The Astronomy hobby thread

[Eric Hahl]

LOL, Man, I still have another hour of my work day to go.

[E Sully]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Hey Mike, I mentioned this once a while ago but didn't follow up.

So, I have an original Meade ETX 90. The drive is shot but it was never all that good anyway.

Do you think it's worth trying to repair?

I just found this thread and read your post.
The ETX 90 is a good scope optically, but the drive is only adequate. Years past I used my LX quite a bit, but lately being in my 60's, not quite as much. I use my ETX more than my 8" LX200 Classic. The sky where I live is usually not very good, and it is a lot easier to bring out the ETX 90 for some quick viewing.
The drive is not really made for easy access to the internals. The only real issue with mine was a motor drive fault that I was able to fix with a little solder on a wire that wore through.
A search in the Forum https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/91-meade-computerized-telescopes/ can be helpful.

[Eric Hahl]

M51 from last week with the Redcat 71.

[Eric Hahl]

And....back to rain and gray for the next 10 days.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

M51 from last week with the Redcat 71.

Finally! Sheesh. Took ya long enough!

Very Nice!

[Eric Hahl]

I know right, so sorry Sir.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Hey Mike, I mentioned this once a while ago but didn't follow up.

So, I have an original Meade ETX 90. The drive is shot but it was never all that good anyway.

Do you think it's worth trying to repair?

I'm honestly not sure. Probably not.
The first ETX was a clock drive only deal, not goto. It was all metal and built in the USA. It's probably not hard to get running again, but the value wouldn't allow for any real work to be done to it. The optics are probably very good, and the tube can be removed with some work and mounted to a dovetail.

It was designed to grab onto the interest in Questars. I had a Questar at that time, and there was much gnashing of teeth from the Q owners when the ETX came out, threads of copywrite lawsuits, etc. I don't think that the ETX ever actually affected Questar sales...

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

I'm honestly not sure. Probably not.
The first ETX was a clock drive only deal, not goto. It was all metal and built in the USA. It's probably not hard to get running again, but the value wouldn't allow for any real work to be done to it. The optics are probably very good, and the tube can be removed with some work and mounted to a dovetail.

It was designed to grab onto the interest in Questars. I had a Questar at that time, and there was much gnashing of teeth from the Q owners when the ETX came out, threads of copywrite lawsuits, etc. I don't think that the ETX ever actually affected Questar sales...

Thanks Mike. It's great for the quick session and lunar viewing but man what a PITA to keep slewing manually. Maybe I'll defork it for a dove tail mount.

[flatbutt]

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/james-webb-telescope-six-galaxies-old

Seeing light, collecting ancient photons like this always blows me away.

[Eric Hahl]

^JWST expanding our knowledge as promised. Or maybe expanding our questions.

[Rusty Heap]

We can only ponder..........


why


God is Dog spelled backwards.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

We can only ponder..........


why


God is Dog spelled backwards.

or how

[Eric Hahl]

Been so long since we've had clear skies that I'm out of practice. My attempt at M13 from this weekend. It's not shabby but I know I can do better.

[masraum]

https://apnews.com/article/meteorite-hits-home-hopewell-new-jersey-91fecf2eb7e5ffb938bfb68920dc6011

OPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A metallic object that punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom, was a meteorite, experts announced Thursday.

Scientists with The College of New Jersey determined the 6-by-4-inch object, which weighs about 2.2 pounds, is a rare stony chondrite meteorite. They came to that conclusion after conducting a visual examination, making density measurements and scanning electron microscope images. They were assisted in their work by Jerry Delaney, a retired meteorite expert from Rutgers University and the American Museum of Natural History.

“Getting the chance to examine the meteorite (Wednesday) was a rare and thrilling opportunity for me, as well as for a group of physics students and professors at TCNJ,” said Nathan Magee, chair of the school’s physics department. “We are excited to be able to confirm that the object is a true chondrite meteorite, in excellent condition, and one of a very small number of similar witnessed chondrite falls known to science.”

The family that owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a corner — still warm around 12:30 p.m. Monday. The experts believe it hit the home a short time before it was found.

Nobody was hurt, and there was no serious damage to the residence, said police in Hopewell Township, north of the state capital of Trenton.

Suzy Kop, whose family owns the home, said they initially thought someone had thrown a rock into an upstairs bedroom Monday, but they soon realized that wasn’t the case. Kop said hazmat officials responded to their home to check it out along with her family, in case they had been exposed to some type of radioactive material, but those checks were all negative.

I don't want my home to be damaged by a meteorite, but I'd love to find one or have one land in the front yard.

I've wondered about going hunting. Apparently there are places in west Texas where you can go hunting.

I've also wanted to hunt for "micro-meteorites". Apparently, you can scrape the sludge out of your gutters, and then find tiny meteorites there.

[flatbutt]

Just get a strong magnet and run that thru the gutters, or your yard.

[Scott Douglas]

Question for you star gazer guys.
I was interested in getting a 500mm reflector lens to use with a 2x extender for taking moon shots. A fella on another forum recommended getting this instead:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185887997236?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&customid=&campid=5338980885&toolid=10001&mpt=993275

I think it might work better than a 500+2x extender but would like your opinion.
What do you all think?

[flatbutt]

I've no idea. You might searching here:

https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/79-dslr-mirrorless-general-purpose-digital-camera-dso-imaging/

[E Sully]

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/829073-meade-1000mm-f11/
Not highly thought of.

[Scott Douglas]

Thanks guys, I guess I'll pass on it for now.

[flatbutt]

Well what the heck is this?

I was out fiddling with my solar set up when a neighbor came by and asked for a peek. He was suffoiciently impressed that he tried to rake some pix with his iphone and that will explain the no so good quality. BUT. What the heck is the object down around 7oclock?



and here it has either split into two or he got some kind of lensing.