It's not the size that matters, but how you use it.
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 03:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 14:15 |
|
|
Star Man posted:It's not the size that matters, but how you use it. There’s an 8” StarSense Dob too. I’m not talking about the size, I’m talking about the StarSense. If you’re buying a brand new Dob, it seems like kind of a no-brainer to get the one with the StarSense dock + licenses
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 04:39
|
|
|
Hello, Starlink Eat poo poo, Elon Musk
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 05:42
|
|
|
Here's a question for folks ITT that shoot mono - what ratio of luminance to RGB do you shoot? I've seen ratios all over the place, with many people saying 3-to-1 luminance to RGB, others saying 1-to-1 or 1-to-2 L-to-RGB. Just curious what people here do and why.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2023 14:09
|
|
|
The curse strikes again; new telescope delivery delayed by severe weather
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2023 17:36
|
|
|
AstroZamboni posted:The curse strikes again; new telescope delivery delayed by severe weather Oh, so you're the reason I can't go out for the next 10 days due to clouds? I knew someone here was to blame.
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 16:52
|
|
|
Hi there. I have a two-part question: is there any utility to using a laser collimator instead of a simple collimation eyepiece if you have a standard beginner's reflector? Secondly, I can't imagine there's any quality variation in different collimation eyepieces, they're all the same right?
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 17:04
|
|
|
Golden-i posted:Oh, so you're the reason I can't go out for the next 10 days due to clouds? I knew someone here was to blame. Mea culpa.
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 17:11
|
|
|
Jewmanji posted:Hi there. I have a two-part question: is there any utility to using a laser collimator instead of a simple collimation eyepiece if you have a standard beginner's reflector? Secondly, I can't imagine there's any quality variation in different collimation eyepieces, they're all the same right? I found a laser collimator to be much more accurate and easier to use than an eyepiece on my cheapo 8" reflector, personally, especially since they aren't horribly expensive.
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 17:35
|
|
|
Jewmanji posted:Hi there. I have a two-part question: is there any utility to using a laser collimator instead of a simple collimation eyepiece if you have a standard beginner's reflector? Secondly, I can't imagine there's any quality variation in different collimation eyepieces, they're all the same right? well lasers are cool, it seems you forgot about that (i dont actually know the answer, but i like to post). svbony lasers are cheap and mine came collimated which was nice. ive never actually used it, except to test its collimation
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 17:38
|
|
|
Thanks both. I hadn't seen that some of these laser collimators are somehow half as expensive as the eyepiece. Who would've though? Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2023 18:15
|
|
|
Okay, I’m convinced I’m doing something very wrong. I received an XT8 Plus as a gift last year, my first telescope, and I’ve repeatedly been underwhelmed when viewing planets. I’ve had a great time looking at the moon and faint grey smudges of deep space objects, but planetary viewing has been a complete waste of time. Now, I’m not expecting to see what astrophotographers are putting out, I understand how those images are constructed, but even descriptions of what is visible through similar (and smaller) scopes does not match up with what I’m seeing. Take tonight for example, clear skies in a bortle 5 area (according to https://www.lightpollutionmap.info) and I look at Mars, which is almost directly overhead. I use a 6mm goldline and after dialling in the focus, I see a sharp white(ish) circle. I can discern no change in hue or brightness across it. I slap a 2x Barlow in and get a slightly larger and less sharp white circle (I find it difficult the get the focus right at this point). It looks so bright that it’s just completely washed out. Nineteenth century astronomers describe “crisscrossed lines” on the surface and changing polar ice caps, I may as well be looking directly at an LED poking through a black blanket being dragged across the glass dome I’m living under. Surely my equipment is at least as capable as what they possessed, even accounting for the much better conditions they must’ve had? I have been able to discern some details of Jupiter, very faintly its banding, but again, descriptions of what other people are seeing with comparable (or worse) equipment just blows me away. Either people are heavily embellishing what they can see, or I’m doing something wrong, and on balance of probabilities, I must be doing something wrong.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2023 23:08
|
|
|
vvv that's a better answer
duodenum fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Feb 19, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2023 23:17
|
|
|
Planetary viewing is heavily affected by thermals and atmospheric instability. Use an astronomy-centric weather forecast like astrospheric or the clear sky chart, and watch for conditions of good "seeing." Depending on where you live, those nights might be few and far between. Not every location is conducive to consistently good planetary viewing. When you have a night of good seeing, make sure the scope is well collimated and has had adequate time to cool down to outside ambient temperature. In a lot of ways the atmosphere dictates the targets you can view, and learning how to get the most out of those astronomical forecasts is going to help you a lot. No moon in the sky, great transparency, terrible seeing? Go for larger deep sky targets. When the seeing is still, that's the time to go after planets and double stars. Also be aware that excellent seeing and excellent transparency rarely go hand in hand. Sometimes you can hope for a happy medium between the two, but sometimes the best planetary viewing is when there's a slight haze in the air. It's always going be atmospheric stability that's most important when viewing planets, and air clarity is much less of a concern. Additionally, Mars is a notoriously difficult target, unless the planet is within a few weeks of opposition. Essentially, good viewing opportunities present themselves only every couple of years or so and if you don't get good seeing in that window, you can't really see much detail the rest of the time.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2023 23:25
|
|
|
I had a local to reach out to me with their setup for visual with a new scope , as he was just getting a blurry mess. I did warn him I probably wouldn't able to help that much since I don't do any visual and don't know anything about dobs and haven't been doing this long. I started to go through a basic checklist, and also getting him him to lower expectations a little, but said he should at least see bands on jupiter and it's moons, rings of saturn. Went through a little on the atmosphere, seeing, and getting the scope to ambient. Worked through focus, collimation. He was getting a little out of it , but nowhere near enough, and I directed him to a local dealer and dob group to see what issues he might be having as I couldn't really figure anymore out. It was then he told me he was viewing from his living room through the window and if that would be any issue.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 00:15
|
|
|
Jesus loving Christ.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 00:31
|
|
|
I was thinking of joining an astronomy club to boot strap myself into competence (this one in particular https://www.aldrich.club/, in central Mass). It's a bit far for me, but I'm hoping it'll be a productive way to learn. Does anyone have any positive/negative experiences with clubs that aren't super specific to their situation?
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 00:40
|
|
|
Jewmanji posted:I was thinking of joining an astronomy club to boot strap myself into competence (this one in particular https://www.aldrich.club/, in central Mass). It's a bit far for me, but I'm hoping it'll be a productive way to learn. Does anyone have any positive/negative experiences with clubs that aren't super specific to their situation? I've been to two of the star parties of the Albany, NY astronomy club over in Grafton, NY since it's close by for me. I do hear a lot from Cloudy Nights and the Facebook Groups that "you need to go to your local astronomy club...you should go before you buy anything,,,try before you buy!...blah blah blah". Anywhoo, I'm not a member of this club and personally don't know anyone who is. The star parties are open to the public. The first one I went to was last September and there was just one actual member from the club with an old 12" Coulter dob. Everyone else wasn't a member and there were only a few people out of 15 or so with a scope. One guy off away from the group with some 6" Newtonian on an equatorial platform, a couple who just got a 6" dob and absolutely clueless how to use it, a guy and his kid with a nice AVX mount with an 8" SCT, but he couldn't get it align the whole time. I brought an 8SE with me as it was the easiest to transport and set up. The one club member and I basically did show and tell for a couple of hours and it went well. The second star party was last October and there was a different club member with some old rear end 6" Newt. and just me again with the 8SE. No other people with scopes. Same amount of people however and it was again show and tell. I'm not really a teacher, but I did my best and this was the first time for most folks of ever looking through a scope and they seem to like it. So in summary...it wasn't like what I've read about like the big Texas or big dark site star parties where you get to see lots of cool scopes and look through all sorts of eyepieces and what not. It was really just public outreach at a really low level and if you show up with a scope and know how to use it - you're the teacher. YMMV. The other kinda close club to me is the Southern Vermont one, but from their website as far as I can tell they don't do star parties, public outreach or anything of that nature...just academics giving talks on poo poo you probably can't even see with a scope. I might try the Mid-Hudson club...hopefully there's more involvement and hands on astronomy.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 04:41
|
|
|
ham radio is the same way- people on the internet fall all over themselves to tell you to go to a meeting or whatever like it's some holy grail of advice and equipment. maybe it was when they got started 50 years ago, but that sort of community doesn't seem to be so common these days.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 04:45
|
|
|
I added a couple more hours to the vela supernova remnant that I had taken earlier. I think the sky was slightly darker this time round as well which helped. So put it all together 79x180sec ASI294MC + canon 100mm macro lens set to f5 + antlia alp-t filter 
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 12:23
|
|
|
One thing my local astro club doesn't have is a periodic outreach event for intermediate-newbs who need help with collimating or navigating their nexstar systems or whatever. It's a good idea.
duodenum fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Feb 20, 2023 |
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 21:06
|
|
|
Would an ASIAIR kit (along with a guide scope) be relatively future proof? Right now I only have a skyguider pro and I've been pretty happy with it for what I've been doing (wide angle with camera lenses). But my tastes are expanding now that I have better access to dark sites and I wanna play with galaxies and nebula. My eyes are getting horrible at night and polar alignment takes more and more time, and that doesn't even get into finding stuff I want to shoot. My concern is if in two years I want to splurge on a fancy go-to mount this stuff becomes completely worthless or if whatever I buy will always benefit from it. (this is photography only, due to aforementioned bad eyes observing is basically not gonna happen)
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 21:22
|
|
|
xzzy posted:Would an ASIAIR kit (along with a guide scope) be relatively future proof? Right now I only have a skyguider pro and I've been pretty happy with it for what I've been doing (wide angle with camera lenses). But my tastes are expanding now that I have better access to dark sites and I wanna play with galaxies and nebula. My eyes are getting horrible at night and polar alignment takes more and more time, and that doesn't even get into finding stuff I want to shoot. The ASIAir should work with most brands of mount, but it only supports ZWO astro cameras and Canon/Nikon DSLRs (as well as ZWO filter wheels and focuser if you get into that). I like it for its portability and minimum of futzing with computer, and ZWO has a good selection of cameras, but if you want to use other brands' stuff that's the tradeoff.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 21:37
|
|
|
xzzy posted:Would an ASIAIR kit (along with a guide scope) be relatively future proof? Right now I only have a skyguider pro and I've been pretty happy with it for what I've been doing (wide angle with camera lenses). But my tastes are expanding now that I have better access to dark sites and I wanna play with galaxies and nebula. My eyes are getting horrible at night and polar alignment takes more and more time, and that doesn't even get into finding stuff I want to shoot. I debated an ASIAIR setup and ended up doing a MicroPC with NINA. I'm not tied into anything proprietary, can still use all of ZWO's stuff, and NINA is way more powerful than I've needed. I have not tested the Polar Alignment tools in NINA yet, I've been happy using the SharpCap PA tool.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 21:47
|
|
|
Raikyn posted:I added a couple more hours to the vela supernova remnant that I had taken earlier. I think the sky was slightly darker this time round as well which helped. This is absolutely stunning!
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2023 23:10
|
|
|
Raikyn posted:I added a couple more hours to the vela supernova remnant that I had taken earlier. I think the sky was slightly darker this time round as well which helped. Holy poo poo, that's amazing. Finally had a clear night and went out to get a few hours of horsehead, and I've got water drop refractions all over the place. What do you folks like for a dew heater?
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2023 18:27
|
|
|
I'm a very happy man. My ZEQ25 has been throwing RA overcurrent messages for a while now to the point where it was basically unusable. I found Paul Chasse's videos on youtube where he takes one apart and shows how to fine tune it, followed it to the letter and did the burning in process on the encoder motors as he shows, and...... it works flawlessly. I went to bed last night afterward instead of setting up for imaging, but I'll run it in tonight with my gear, but goddamn I am just so loving pleased that it appears to be working normally again.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2023 19:22
|
|
|
For the next year, as a result of some fabrication work I'll be doing for my dad's business, I'm going to have 24/7 access to a very well-equipped co-op Makerspace. Woodshop with 4'x8' CNC router table, full metal machine shop, powder coating booths, laser engravers, 3D printer farm, electronics shop, you name it. I'm going to be taking advantage of the space to build my own 12" truss dobsonian. It'll be a few months before I can get started in earnest, but I'll be sure to post pics of the process. The only bits I'm planning on buying premade are the focuser and mirrors. Everything else I'll be designing on the computer and fabricating at the Makerspace. But because of the insanely well equipped facility, I can also do some really crazy poo poo like laser-engraved artwork on the plywood. I've only recently started the blueprints, mostly following the Kreige-Barry textbook with a few deviations. I'm planning on turning this into an ultra tricked-out luxury dream dobsonian, but not something that's so huge that it's a nightmare to transport. As such, I'm planning on building in the following features; 1. Rear and side-mounted variable speed boundary layer cooling fans 2. Curved vane secondary support 3. 4-position filter slide under focuser, equipped with UHC, O-III and H-beta filters 4. Feathertouch focuser 5. Dew heater on secondary mirror and filter slide 6. Equatorial tracking platform, built in conjunction with the mount and telescope 7. Flocked upper cage and mirror box, along with a knife-edge baffle in the mirror box that the removable primary mirror cover will slot into 8. Bracket on mirror box for mounting Starsense dock 9. Cam-lever truss assembly Anyway, that's the plan right now.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2023 22:26
|
|
|
If you have not built optical equipment before, or used most of those tools, think about building a scaled down version to avoid "learning by doing" being sunk cost expensive. Sounds like a fantastic project and I'm glad to follow along as you get into it!
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2023 23:12
|
|
|
I've used lots of these tools before, but not all of them. I've heavily modified and assisted in the construction of Newtonians before. I've got enough of a knowledge base over ~ 25 years of loving with Newtonians to be confident enough for the project. And I've got experienced ATMs who live nearby who I can consult with.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2023 23:15
|
|
|
AstroZamboni posted:I've used lots of these tools before, but not all of them. I've heavily modified and assisted in the construction of Newtonians before. I've got enough of a knowledge base over ~ 25 years of loving with Newtonians to be confident enough for the project. And I've got experienced ATMs who live nearby who I can consult with. Awesome. Enjoy your build!
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2023 01:39
|
|
|
Sounds fantastic, looking forward to seeing the updates! Especially the equatorial platform stuff.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2023 21:47
|
|
|
I managed to get a whole 40 min on the witch head before clouds came in. Was hopeful to try and get 2-3hrs , but ... nope And I took a shot of the moon at midday, not a cloud in the sky haha 
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2023 12:15
|
|
|
Nice. Thanks for sharing. I love daytime shots.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2023 14:59
|
|
|
Yeah, great shot of that nebula Makes me wish our eyes had evolved to the point where staring into a scope for hours would net something similar
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2023 00:20
|
|
|
Update on the design process of the 12" truss dob: I've decided custom metal machining won't be required for any of my components, so I'm restricting most of the fabrication work to the two pieces of equipment I have experience with; CNC router table and 3D printer. The entirety of the plywood components are going to be cut from two 4' x 8' x 1/2" panels. Everything is going to be simple cutout and hole drilling with no complicated beveling on the part of the CNC router to simplify the process. I'm going to design and build the tube assembly using the first panel of plywood. Then I'll load it out, find the balance point, and THEN establish the final draft dimensions of the base and equatorial platform and then cut those from the second panel. Through the process I'll be laser engraving artwork into the wood components before assembly and finishing. Probably going with a Star Trek theme, with starfleet ship registry hull markings. Yes, I'm a huge loving nerd, but TNG was also pivotal to my getting into astronomy in the early nineties. The overall rocker and mirror box construction and joinery is largely based on the AstroSystems TeleKit dobs. About 20 years ago I was in an astronomy club with Randy Cunningham, the owner of AstroSystems, and I had a lot of opportunities to use TeleKit dobs over the years and pore over the design details. From experience I like them a bit better than Obsession and Starmaster dobs I've used. The following components will be 3D printed: Lower truss clamps Secondary mirror holder Spider hub Filter slide mechanism Groundboard feet The curved spider vanes will be made from stainless steel rulers, bent and formed to shape, and then painted. The only off-the-shelf astronomy components will be the optics and the feathertouch focuser. I'll be using Noctua cooling fans both behind the mirror, as well as a pair along the boundary layer, and all wired to a central rheostat for adjusting the speed. I've already got a 3D printed mounting bracket for the Starsense, and it'll just slide into a dovetail finder shoe on the mirror box. Anyway, that's where things are. Once the 3D models from the blueprints look presentable I'll share them with the whole class. Edit: look at the construction pics on this page with particular attention to the finger jointing on the mirror box and rocker box, and the internal bracing in the rocker box. That's what I'm talking about in terms of the construction style I'm emulating, which is easy to replicate with the CNC router. https://www.astrosystems.biz/telekits.htm AstroZamboni fucked around with this message at 20:02 on Mar 19, 2023 |
|
#
?
Mar 19, 2023 19:04
|
|
|
Free advertising for neodymium filters Rosette Nebula  300mm Canon f/4 Canon 6D mkII 2h30m integration  330mm William Optics GT71 w/ flattener Canon 6D mkII 4h integration Optolong l-enhance filter Exact same processing bg subtraction>photometric calibration>green sncr
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2023 23:15
|
|
|
AstroZamboni posted:Planetary viewing is heavily affected by thermals and atmospheric instability. Use an astronomy-centric weather forecast like astrospheric or the clear sky chart, and watch for conditions of good "seeing." Depending on where you live, those nights might be few and far between. Not every location is conducive to consistently good planetary viewing. Thanks for this, I really appreciate it. I’d underestimated just how much of an effect this had on viewing. Raikyn posted:It was then he told me he was viewing from his living room through the window and if that would be any issue. I’m not quite this stupid, I at least make sure that the scope is collimated and leave it outside for awhile before using it, even if it is drat cold!
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2023 18:39
|
|
|
Raikyn posted:I managed to get a whole 40 min on the witch head before clouds came in. Was hopeful to try and get 2-3hrs , but ... nope drat that's only 40 mins? It looks like you got some galaxies too.
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2023 01:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 14:15 |
|
|
Dmitri-9 posted:Free advertising for neodymium filters It's probably an advert for more integration, better optics and easier processing than anything else. You'll need to do slightly different processing depending on your filters, but if the light pollution doesn't over power your target you can probably get similar results. I played around a bit with your first image, probably overdid it a bit though   
|
|
#
?
Apr 2, 2023 07:19
|
|