*** The Official Astronomy & Universe Thread ***
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Soldato
Just stacked 16M worth to see how its going, 120s exposures, no darks yet, I think collimation is slightly out.
No mate, your polar alignment is out slightly, your stars are ever so slightly egg shape, which could be caused by flexure, but more probably bad alignment, or PEC. Do you drift align? what do you use to capture? i guide with PHD, and use Maxim DL, or Nebulosity
Great image though, although you might want to think of a flat frame, so you can push the histogram up in the middle of the image, to show the dust clouds being illuminated !!
Addendum : after looking at it again, your N-S alignment is ever so slightly out, not by much, not by much at all.
No mate, your polar alignment is out slightly, your stars are ever so slightly egg shape, which could be caused by flexure, but more probably bad alignment, or PEC. Do you drift align? what do you use to capture? i guide with PHD, and use Maxim DL, or Nebulosity
Great image though, although you might want to think of a flat frame, so you can push the histogram up in the middle of the image, to show the dust clouds being illuminated !!
Addendum : after looking at it again, your N-S alignment is ever so slightly out, not by much, not by much at all.
No I don't drift align, yeah polar alignment is out, 100s exposures seem ok though. I use a cannon 1000D and astrophotgraphy tool. I'm going to take darks later and some flats probably tomorrow won't have time tonight.
I tried guided over the weekend and could not get the guide scope to focus (first attempt) froze my arse off for 3 hours and give up. I will try again soon.
Anyhow I'm taking some of M42 now, this is a 100s jpeg from the camera just re sized in PS, haven't touched it in any way.
Associate
This took absolutely ages but it was worth it in the end:
Associate
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Was it just me? or did Brian Cox last night seem to say that the Aerogel stuff they had on there was used in experiments where radiation particles passed through faster than light? 
Wondering if he just derped or what?
Wondering if he just derped or what?
Soldato
well, you'r alignment is pretty good, if you can do 100 seconds unguided, well done you. if you using a guide scope, you might well find you need an extension on the focuser to achieve focus. keep at it though ...
Soldato
This took absolutely ages but it was worth it in the end:
nice ... well done fella
Soldato
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You guys been watching stargazing live then ? love it, Brian Cox makes me laugh taking the mick out of people who think people didn't walked on the moon or believe ufos (alien hollywood style) exist and stuff are welcome to get lost, and watch celeb big brother, haha ledge.
Yup, loved it. Shame it's just a once a year thing... it's things like this which make you realize how good the BBC is. Things like Wonders, or Attenborough, or Being Human (or Mongrels 
).
Things like East Enders' and most of BBC 3 make you realize how bad it is
).Things like East Enders' and most of BBC 3 make you realize how bad it is
Soldato
So one think I've always been fascinated by is astronomy and been pondering buying my own scope for quite a while now. After Catching Stargazing live I think I just might.
Now I've been researching various scopes for a while now and I think the Skywatcher Explorer 130P would be perfect so just wondering if anyone here has any experience with it? any tips etc.
Also i was thinking of later maybe getting into astrophotography but didn't want to break the bank with some of the crazier setups ive seen recently, i've heard a lot of people have used webcams to great success, just wondering what type of webcam would be best to use with a Skywatcher Explorer 130P and if its even possible with that scope.
Many thanks in advance for any advice
Now I've been researching various scopes for a while now and I think the Skywatcher Explorer 130P would be perfect so just wondering if anyone here has any experience with it? any tips etc.
Also i was thinking of later maybe getting into astrophotography but didn't want to break the bank with some of the crazier setups ive seen recently, i've heard a lot of people have used webcams to great success, just wondering what type of webcam would be best to use with a Skywatcher Explorer 130P and if its even possible with that scope.
Many thanks in advance for any advice
So one think I've always been fascinated by is astronomy and been pondering buying my own scope for quite a while now. After Catching Stargazing live I think I just might.
Now I've been researching various scopes for a while now and I think the Skywatcher Explorer 130P would be perfect so just wondering if anyone here has any experience with it? any tips etc.
Also i was thinking of later maybe getting into astrophotography but didn't want to break the bank with some of the crazier setups ive seen recently, i've heard a lot of people have used webcams to great success, just wondering what type of webcam would be best to use with a Skywatcher Explorer 130P and if its even possible with that scope.
Many thanks in advance for any advice
It's a good scope, but for the price (well, maybe a bit more) you'd be far better off getting a 150P dob. Larger aperture (which is what really matters) and the 130P on an EQ would have a pretty poor mount, might get away with it for observing much of the time but it's a no go for imaging.
Without breaking the bank you're not going to get much in the way of AP (AstroPhotography) gear. But you'll probably find that that becomes secondary when you have started observing. At the very least i'd suggest just buying the scope now and waiting until you know a bit more, and you've learned your way around the sky until you start worrying about it.
That said, you could still get some nice shots of the moon and maybe a few planets just by holding a phone camera up to the eyepiece.
Soldato
Just had a look at the 150p dob on FLO, looks like a right beast to move around, being a tall guy i could imagine it might be a bit of a pain to constantly be bending down.
How portable is the 150p dob compared to a 130p?
Definitely more portable than the 130, if for nothing else than the mount. It has a handle, which might not sound like much but it makes it so much easier. On an EQ there's nothing you can just grab hold of and go, if you're moving it any decent distance you'd probably have to take it all down, take the tube off and re-assemble it when you got there. Not my idea of portable.
Also, not sure you would be bending down so much - remember of course that the eyepiece is at the top. It might be at a height where you could use a seat, but you'd have to try that out before you bought it. Are there any scope shops near you? Just so you could get an idea about what each is actually like...
Soldato
Yeah i might have a look around my local area see if theres any telescope shops so i can go have a look at a few. Found a youtube video showcasing the 150dob and it does look like i might be able to sit in a chair and use it
.
I am new to the game, my lady and I own a Skywatcher Explorer 130P SynScan. It was recommended as a reasonable all-rounder by the retailor at the time. I have a question though, is there an idiots step by step on how to set the thing up? By that I mean align it properly. For the love of god I can't seem to work it out...
Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Or is it that I'm just too stupid? lol..
Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Or is it that I'm just too stupid? lol..
Was it just me? or did Brian Cox last night seem to say that the Aerogel stuff they had on there was used in experiments where radiation particles passed through faster than light?
I have a block of aerogel at home.
Its amazing stuff.
Used to catch cosmic particles but not ftl ones.
Man of Honour
Astronomy seems extremely interesting...
Shame I don't have the money to persue it atm though
Ah only caught the last 1/2 hour of that when it was on
Seemed very good though!
Shame I don't have the money to persue it atm though
Now for Stargazing Live
Ah only caught the last 1/2 hour of that when it was on
Seemed very good though!
this is going to be a real stupid question and make little to no sense...
but here goes, i remember hearing a word a while ago that basically described how "lucky" we are at how far we are from the sun, the conditions of earth etc etc what is the word, or phrase its been bugging me for a while
halo/helo effect or something if i recall i jsut cant remember at all!!!
but here goes, i remember hearing a word a while ago that basically described how "lucky" we are at how far we are from the sun, the conditions of earth etc etc what is the word, or phrase its been bugging me for a while
halo/helo effect or something if i recall i jsut cant remember at all!!!
this is going to be a real stupid question and make little to no sense...
but here goes, i remember hearing a word a while ago that basically described how "lucky" we are at how far we are from the sun, the conditions of earth etc etc what is the word, or phrase its been bugging me for a while
halo/helo effect or something if i recall i jsut cant remember at all!!!
I believe one of the terms used is the goldilocks band - i.e. not too close and therefore too cold, and not too far, therefore too hot. As for something with 'helo' (you might mean helio, i.e. the Sun), I don't know that I know/remember from the Masters days.