Any Astronomers among us ? (1 Viewer)

[dylan]

Jim, we had a couple of rv's from RVOC who came for a long weekend on site with the intention of "stargazing" One was "nozzmoking" can't remember the other couple. They came with the biggest scopes I have ever seen with connected laptops and they invited us up to see what was going on. As we are in the dark skies area of Wales we knew they should see alot if it stayed clear. It was the most amazing experience for Mark and myself as we had never seen space like this. We also saw shooting stars. They sat out with food and drinks until 2 or 3 am. We loved it
Go for it and enjoy.

 

[magicsurfbus]

Here's a few astronomical pics I've taken in recent years - the shot of the Moon was taken with a 9 Megapixel camera which had a 300mm equivalent lens (6x magnification), so you don't need high magnification if the image resolution is good and the camera's steady.

This picture is of the Moon's shadow passing over Mount's Bay in Cornwall during the 1999 full eclipse. That event was awesome in every sense of the word.

 

[Campercaillie]

Ok Now for the big one........now we have a few stargazers here.....did man really land on the moon ?

personally I don't think so

barry

Yes, they did!

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[icantremember]

Oh no they didn't

It is still panto season

 

[pappajohn]

Leave it a week or two Jim, then visit Jessops......

they are going under so may have some good bargains on camera's.

not sure if they do astronomical stuff though.

 

[scotjimland]

Leave it a week or two Jim, then visit Jessops......

they are going under so may have some good bargains on camera's.

not sure if they do astronomical stuff though.

too late John .. the beast arrived yesterday...

8" Sky-Watcher reflector on an EQ5 Equatorial mount..

Spent the afternoon assembling and trying to understand how an equatorial mount works.. getting my head around .. polar axis alignment and RA/DE settings ..

But sods law, it's been overcast and wet since then.. so no chance to put the theory into practice..

I have also downloaded an excellent piece of software ,

Stellarium

Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.
It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.

Even if you are not into astronomy it is really worth downloading and playing with ..

Also joined the stargazers lounge.. now I know how noobees to Fun feel... LOST

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[Campercaillie]

I have also downloaded an excellent piece of software ,

Stellarium

Even if you are not into astronomy it is really worth downloading and playing with ..

.... loaded up that software Jim - Looks really good!
Keep us updated as to how you get on with your 'scope ....

 

[hilldweller]

I have also downloaded an excellent piece of software ,

Stellarium

Excellent. Very similar to Redshift but much cheaper.

The good new is, you have 7 days to return you personal hypothermia machine. Or buy an anorak.

 

[beachcaster]

Excellent. Very similar to Redshift but much cheaper.

The good new is, you have 7 days to return you personal hypothermia machine. Or buy an anorak.

Ive downloaded it but have yet to work out how to use it .

looks like fun though

barry

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[hilldweller]

Ive downloaded it but have yet to work out how to use it .
barry

First thing is a near invisible menu on the LHS, top icon is set location. To make it more interesting right now in the middle of the bottom menu you can turn off atmosphere, something Jim's reflector with struggle with.

 

[scotjimland]

Update.. and picture of ISS

well, sadly the night weather has been crap since I got the scope .. wet and or cloudy .. but has given me time to play with it in the daytime..

I ordered an adaptor ring for my Nikon DSLR, that arrived today so I had a play ...

First picture of the ISS ..

no, it's neighbours TV aerial .. about 500 mts. away ..

got to start somewhere...:Cool:

 

[hilldweller]

got to start somewhere...:Cool:

That's awesome.

A Yagi class aerial. Horizontally polarised with a pair or reflectors in orbit around it's extremity. The light from this took 6.47 10e-21 to reach your telescope. It was probably formed about 4.83 billion years ago when a mass of Fray Bentos pie tins coalesced after a super cooker exploded in a distant galaxy.

Keep the good work up Jim, you are an inspiration to us all, now where did I put my scope ?

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[scotjimland]

That's awesome.

A Yagi class aerial. Horizontally polarised with a pair or reflectors in orbit around it's extremity. The light from this took 6.47 10e-21 to reach your telescope. It was probably formed about 4.83 billion years ago when a mass of Fray Bentos pie tins coalesced after a super cooker exploded in a distant galaxy.

Keep the good work up Jim, you are an inspiration to us all, now where did I put my scope ?

thanks....

I should add, that was taken through the kitchen window.. which is a bit dirty :Blush: so not as clear as it should be

.. too cold to be faffing about in the garden ,.... brrrrrrrrr

 

[buttons]

thanks....

I should add, that was taken through the kitchen window.. which is a bit dirty :Blush: so not as clear as it should be

.. too cold to be faffing about in the garden ,.... brrrrrrrrr

You have even got me at it, my ex was given a mirror reflector scope with stand by a friend who had given up attempting to put it together. She suggested the grandchildren. After reading your post I sat my son down and said put that together. Anyhow two hours later he was out in the garden looking for stars.
Still waiting for a clear night.:thumb:

 

[hilldweller]

.. too cold to be faffing about in the garden ,.... brrrrrrrrr

Next symptom of Astrionusinfatuationism is building the big shed with a hole in the roof.

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[scotjimland]

If anyone is interested, this is an excellent on-line magazine..

The Sky at Night
the link has a review of my 'scope

 

[Bailey58]

Interesting thread! Always taken an inactive interest in the night sky which is good to see from here with our lack of street lights. :thumb: Walked past Jessups before Christmas and saw a cheap telescope which I put on my xmas list before taking it off again after reading the reviews, good job nobody bought me their gift tokens. :Sad:

Just had a few days in London to see some shows and took the Clipper down to Greenwich and the planetarium. Many years since we saw it alongside Madame Thingy and not particularly impressed with the audience participation theme during the show that we [STRIKE]enjoyed[/STRIKE] but interesting looking at the scopes in the obligatory souvenir shop on the way out.

So.............. I'm now looking at scopes and learning things from this thread. Oh, and if that's the ISS in Jim's pic we've got loads of them around here.

 

[scotjimland]

Moon shot

first attempts .. much to learn but this isn't so sad..

shutter speed 1/500 th. sec

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[magicsurfbus]

Nice shot there Jim - well done. If that's a first attempt I can't wait to see your later work.

I had a crack at capturing a full moon with my camera last night - I was surprised at how fast a shutter speed I needed.