11978 replies to this topic

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

I couldn't help it. Another impromptu image of the double sun surrounded by cloud in the early morning with the serendipity bedroom camera obscura and window pinholes. The room is 50 years old so it is a vintage "camera obscura". This is all I have been able to do recently with the weather pattern that we are having. The shadow on the lower right is my phone. The image was taken directly from that wall.

A well thought-out camera obscura ought to be a wonderful thing to play with. Horace E. Dall described a very nice one nearly a century ago, on page 417 of Albert G Ingalls's Amateur Telescope Making Advanced.

[oldmanastro]

A well thought-out camera obscura ought to be a wonderful thing to play with. Horace E. Dall described a very nice one nearly a century ago, on page 417 of Albert G Ingalls's Amateur Telescope Making Advanced.

I have a copy of Ingalls book and the nice drawing of the camera obscura in the attic. George T Keene, a pioneer in amateur astronomy astrophotography back in the 60s, spent his retirement years building camera obscuras and installing them in client's homes. 

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

I have a copy of Ingalls book and the nice drawing of the camera obscura in the attic. George T Keene, a pioneer in amateur astronomy astrophotography back in the 60s, spent his retirement years building camera obscuras and installing them in client's homes. 

Wow, I remember some of Keene's writings. I wonder what he used for objectives. The one in Dall's design was quite unusual. I suppose Keene could have made them himself.

[Bomber Bob]

First Light for my Kenko A80M F12.5 went very well.  4 VG Star Tests - Winter Triangle + Pollux.  Jupiter, Mars, & The Moon very sharp at 315x, and in 7 / 10 seeing.  Hope the weather allows a shoot-out with my C80P next week.

 

DPAC doesn't lie.

 

Overall... Views reminded me of my Sears (ASTRO) 6336 - higher resolution & less false color than anticipated for an F12.5 achromat -- obvious on Procyon & Sirius; plus, pale yellow-gold Moon.  But, no yellow-green or blue-violet fringing at the limbs.

 

Hardware...  The Focuser has a thick chrome plate over the pinion with 4 screws:

 

 

I tightened these until it was stiff enough to carry my Baader 1.25" Prism + hand-grenade heavy eyepieces like a Radian 4mm.  No slippage last night on Mars at 250x.  In fact, I could attach a Baader 2" ClickLock Ring + 2" diagonal & eyepiece if / when I really want to open up the views.  I also tested focusing at high-power without using the Baader's micro-focus ring.  Jupiter was a little trickier than Mars at 315x, but doable with practice (sorta like my TAK focusers).  The large focus knobs help -- same as my TS-65S / 1000.

 

Jupiter:  6 belts, GRS + Notch, hints of brown in the NEB & SEB.  Most pleasing views at 250x (Radian 4).  Mars:  Syrtis easy at 100x (LV-10).  Hellas prominent from 200x (LV-5) to 315x (AT/P-3.2) -- the most pleasing Red Planet views.  No need for filtering.  Spent the majority of Moon time in & around the Alpine Valley.

 

My only gripe is that the plastic Lens Cap fits too tight - I had to remove the dewshield first, or risk smudging the lens.  I'll probably Krazee-Glue the center KENKO button.

 

The bundled 6x30 Finder is better than average, but if I keep this Kenko, it'll get a new SVBONY 6x30 R/A -- my neck is still sore this morning!

Edited by Bomber Bob, 07 March 2025 - 09:30 AM.

[Airship]

My all-time favorite grab'n go scope; a 4" f/15 Unitron 155 on a 150 altaz mount. It's reasonably lightweight, easy to set up, quickly acclimates, and gives a great image. Tonight I viewed the moon, Jupiter, Alnitak, Sigma Orionis, M42/43 and the Trapezium, Sirius, and M41.

 

 

Wonderful!

[Paul Sweeney]

I took out the orange tube C8 last night. The sky was clear and the seeing looked to be good to very good.

First up was Jupiter. It looked terrible. The micro-seeing was poor. The moons were twinkling like mad, and little could be seen on Jupiter except that it had 2 bands.

So I skipped Mars and went on to M46 and M47. These are tough targets here because there is usually haze, as was the case last night. M47 was easy, but M46 was dim, and the PN was tough to make out. I then toured Orion before packing it in.

I have used this scope a few times now and have a few issues with it. Even with a 10" dew shield it is prone to dew. There is a tiny bit of image shifting. Not bad, but last night I did notice it. The fork vibrates quite a bit, making fine focus difficult. The finder is tough to align because it requires a screwdriver instead of having knobs. I have to look into putting a Vixen finder shoe on it so I can put a 50mm RACI finder on it. Finally, the scope is extremely front heavy. You have to keep hold of it when releasing the clutch or it will nose dive.

[oldmanastro]

I had not taken out the RV6 for sometime but in this particular night any big exposed lens surface would have dewed up. The RV6 pedestal legs are on wheels. It was a quick easy setup with an average polar alignment. It was still holding excellent collimation from last time providing a nice concentric diffraction ring around star Airy discs. Jupiter was the first target. The GRS was in transit and could be observed with medium powers at 133x. A crisp image of the planet was still holding at 250x. I went as far as trying 400x and to my surprise the image was still holding and showing details. The images show the planet with a 3x barlow using the ZWOASI224. The seeing was 7-8 but it deteriorated as the planet altitude decreased and the thermals from the roof took over. Mars was much higher but it is quite small now. Visually it was showing the same albedo features seen in the image and the polar cap. The image was captured with a 3x barlow. I had to get up very early today for work so last night's session was shorter than usual. The observations and images were done with the telescope's own mount, considered crude by today's standard but it does a good tracking job for planetary and lunar observations.

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Edited by oldmanastro, 07 March 2025 - 06:02 PM.

[deSitter]

I had not taken out the RV6 for sometime but tonight any big exposed lens surface would have dewed up. The RV6 pedestal is on wheels. It was a quick easy setup with an average polar alignment. It was still holding excellent collimation from last time providing a nice concentric diffraction ring around star Airy discs. Jupiter was the first target. The GRS was in transit and could be observed with medium powers at 133x. A crisp image of the planet was still holding at 250x. I went as far as trying 400x and to my surprise the image was still holding and showing details. The images show the planet with a 2x and 3x barlow using the ZWOASI224. The seeing was 7-8 but it deteriorated as the planet altitude decreased and the thermals from the roof took over. Mars was much higher but it is quite small now. Visually it was showing the same albedo features seen in the image and the polar cap. The image was captured with a 3x barlow. I had to get up very early today for work so last night's session was shorter than usual. The observations and images were done with the telescope's own mount, considered crude by today's standard but it does a good tracking job for planetary and lunar observations.

RV-6! Wow! Awesome!

 

-drl

[oldmanastro]

RV-6! Wow! Awesome!

 

-drl

Rescued 32 years ago and restored. This is one of two that I have seen here on the island. The second one is missing the original mount and focuser. The mirrors had their third recoat two years ago.

[Bomber Bob]

Branch of the southern jet over The Swamp tonight... Winds at 18000' are > 100 knots...  Gonna check seeing with my TS-50, and go from there...

 

The Moon looked good at sunset, so I brought out my "new" Kenko NES-80M Rig:

 

 

First thing I noticed with both refractors at 100x:  Brightest parts / highest points of crater walls & such in the A80M have a touch of yellow that is not seen in the TS-50.  This TAK is so close to visual APO -- only my FC-50 beats it.  So, no surprise, the Kenko ain't a Takahashi...  Both show jet black shadows.  The A80M's 30mm of extra aperture reveals finer detail, like tiny craterlets that the TS only hints at.  [How would the A80M do against my TS-65S?  I bet it would be neck & neck -- Tak Triplet vs. Kenko Doublet.  I look forward to seeing myself next week.]

 

I used all .965" accessories in the TS:  TAK Prism + spectros Kellners & Plossls + TAK 2x Barlow.  A80M kept the Baader 1.25" Prism + AT / TV / Vixen eyepieces.

 

Mars was in generally calmer air, but the TS maxxed-out at 200x -- a sharp disk, but otherwise... The A80M did very well at 315x -- especially considering the air -- so it stayed put.  Jupiter at 140x (spec P-5) was near-perfect.  This Tiny TAK presents the Galileans beautifully.  Not much activity, though.  Utopia was almost as dark as Syrtis in the A80M.  Definitely sketch-worthy.

 

Next week will be an FC Week, except for continued Kenko Testing.  After that, No Moon:  Leo + Coma + Virgo returning, so my Newts will be back out -- hopefully before The Bugs stage a serious comeback!

Edited by Bomber Bob, 07 March 2025 - 08:57 PM.

[CHASLX200]

2 cold here= bad seeing.

Edited by CHASLX200, 07 March 2025 - 08:21 PM.

[oldmanastro]

Branch of the southern jet over The Swamp tonight... Winds at 18000' are > 100 knots...  Gonna check seeing with my TS-50, and go from there...

 

The Moon looked good at sunset, so I brought out my "new" Kenko NES-80M Rig:

 

Kenko A80M DELIVERY S01 - First Setup (RS FL).jpg

 

First thing I noticed with both refractors at 100x:  Brightest parts / highest points of crater walls & such in the A80M have a touch of yellow that is not seen in the TS-50.  This TAK is so close to visual APO -- only my FC-50 beats it.  So, no surprise, the Kenko ain't a Takahashi...  Both show jet black shadows.  The A80M's 30mm of extra aperture reveals finer detail, like tiny craterlets that the TS only hints at.  [How would the A80M do against my TS-65S?  I bet it would be neck & neck -- Tak Triplet vs. Kenko Doublet.  I look forward to seeing myself next week.]

 

I used all .965" accessories in the TS:  TAK Prism + spectros Kellners & Plossls + TAK 2x Barlow.  A80M kept the Baader 1.25" Prism + AT / TV / Vixen eyepieces.

 

Mars was in generally calmer air, but the TS maxxed-out at 200x -- a sharp disk, but otherwise... The A80M did very well at 315x -- especially considering the air -- so it stayed put.  Jupiter at 140x (spec P-5) was near-perfect.  This Tiny TAK presents the Galileans beautifully.  Not much activity, though.  Utopia was almost as dark as Syrtis in the A80M.  Definitely sketch-worthy.

 

Next week will be an FC Week, except for continued Kenko Testing.  After that, No Moon:  Leo + Coma + Virgo returning, so my Newts will be back out -- hopefully before The Bugs stage a serious comeback!

That Kenko looks really sharp. My best view of Jupiter with a 60mm telescope was with a Tak 60. It was many years ago and I have never forgotten that view. It was really sharp with the GRS looking at me.

[deSitter]

Branch of the southern jet over The Swamp tonight... Winds at 18000' are > 100 knots...  Gonna check seeing with my TS-50, and go from there...

 

The Moon looked good at sunset, so I brought out my "new" Kenko NES-80M Rig:

 

Kenko A80M DELIVERY S01 - First Setup (RS FL).jpg

 

First thing I noticed with both refractors at 100x:  Brightest parts / highest points of crater walls & such in the A80M have a touch of yellow that is not seen in the TS-50.  This TAK is so close to visual APO -- only my FC-50 beats it.  So, no surprise, the Kenko ain't a Takahashi...  Both show jet black shadows.  The A80M's 30mm of extra aperture reveals finer detail, like tiny craterlets that the TS only hints at.  [How would the A80M do against my TS-65S?  I bet it would be neck & neck -- Tak Triplet vs. Kenko Doublet.  I look forward to seeing myself next week.]

 

I used all .965" accessories in the TS:  TAK Prism + spectros Kellners & Plossls + TAK 2x Barlow.  A80M kept the Baader 1.25" Prism + AT / TV / Vixen eyepieces.

 

Mars was in generally calmer air, but the TS maxxed-out at 200x -- a sharp disk, but otherwise... The A80M did very well at 315x -- especially considering the air -- so it stayed put.  Jupiter at 140x (spec P-5) was near-perfect.  This Tiny TAK presents the Galileans beautifully.  Not much activity, though.  Utopia was almost as dark as Syrtis in the A80M.  Definitely sketch-worthy.

 

Next week will be an FC Week, except for continued Kenko Testing.  After that, No Moon:  Leo + Coma + Virgo returning, so my Newts will be back out -- hopefully before The Bugs stage a serious comeback!

What an elegant scope! Like a small horse!

 

-drl

[davidmcgo]

Not great seeing here but clear after a few days of crazy rain and hail squalls.  Took out the old Orange Tube C11 on the fork mount with wedge and tripod for a few hour starting in twilight.  Decent views of Mars at 400x, nice to see Syrtis Major coming into view.  Sunrise was racing across the floor of Plato, but Clavius was still deep shadow.  Fun few hours but tomorrow is supposed to be steadier, so it will be C14 time.

 

Dave

[CHASLX200]

Not great seeing here but clear after a few days of crazy rain and hail squalls.  Took out the old Orange Tube C11 on the fork mount with wedge and tripod for a few hour starting in twilight.  Decent views of Mars at 400x, nice to see Syrtis Major coming into view.  Sunrise was racing across the floor of Plato, but Clavius was still deep shadow.  Fun few hours but tomorrow is supposed to be steadier, so it will be C14 time.

 

Dave

Love to see some rain after 5 months of none.

[davidmcgo]

Out with the 1973 C14 tonight.  I made a Reflectix wrap for the tube today, really helps minimize the flaring during cooldown.  Running that and a dew heater strap up front even though it is relatively dry.  Seeing is getting good, running 383x stably on Mars with occasional periods where 575x is sharp.  Followed the GRS across Jupiter with a whole bunch of eddies and turbulence in the belt following it.
 

To help with focusing the 10.2 and 6.8 University Professional series Orthos, I adapted a Svbony 1.25” helical focuser to the 3.28” to SCT thread adapter on the output side of the giant C14 diagonal.  Really nice to be able to roll a finger on it and chase the focus as seeing comes and goes without any eyepiece jitter.

 

Im running the scope and dew heater off of a Bluetti 488Watt hour portable power station, Runs everything great, I can see how much charge I’m at and how many watts the dew heater is pulling.  Still need to get a solar panel for it for longer camping trips.

 

[edit] Seeing finally got more turbulent around 10:30 pm.  Prior to that, saw Sirius B plain as day with a 20mm TV Plossls, quite a few stars peppered in the bright regions of M42 and Trapezium E and F rock solid.  Zeta Orionis with a 12mm Brandon looked pretty wide.  The Rille in the Alpine Valley with the 12 Brandon.  Great view of all the main craterlets in Plato, and continued really nice views of Mars as Syrtis Major rotated onto the meridian.  Saw some dark spots and a streak up towards Utopia and mottling in Mare Cimmerium and Hesperia, too. 

 

Gads I love this scope!

 

Dave

Edited by davidmcgo, 09 March 2025 - 09:44 AM.

[deSitter]

Out with the 1973 C14 tonight.  I made a Reflectix wrap for the tube today, really helps minimize the flaring during cooldown.  Running that and a dew heater strap up front even though it is relatively dry.  Seeing is getting good, running 383x stably on Mars with occasional periods where 575x is sharp.  Followed the GRS across Jupiter with a whole bunch of eddies and turbulence in the belt following it.
 

To help with focusing the 10.2 and 6.8 University Professional series Orthos, I adapted a Svbony 1.25” helical focuser to the 3.28” to SCT thread adapter on the output side of the giant C14 diagonal.  Really nice to be able to roll a finger on it and chase the focus as seeing comes and goes without any eyepiece jitter.

 

Im running the scope and ew heater off of a Bluetti 488Watt hour portable power station, Runs everything great, I can see how much charge I’m at and how many watts the dew heater is pulling.  Still need to get a solar panel for it for longer camping trips.

[edit] Seeing finally got more turbulent around 10:30 pm.  Prior to that, saw Sirius B plain as day with a 20mm TV Plossls, quite a few stars peppered in the bright regions of M42 and Trapezium E and F rock solid.  Zeta Orionis with a 12mm Brandon looked pretty wide.  The Rille in the Alpine Valley with the 12 Brandon.  Great view of all the main craterlets in Plato, and continued really nice views of Mars as Syrtis Major rotated onto the meridian.  Saw some dark spots and a streak up towards Utopia and mottling in Mare Cimmerium and Hesperia, too. 

 

Gads I love this scope!

 

Dave

That's great to hear - so many negative comments about the C14, nice to hear the other side.

 

-drl

[CHASLX200]

That's great to hear - so many negative comments about the C14, nice to hear the other side.

 

-drl

Welll many were flat out mush monsters. once someone can prove to me they got a fork mounted 14 i would love i got 5k waiting.

[starman876]

Welll many were flat out mush monsters. once someone can prove to me they got a fork mounted 14 i would love i got 5k waiting.

sorry to hear you got to play with all the bad ones.  I got to play with some good ones.   Amazing scope.

[CHASLX200]

sorry to hear you got to play with all the bad ones.  I got to play with some good ones.   Amazing scope.

But i can't go on what someone says is good as it may not be my good to my eyes.  Maybe what i call a mush dog maybe someone's else's freaky sharp. No two peeps are gonna see the same thing in a scope.

[starman876]

But i can't go on what someone says is good as it may not be my good to my eyes.  Maybe what i call a mush dog maybe someone's else's freaky sharp. No two peeps are gonna see the same thing in a scope.

i doubt what you call a mush dog would be freaky sharp to others.

[CHASLX200]

i doubt what you call a mush dog would be freaky sharp to others.

Trust me many have  noooooooooo clue what freaky sharp or a mush dog is in this world.

Edited by CHASLX200, 09 March 2025 - 10:54 AM.

[starman876]

Trust me many have  noooooooooo clue what freaky sharp or a mush dog is in this world.

Maybe there are and you just do not realize it.   I am sure many in this forum know.

[cavedweller]

i doubt what you call a mush dog would be freaky sharp to others.

 

Might also depend on if the other person is a buyer or seller.

[Defenderslideguitar]

Good evening   just popping in and out tonight enjoying Jupiter Mars Orion and The Moon...

 Kind of enjoying the relatively warm 42 degrees....Just plain more enjoyable than almost the too cold     viewing of    the past 2 months.  Enjoying the Grab and Go   our every day  Fluorite, the Vixen 80mmFl

 

Most things I am looking at these days pass through my window of opportunity. You know....the long   stretch of driveway into a parking area where a window exists   sooner or later most stuff passes through this window of opportunity and it means larger scopes at the ready  in the garage just open right up to the sky and the slider to the patio is a 10 foot walk with the Grab and Go  And Mars is so high up I swear I'm kneeling......

 

So here's a toast to our windows of opportunity that make things a bit easier on us  and we do not object to Spring coming......

   Hurry Springtime