The Astronomy hobby thread

[flatbutt]

Told ya. WO optics are excellent.

[Eric Hahl]

They really are an excellent value. They perform quite well and don't carry the extreme premium price tag. I'm very pleased with both so far.

[masraum]

Wow, fantastic!

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by masraum

Wow, fantastic!

Thank you.

[flatbutt]

Eric do you use a focal reducer?

[Eric Hahl]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Eric do you use a focal reducer?

I do not. The Redcat 71 is only 350mm and at f4.9 and is a flat field, 4 element design.
The 120 is 780mm and f6.5 which is right where I wanted it so I just use a field flattener.

[Eric Hahl]

I want to image at about 2000mm also in the future. Most scopes in the focal length range are f10 so I will reduce that for the speed. Might get a celestron 9.25” cat and reduce it to f7. That combo would get close at 1645mm.

[flatbutt]

My 102 has a FL of 703mm, and a focal ratio of F/6.9. There are baffles in front of the flattener and 1 between the flattener and focuser. The front cell is an air spaced triplet , I think. I wouldn't use a reducer on it but was thinking about the CPC 800 now that I'll be mounting it on a wedge.

[GH85Carrera]

A fascinating image of three galaxies colliding with each other in the farthest regions of outer space has been released by NASA.

Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the remarkable snapshot shows in clearer detail than ever how the galaxies, which are 684 light-years away from Earth, are in the process of merging with each other, as well as the impact this incredible collision is having on the surrounding space.

Known officially as merger event IC 2431, the collision of the three galaxies has intrigued astronomers for decades, with the event first recorded more than a century ago on February 24 1896. 126 years ago!

[Eric Hahl]

Makes one wonder how much stuff is being ejected into intergalactic space.

[Rtrorkt]

https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-mexico-cosmologist-hunts-for-cracks-in-einsteins-gravity-theory-20220223/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

[Andrew85]

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Saturday that the satellite internet system operated by SpaceX is now available for Ukrainians

[Superman]

So.....some weeks ago Steve (masraun) generously gifted me a 2x Barlow lens (he didn't even let me pay postage), and I think I should report back:

First, a public shout-out to Steve and a thank you.

This time of year, the sky is almost always cloudy/foggy but I have had a couple of chances to get outside. First, it appears the planets are all hiding around the Sun right now. This will change of course. AFAIK, planets are virtually the only things of interest when using a cheap, wimpy telescope like my 102mm refractor. Otherwise, there are twinkling stars I suppose. Looking forward to getting to the other side of the Sun.

One thing I did notice is that, particularly with the additional 2x magnification, stuff moves out of view somewhat quickly. I imagine you guys have devices that allow your scopes to track objects and hold them in view.

[Eric Hahl]

I assume you are using a non-motorzied alt-az mount. Yes, big magnification really shows Earths rotation quickly. Tracking mounts compensate for this keeping the viewed object centered.

There are lots of cool objects to view with the 4" scope. The pleiades star cluster is brilliant in a small scope with a wide field of view. The Orion nebula starts to show some shape. The double cluster, etc.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Superman

So.....some weeks ago Steve (masraun) generously gifted me a 2x Barlow lens (he didn't even let me pay postage), and I think I should report back:

First, a public shout-out to Steve and a thank you.

This time of year, the sky is almost always cloudy/foggy but I have had a couple of chances to get outside. First, it appears the planets are all hiding around the Sun right now. This will change of course. AFAIK, planets are virtually the only things of interest when using a cheap, wimpy telescope like my 102mm refractor. Otherwise, there are twinkling stars I suppose. Looking forward to getting to the other side of the Sun.

One thing I did notice is that, particularly with the additional 2x magnification, stuff moves out of view somewhat quickly. I imagine you guys have devices that allow your scopes to track objects and hold them in view.

Do you feel like you're getting stuff in focus? I know you were concerned that you were not before. I'm hoping you just didn't have enough magnification.

This is a great, free app for helping to find stuff or plan out things to look at.

https://stellarium.org/

You'll have to get the location set to close to your physical location (nearest big city is probably good enough). You can zoom in and out, ctrl-f to find things, click on things that look interesting and it'll give you the info.

Yes, as you increase your magnification, stuff moves out of frame faster and faster. My first scope was similar to yours (f/5 102mm) and I was using it on a photo tripod, so yeah, you've got to move the thing around manually. My next scope was an 8" "Dob" (Netwonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount). It was capable of much higher magnification and it was also completely manual. Yes, my current scope is computerized and will track objects which is pretty freakin' awesome.

But I did enjoy my years of manually finding stuff by star hopping and then manually tracking.

I did once, at low power, manage to find and track ISS. It was very cool and really tough, even at low power (probably ~50x) I was able to see structure and color.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Superman

S

One thing I did notice is that, particularly with the additional 2x magnification, stuff moves out of view somewhat quickly. I imagine you guys have devices that allow your scopes to track objects and hold them in view.

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

I assume you are using a non-motorzied alt-az mount. Yes, big magnification really shows Earths rotation quickly. Tracking mounts compensate for this keeping the viewed object centered.

There are lots of cool objects to view with the 4" scope. The pleiades star cluster is brilliant in a small scope with a wide field of view. The Orion nebula starts to show some shape. The double cluster, etc.

With a high magnification the field of view gets effectively reduced so targets race across the FoV.

A 4" will give you excellent views of the moon, open clusters, double stars. It'll give you nice views of Jupiter and Saturn with good conditions.

[Eric Hahl]

Finally had a decently clear night. Got out and captured 6.5 hours of tiny galaxies in Coma Berenices.

[masraum]

Very nice!

[Eric Hahl]

Ahh, Spring. A little Sun, rain, a lot of clouds around here. Well, it was somewhat clear Saturday night. Not the greatest sky conditions but I was able to capture 6.7 hours on Galaxy M106. Lots of other galaxies in there as well.

Not my greatest image but sharing anyway.

[Eric Hahl]

Had non-cloudy skies this weekend. Not the greatest seeing or transparency but cloudless none-the-less. So, I set up the astro gear and did some shooting.

Friday night I got 4 hours worth of 60 second exposures on M13. I think I count at least 9 small galaxies in the image.


Saturday night I managed 4 hours on M101.