Wow, $20 at a Garage sale, I'll bet! ;^)

Color me

I wish! Expensive but still awesome!

The lens cell has arrived. Still waiting for the other package with tube and focuser.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1573786685.jpg

Yeah, the transit of Mercury, cloudy, the night of the meteor shower (that I understand was a dud anyway), cloudy.

There are some really cool photos in this article. I thought you guys might enjoy them.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/chandra-observatory-observes-two-decades-turning-theory-reality-180973647/

Sweet, thanks!

Wow!

Just got back from our yearly trade show in Orlando to find the refractor tube arrived. I knew it was big but DANG!!!https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...f1&oe=5E8AC091

I have a 2 speed Crayford type focuser with a...I dunno, something like 148mm flange...laying around if you want it. Shoot, it would even be dwarfed by that tube...


Markus made some weird wicked stuff in the day. Dude's kinda bat$hit (in a good way...as much that bat$hit glass pushers can be good...), he was like that 15 years ago and he's still like that now.

Wow, that is a big tube.

Well that's interesting. Whats it look like?

Shot M42, The Orion Nebula and surrounding area last night with the Takahashi FSQ-106 and Atik 16200 camera with Hydrogen Alpha filter. Total of 4.1 hours of exposures of 30 second for the core area that's easily blown out, 10 minute exposures for the main Orion area and a couple of 1 hour exposures to pick up the real faint hydrogen that surrounds it all.

Core still looks a little blown out on this jpeg. Looks much better on the big file.

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...c8&oe=5E44FFB9

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/684309-help-me-id-my-focuser/

Based on that thread, it's a Sky Watcher's 150 Evostar focuser. 2 inch, so less bulky than the (4 inch?) that's on your tube now, but really, unless you're doing old school film work with big slides, who really needs a 4 inch focuser these days?

I was looking for something to put on my Vixen 102M which is a 113mm ID tube, this won't work without some minimal machining.

Thanks Mike. I'll pass. I need the bigger focuser as my flatener is 92mm. Hope to get a big chip camera some day and the bigger focuser helps support the weight of the filter wheel and camera better.

Are you manually slewing your dome slot or is it tied to the drive?

I'm pretty sure someone a while back asked. Everything is automated except for the dome. He's got to stay out or go back periodically.

On a related note, it's crazy how apparent the motion is when you start looking at the moon and stars through a telescope or trying to photograph them.

/\
Yep, manual.

One more from last night. Shot with red, green, blue filters.
https://cdn.astrobin.com/thumbs/NQpO...0_wmhqkGbg.jpg

Labeled
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1575163606.jpg

open clusters, so unappreciated, so mesmerizing.