New toy...this could become an expensive hobby!

[jimi43]

It was Jen...much better and I had no intention of taking any photos yesterday at all but after having all the family out to see it (yup me too!)...I simply had to take a quick grab shot in the hope I captured something. I was amazed anything came out at all frankly...so I will be getting this very shot with much higher clarity in the not too distant future....that's a given! :wink:

Yes John...I am fiddling about with that idea and it's the "hook it up" bit that I am pondering about at the moment.

As we all know...the clouds are far more common than clear skies at the moment so I will carry on observing while I continue to ponder further. Any tips...greatly appreciated.

Of course...the bootfairs start in the spring....wonder what I will find there mate!?

Jim

 

[bugbear]

It was Jen...much better and I had no intention of taking any photos yesterday at all but after having all the family out to see it (yup me too!)...I simply had to take a quick grab shot in the hope I captured something. I was amazed anything came out at all frankly...so I will be getting this very shot with much higher clarity in the not too distant future....that's a given! :wink:

Yes John...I am fiddling about with that idea and it's the "hook it up" bit that I am pondering about at the moment.

I remember reading advice for astronomers that said (from memory) "buy a lathe and learn how to use it. You will eventually, so you might as well do it now" (!!).

A key part of amateur astronomy is the DIY aspect.

(and GOTO mounts are definitely unsporting)

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

Too right BB! I am already whittling some aluminium as we speak.

Actually...it's not the GOTO bit that I want this mount for...it's the auto guide input...later of course!

Anyway....I think I will soon have my DIY work cut out building the dome!!

:mrgreen:

Jim

 

[Benchwayze]

Better get onto Amazon Jimi, and get yourself a copy of 'Amateur Telescope Making' Edited by G. Ingalls, whose fortuitous 'thumb-fumbling' was responsible for the first edition of the book.

Quote from the book BB, ISTR "You will eventually, so you might as well do it now." :lol: I suppose that applies here too Jimi. Unless you already have your copies.

As you surmised, it can be an expensive hobby; just like woodworking. 8)

 

[Sawyer]

I agree with bugbear, for me its the challenge of finding stuff nevermind taking a picture of it.

Definitely. As one who has no pretensions to scientific research, I enjoy just looking and keeping an observation diary. I have no electronic gizmos and search the old-fashioned way. It gives great satisfaction to succeed in locating a difficult object by a combination of Declination, Right Ascension and star-hopping.

 

[jimi43]

I suppose there are parallels here to woodworking....

I guess I am more in the hand tool camp but I also have electronic gizmos like the milling machine which can do what I can't do anywhere near as well by hand...nor ever could.

There are those who think that hand tool purists are Neanderthals....and that's their view, though not one I share either.

With astronomy...for me...anything which gets me out and learning will be a tool I shall use and then ultimately I guess I will settle with what rocks my boat.

Until that day my ears and eyes are wide open...literally! :wink:

Of course there will always be those who think that the only bevel is a convex one....those tend to get ignored! :mrgreen:

Jimi

 

[Sawyer]

And what about those concave mirrors (with the silvering on the front of the glass!) ??

 

[jimi43]

And what about those concave mirrors (with the silvering on the front of the glass!) ??

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[bugbear]

I agree with bugbear, for me its the challenge of finding stuff nevermind taking a picture of it.

Definitely. As one who has no pretensions to scientific research, I enjoy just looking and keeping an observation diary. I have no electronic gizmos and search the old-fashioned way. It gives great satisfaction to succeed in locating a difficult object by a combination of Declination, Right Ascension and star-hopping.

Yeah - since the big instruments are beyond any induividuals's pocket (*), the only goal (IMHO) is to make the max of the equipment you have.

If you "just" want the end result - go here:

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/

I'm currently trying to get the best possible result in astrophotography WITHOUT a driven mount, which is an absurd limitation...

BugBear

(*) Bill Gates excepted

 

[jimi43]

There's a subtle but important difference here guys.

There is "making the most of what you have", which is in itself one whole road in a vast hobby...and using the minimum equipment to observe and/or record that which would not be considered possible with such equipment..... is the admirable goal.

Then there's the group who wish to acquire the best they can afford and then get the maximum out of that equipment.

I think these two categories...though not dissimilar...have different end goals in the same way, and to the extreme...Hubble is not "enough" for the Americans...there has to be Hubble 2 and there will be 3....and they are seeking the ultimate goal..that of new discovery using technology...without which the discoveries simply won't happen.

One thing I have observed whilst reading astronomy forums...is that there are far more polarized, elitist groups within this subject than there ever could be in wood-whittling. And the divisions and animosity that exist are astounding!

Unfortunately the "you can't do this without a bigger knob" brigade leave me cold and the "I can see for lightyears with a 2" one" set....similarly so.

The groups that get my vote are the societies where people with actual experience have been there...done that and travelled down a long road to get to where they are but are not averse to looking back in time to help others who are just starting out on the very same road.

Their aim is to keep these new members from strolling off into the undergrowth that hold many wild animals...almost all of which seem to be financial!

So I won't be shunning autoguides if I need them as I was advised to do so by one of these kind people with such experience and I won't feel ashamed to do so. :wink:

Jim

 

[Benchwayze]

I won't be shunning autoguides if I need them as I was advised to do so by one of these kind people with such experience and I won't feel ashamed to do so. :wink:

Jim

Hi Jim,

I wonder if that person was of the mind-set, we should learn our way around the sky without aids and 'GOTO' equipment. There's a lot of them in the hobby. For my money, it makes little difference how you find your way about the sky. As long as you do, (to make the hobby more rewarding, as well as being able to answer a novice's questions on identifying stuff. ) The process is going to be much quicker if you use GOTO techs, as long as you make a note of what the GOTO presents you with; which I am sure you will.

So GOTO it my friend, and ignore the 'old-fashioned' critics. Just remember what's in your signature! Seems to me, that might be as pertinent on the Astro Forum as it is here. :wink:

 

[Paul.J]

It's GOTO for me now.
Started off with an 8" Dob but due to poor eyes,had trouble star hopping and was wasting far too much time trying,especially with the limited amount of time you get out under some clear skies.

 

[Benchwayze]

Another reason to use aids Paul.

I think the modern Astro equipment is seen in the same light as some woodworkers view modern woodworking aids. A fast route to success. There can be a bit of envy, because these days beginners find it easier to meet the same or similar standards. But you have to work with what you have. Nowadays we have it, so beginners can use it; and they are bound to have a less-demanding 'rite-of-passage'... (Although that isn't necessarily the case.) That's how I see it anyhow!

 

[jimi43]

As a complete innocent in this sport...I do seek information..as with any subject. I want to do this mostly because I want to explore what's out there for my own fun and that's the key word here.

I have no doubt whatever that I shall be looking back at the basics...the progress through the ages and enjoy that just as much. But...I have no intention of freezing my nuts off in the back garden with a copy of a paper star map trying to read it in the pitch dark with Alfie leaping all over me! :mrgreen:

After all......Galileo didn't try learning everything with his naked eye...instead he ripped the bottom off his Coke bottle and stuck it on a piece of drainpipe! :mrgreen:

From what I understand the importance of this GOTO head is not so much the ease of going straight to a subject...rather it is useful because of the guide input to stay on that subject while the pixels get their stimulation enough to make a composite image later on. And if I can leave the kit to freeze and have a coffee while it's doing that...perfect!

Mind you...Annie did catch me speculating on how long it would take the kitchen roll to run out the other day so you never know mate! 8)

Oh...and I ordered "Turn Left at Orion" today...the paper thing not the Kindle! There are some things I won't bow down to technology for! :wink:

Jim

 

[No skills]

As such should be all hobbies and past times, use what practices and tools that suit pocket and heart.

 

[Paul.J]

I still try to learn the night sky as its a good thing to learn,makes life a little easier when i am just using the bins and camera to do widefield shots,but i am new to this and have only been out about five times with the GOTO set up and have only got it working correctly twice out those five times,which does get very frustrating when it doesn't work.
I have a friend who igo out with gazing who only started a few months before me and can find virtually all he target just using his scope manually.I couldn't even see the Big Dipper a few weeks back but my friend was pointing it out to me as he could see it clearly,so the GOTO will be useful for me for both visual and imaging.
The alignment has to be spot on Jim for doing long exposures but i believe there are ways of getting round it more easily but once again requires spending more money.
Another book to consider for imaging is Every Photon Counts,and have you down loaded Stellarium yet,that is very useful?

 

[jimi43]

I still try to learn the night sky as its a good thing to learn,makes life a little easier when i am just using the bins and camera to do widefield shots,but i am new to this and have only been out about five times with the GOTO set up and have only got it working correctly twice out those five times,which does get very frustrating when it doesn't work.
I have a friend who igo out with gazing who only started a few months before me and can find virtually all he target just using his scope manually.I couldn't even see the Big Dipper a few weeks back but my friend was pointing it out to me as he could see it clearly,so the GOTO will be useful for me for both visual and imaging.
The alignment has to be spot on Jim for doing long exposures but i believe there are ways of getting round it more easily but once again requires spending more money.
Another book to consider for imaging is Every Photon Counts,and have you down loaded Stellarium yet,that is very useful?

Hi Paul

I have downloaded Skeye for Android and it's superb...just hold the phone up to the sector of sky you are looking at and the same area appears on the phone screen.

If you are searching for anything in the sky, you just enter it in the directions field and it shows the current sky with a big green arrow pointing to which way to go to get it lined up. The closer you get the shorter the arrow until the circle lines up with the object and flashes and you are there.

Attach the phone to the telescope and it's an instant guide.

I don't see the difference between this level of technology as my education and a paper map...but there ya go!

Will have a look at Stellarium....

Cheers

Jimi

 

[Benchwayze]

I recall Sir Patrick Moore saying that a three inch (75mm) refractor, would keep the average amateur busy for a lifetime. That was in the days prior to GOTO etc, (And when he was plain Patrick too!) so I decided to take it on board. I cadged the loan of my daughter's 3", which we bought her, and which she hasn't used for some time. Since I asked about the loan, I've been more or less snowed in, and come to think of it, I haven't had clear skies for about five days! So that's going to be on ice as it were...

 

[jimi43]

I recall Sir Patrick Moore saying that a three inch (75mm) refractor, would keep the average amateur busy for a lifetime. That was in the days prior to GOTO etc, (And when he was plain Patrick too!) so I decided to take it on board. I cadged the loan of my daughter's 3", which we bought her, and which she hasn't used for some time. Since I asked about the loan, I've been more or less snowed in, and come to think of it, I haven't had clear skies for about five days! So that's going to be on ice as it were...

It's going to be clear skies in Kent tonight so it's out in the snow for me!

If you can get out...there are some beautiful things on view this time of the year...Jupiter obviously but also Orion can be seen later and I am working on the nebula at the moment.

Just to emphasise, on the "GOTO" mount...the benefit is far less the go to bit...rather the tracking bit. Once you set up the equatorial mount and if you concentrate on one object, it is much less of a pain in the rear to only have to adjust the azimuth in order to follow it and especially so if you put the motor on track.

Time is then spent observing rather than fiddling with controls.

Once I set up the mount last week I could track the moon for several hours without it once leaving the centre of the eyepiece. This is far more important for the weaker objects in the sky and of course...for imaging.

Have fun with your scope mate...and stay warm! I bought a cheap pair of moon boots (excuse the pun!) and that transformed my viewing.

Jim

 

[devonwoody]

I looked out of the bedroom window this morning at 2 am (to shut the window) and there were plenty of stars up there without going out into the garden. :wink:
However I do admire your dedication.