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Any backyard astronomers here?

Goldwing

Goldwing

Member
Just wondering if any members enjoy amateur astronomy.

I have a 10" Dobsonian reflector with upgraded 2" eyepieces; a 50X for deep sky and a 150X.

We live in the country and have no light pollution for miles; no streetlights and the nearest town is 10 miles South.

We find it relaxing at night to observe stars, nebula and planets. The moon is amazing and we can clelarly see the rings, moons and color bands of Saturn.

It is a fun, relaxing and enjoyable hobby.

My scope and eyepieces cost less than $700 and Orion includes a terrific user-friendly program on CD that locates objects by your location and date/time.

Goldwin
 
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You can count me as a sometime star watcher. But my scope is a bit smaller, with a 6" mirror. Haven't set it up in awhile so i've forgotten all the exact specs. But i do have good views of Jupiter's cloud bands, plus 4 or so moons. Last time i set it up i was checking out the Martian polar ice caps. Then i was off to Saturn to admire the rings and Titan.
 
i have a 90mm refractor from meade, and a 12" dobsonian i built myself using a mirror and cell and focuser i bought. eypieces are 1.25". i'm out in the country as well, but i don't seem to get out much as it has been cloudy or hazy and i am in a tight little valley, so i have to haul everything 'up the hill' to view much. but i've been fooling around w/scopes for a long time and i enjoy the pastime immensely when i get around to it. i also have some microscopes which are another fascinating take on things.
saw a nice shot the other day of a section of sky where the galaxies visible were as numerous as 'grains of sand' too big to upload, so here's the 'cat's paw' instead.
 

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Yup, count me in. SkyWatcher Equinox ED100 refractor + SkyWatcher EQ6PRO mount. Various eyepieces, including a lovely TV 32mm plossl, full aperture solar filter, Orion ED80 guidescope, Orion autoguider unit, various bits and pieces.

The scope's optical quality is good, but the crayford focuser is absolutely crap. It's not worth replacing it with a moonlight or feathertouch focuser, I'll end up using it as a backup when I upgrade to a Takahashi unit. I'll probably get a 10" GSO RC for imaging too down the track.

Dave

eidt: My fave objects are Jupiter, Saturn, Omega Centauri, kappa crucis, M42
 
I'm about 10 miles SE of Santa Fe, NM and we have some gorgeous night skies here, and around 300 days/nights cloud free too.
Most of my star gazing (if you can call it that), is done through a very old set of MIOJ Meibo/Fuji 7x50 binoculars.

Steve
 
We have an older, fairly short FL/fairly fast 6" Orion Newtonian reflector (parabolic mirror) on an EQ mount, but don't use it too often any more. Light pollution is pretty bad in MA; the Harvard-Smithsonian observatory long located in my little town has effectively closed up shop (at least for visible light astronomy).

I've got a cheap Orion 500 mm f 5.6 or so Schmidt-Cassegrain, too, but that's more of a quick 'n' dirty spotting scope/telephoto lens than an astronomical scope.

Also Mrs. H has a very nice Swarovski 80 mm spotting scope; but that's a topic for another day...

There was a smallish Dobsonian (maybe 6") on the swap pile at the town dump a few weeks ago :-) I was tempted to pick it up, but I need another scope even less than I need more hifi junk...
 
Used to be a fervent devotee of the Edmund Scientific catalogs when I was a kid. Never went so far as to grind my own mirror, though. Did have a 4" garage sale reflector for a while but it was clunky...binoculars were easier to use. I'd like to acquire a compact scope one of these days. BTW...future road trip plans include a visit to Yerkes Observatory @ Williams Bay, WS. Talk about steam-era technology!
 
Hyperion said:
Good o'l Sandy - always tryin' to Shoot the Moon :D
Click to expand...

Does this count :P

4417132532_ef86a3e14e_o.jpg


Dave
 
Damn good pic!

Me personally I have a Skywatcher 130mm Newt (F6) and I'm building a F4.5 70mm refractor (Wide Field only).
 
Elfasto said:
Damn good pic!

Me personally I have a Skywatcher 130mm Newt (F6) and I'm building a F4.5 70mm refractor (Wide Field only).
Click to expand...

Thank you! The newt should make a good visual and imaging scope, especially if the mirror is any good. What eyepieces do you use? I really do recommend TV (TeleVue) - they are every bit as good (and worthwhile) as many say.

You're a brave man building a refractor, that's a Black art imho. Any images?

Acoustic said:
Nice detail! I see no f stop on you EXIF info so I'm assuming your Canon was hooked up to a telescope. What did it take, telescope wise, for that shot?

Here's one of my moons...

DSC_4210psfMedium.jpg
Click to expand...

That's a wonderful shot - I love the Golden colour and the composition is good too. And, bonus, it's frame by the branches of the tree.

Yes, my Canon was mounted @ prime focus, so f stop was f9. I used mirror lockup and an electronic remote release and self timer set to 10 seconds to minimise vibrations. Believe it or not, this was my first attempt at moon astro images using the scope. I was stoked to get it this good. This is a 100% crop by the way. By all accounts, I did an awesome job. I haven't managed this good of a shot since, but have only tried a few times. I'm waiting on the Sun's solar cycle busying up, so I can get a few Sun images (using a Seymour solar full aperture filter).

Dave

Warning: NEVER use eyepiece solar filters. Always use a full aperture solar filter - the white colour variants are not that expensive. Of course, Oxygen and hydrogen alpha and calcium variants are very expensive...
 
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