The Astronomy hobby thread

[bugstrider]

Saturn’s white storm that occurs every 30 earth years..........so I have read.


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[bugstrider]

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[Eric Hahl]

If you are up...get outside in 1/2 hour to see the Lunar Eclipse. 10:30 east coast, 7:30 West coast.

[red-beard]

Starts at 10:34 PM EST (Jun 20th)
63 Minutes of Totality: 11:40PM EST (Jan 20th) to 12:43AM (Jan 21st)
Maximum Totality 12:12AM EST (Jan 21st)
End 1:51AM EST (Jan 21st)



Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse

[masraum]

It's been perfectly clear all day long and for the first 45-60 mins, but we've got some very high, thin clouds coming in.

[bugstrider]

Rain and severe weather alerts are spoiling our chances to view


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[Pazuzu]

Ugh...I just bought my first scope in probably 18 years. An 8 inch LX200 Classic (circa 1993) with lots of accessories.

I only bought it because it was soooooo cheap, needs work but nothing I haven't done to these scopes before.
Had it home for 3 hours, and it's in pieces!



That is every piece of electronics in the thing, it's pretty simple. Now, to figure out why it doesn't move...
Fix the controller, strip both drives down and rebuild them, tear the OTA apart, clean and align everything, basically supercharge the scope, then sell it. Rinse and repeat.

[flatbutt]

tear the OTA apart? Not literally?

[Eric Hahl]

Any good accessories?

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

tear the OTA apart? Not literally?

Oh yes, literally. Pull the front corrector off, remove the rear cell and mirror, complete disassembly. Clean everything, adjust everything (re-glue stuff, tighten mirror cell bolts, etc). Probably add some anti-reflective material inside, then add some fans to circulate air. Put it back together and re-align the optics. Run it through some tests, document the image quality.

Tear apart the base, check everything, maybe do a fresh powdercoat. Rebuild and align the base (square things up, etc).

Once the drives are running again, tighten up the drivetrain to get rid of lash. Align and adjust everything, adjust the backlash, document everything

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

Any good accessories?

Basic stuff, a few eyepieces, diagonal, etc. The mount, of course. Also the dude tossed in a Meade 97E 1000mm Mak style spotting scope, which isn't that impressive but made the deal even better.


I mean, when I say dirt cheap, I mean, I paid for the accessories and that 97E, and got the LX200 for FREE.

[bugstrider]

An 81 MP shot of the moon taken over time. Taken by an unknown artist, just thought you might like to see.


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[bugstrider]

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[Eric Hahl]

Picked up a big scope...hope to get some Lunar and planetary shots with this guy.

[flatbutt]

14 inches? day-um! How big is your dome?

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

14 inches? day-um! How big is your dome?

It's 8' diameter.

[flatbutt]

I've been wanting to put up a dome to make observing easier but I just don't have the space. So I'm thinking of constructing a much smaller enclosure that would house the tripod and drive only, maybe even install a pier ,leaving me to mount the OTA for each session.

The design would be a simple shed like structure with a footprint of approx. 5'x5'. The roof is problematic but I should be able to design a slide of some sort. My question is leaving the electronic drive in a wooden structure that may not be as weather proof as a polymer dome. Humidity is the greatest concern. How well does your dome protect your electronics?

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I've been wanting to put up a dome to make observing easier but I just don't have the space. So I'm thinking of constructing a much smaller enclosure that would house the tripod and drive only, maybe even install a pier ,leaving me to mount the OTA for each session.

The design would be a simple shed like structure with a footprint of approx. 5'x5'. The roof is problematic but I should be able to design a slide of some sort. My question is leaving the electronic drive in a wooden structure that may not be as weather proof as a polymer dome. Humidity is the greatest concern. How well does your dome protect your electronics?

There are some excellent photos on cloudynights.com that are very similar to your idea, check the observatories sub forum.

I leave an incandescent light on in the dome. Helps burn off some humidity. Also have a couple of stand-alone, rechargable dehumidifiers in there. Still probably not enough up here in the Pacific NorthWET.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I've been wanting to put up a dome to make observing easier but I just don't have the space. So I'm thinking of constructing a much smaller enclosure that would house the tripod and drive only, maybe even install a pier ,leaving me to mount the OTA for each session.

The design would be a simple shed like structure with a footprint of approx. 5'x5'. The roof is problematic but I should be able to design a slide of some sort. My question is leaving the electronic drive in a wooden structure that may not be as weather proof as a polymer dome. Humidity is the greatest concern. How well does your dome protect your electronics?

5x5 is really tight if you plan to observe from within the walls. Most recommend 8'x8' as a minimum so you have some elbow room with a simple roll off roof. I have seen some build a 3'x3' shed to house only the scope and mount, and the whole thing rolls off for observing. This is a simple build for tight spaces and might work for you.

A scope and drive are designed to withstand the elements well in an unheated space as long as it is reasonably weather tight. Then mice and spiders become the challenge.

[Eric Hahl]

Some ideas


or...move the building.


or...

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

Fix the controller, strip both drives down and rebuild them, tear the OTA apart, clean and align everything, basically supercharge the scope, then sell it. Rinse and repeat.

I am assuming you know this already but the primary and corrector plate have a very precise alignment that is not easily replicated without fairly sophisticated optical testing tools. Before separating the corrector, it is always suggested that you have a mechanism to restore this alignment so you don't create a lot of hours re-aligning. This vid is instructive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e66yIuD3cMk