Butterfly Maiden Posted November 21 Share Posted November 21 My astronomy consists mainly of naked eye observations and the following optical equipment; Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece / Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars / Leica 8x32BN binoculars. I am by no means an expert in the technicalities of astronomy, but I do appreciate looking at the efforts made by more accomplished observers. I am not into astrophotography, neither having the time, equipment or financial resources to do so. Hence my more moderate gear that suits me just fine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted November 21 Share Posted November 21 Hello and welcome to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Maiden Posted November 21 Author Share Posted November 21 27 minutes ago, TerryMcK said: Hello and welcome to the forum Thank you 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 21 Share Posted November 21 That's cool, I don't have much gear either ... This gets out the most. Or maybe this. The only camera I own is on my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Maiden Posted November 21 Author Share Posted November 21 That gear looks great Nightspore 😀 I think that whatever gives you the results you want, then there is nothing wrong with that. I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 21 Share Posted November 21 2 hours ago, Butterfly Maiden said: That gear looks great Nightspore 😀 I think that whatever gives you the results you want, then there is nothing wrong with that. I Thanks. Obviously I'd prefer taking a 7" triplet out with me every night. Although I'd probably need a JCB to carry & mount the thing lol. The scopes shown above are small, light and practical. Ideal for me as I'm physically disabled. Above: Sky-Watcher Evostar 72ED DS Pro. Synta are being a bit coy about the exact composition of the doublet. I suspect one part of the doublet, probably the 'flint' element, is a Chinese FPL-51 variant. It has a Schott 'crown'. This produces very little chromatic aberration. Altair 60 EDF (SFPL53 doublet). The glass on this Altair doublet is second to none, even better than the 72ED. I've actually seen Galilean moon shadows on Jupiter's surface during transits with this 60mm scope! If you want a much cheaper general purpose scope the Synta (Sky-Watcher, Orion, Omegon) ST80 is well worth it. It will show some CA, but this isn't very visible for visual. I had a couple of the ST80's. I used them for years before I bought the 72 DS Pro and the 60 EDF. I put aftermarket rotating focusers on them eventually. The picture above shows the Orion ST80 with its original focuser. You'll be surprised what you can actually see with one of these achromatic refractors. I think the Orion OTA was under a hundred quid from Amazon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Maiden Posted November 22 Author Share Posted November 22 😮 that is an impressive list of equipment. I can understand your reason for portability, especially when coping with a physical disability. From talking with some other astronomers elsewhere, the term 'going down the rabbit hole' is used extensively when multiple purchases of optical equipment is required to fulfil all (or most) sky viewing requirements. I know it can be a very expensive hobby, so I have kept myself restrained from that aspect of it. I know I could see a lot more detail of the skies with better equipment, so who knows - maybe one day I will win the lottery and surprise you all 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 (edited) 12 hours ago, Butterfly Maiden said: 😮 that is an impressive list of equipment. I can understand your reason for portability, especially when coping with a physical disability. From talking with some other astronomers elsewhere, the term 'going down the rabbit hole' is used extensively when multiple purchases of optical equipment is required to fulfil all (or most) sky viewing requirements. I know it can be a very expensive hobby, so I have kept myself restrained from that aspect of it. I know I could see a lot more detail of the skies with better equipment, so who knows - maybe one day I will win the lottery and surprise you all 🤣 I meant that astronomy didn't have to be ridiculously expensive as the ST80 was very reasonable. Accessories tend to pump up the volume. None of the above accessories are stupid expensive. The GSO 30mm and 15mm eyepieces are quite cheap in comparison. The 'Celestron' zoom can be obtained under other generic names fairly competitively. The BST Barlows are not really expensive considering their quality (the 2x has Omegon written on it, which added 40 quid to its price, if only I'd known at the time lol). The mirror diagonal and generic reflex sight are not particularly expensive. The diagonal was bundled with my 80ED, although they are not terribly expensive to buy new. The reflex was from Amazon. It took me a while to realise that many of these things come out of the same Chinese factories. All too often you are literally paying for a name. The gear above was my attempt at putting together a relatively well priced observing kit. I am familiar with rabbit holes .... Edited November 22 by Nightspore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 (edited) More rabbits ... Edited November 22 by Nightspore Mad Hatters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 (edited) Below: My slightly customised 80ED Evostar. A bit long at f/7.5, but quite effective. These aren't ridiculously expensive considering the quality of the S-FPL-53 doublet. Probably not ideal for AP but pretty great for visual. 3.1 inches of fun! Mine now has a Sky-Watcher (Long Perng) after-market rotating focuser. Something necessary for me because of my disability. I'm actually partially paralysed on my entire right side. I don't like rotating heavy diagonals in the stock non-rotating visual back itself, as they could fall out. Below: The shining crown of my refractors. An Altair 102mm S-FPL-53 doublet. Four whole inches of refractor fun! Three years ago I got some of the best views of the Martian surface I've ever had with these scopes, especially the 102mm Altair. I was amazed and astounded over a period of about three nights before the weather changed. Some things get indelibly etched into your memory. Alas, due to continuing health problems, these don't get out much these days/nights. Hopefully soon ... after more physiotherapy. Edited November 22 by Nightspore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaDec Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 Hi and welcome to the forum. The most used instruments over the centuries have been the eyes. Still relevant today. The beauty of the night sky can be enhanced by optical instruments, but the ‘eyes have it’ to quote our parliament😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Maiden Posted November 22 Author Share Posted November 22 17 minutes ago, RaDec said: Hi and welcome to the forum. The most used instruments over the centuries have been the eyes. Still relevant today. The beauty of the night sky can be enhanced by optical instruments, but the ‘eyes have it’ to quote our parliament😂 Hello and thank you for the welcome 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted November 24 Share Posted November 24 Hello Vanessa Good to see you. I hope you're well. Regards Graeme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Maiden Posted November 24 Author Share Posted November 24 9 minutes ago, Graeme said: Hello Vanessa Good to see you. I hope you're well. Regards Graeme Hello Graeme. I didn't know you were a member here too. You are probably surprised to see me again ☺️ I am doing well, thank you for asking. Sophia is doing great too. You won't see me on the TSS Forum again, but we can catch up on here as time allows 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonyme Posted November 24 Share Posted November 24 Welcome on board Vanessa. You should be able to sneak a peak of Saturn's rings from your location using the kit your already have. It'll be at it's highest point due South at about 7pm. It's fairly low in the sky but if you have a clear view down to the horizon you will see it. It won't look like a Hubble image but when I saw it for the first time in spurred me on to save up for some better kit. I still know zilch about astrophotography but that doesn't stop my sense of wonder. Gary 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Maiden Posted November 24 Author Share Posted November 24 55 minutes ago, Sonyme said: Welcome on board Vanessa. You should be able to sneak a peak of Saturn's rings from your location using the kit your already have. It'll be at it's highest point due South at about 7pm. It's fairly low in the sky but if you have a clear view down to the horizon you will see it. It won't look like a Hubble image but when I saw it for the first time in spurred me on to save up for some better kit. I still know zilch about astrophotography but that doesn't stop my sense of wonder. Gary Thank you for the welcome Gary. Also, thank you for the info on Saturn. There are many locations in the New Forest that gives a 360° uninterrupted panoramic view down to the horizon. Unfortunately, this evening we are going out with friends so I will have to wait for another opportunity to see the rings. I don't think my friends would be too happy with me if I ran off with my binoculars, leaving them all behind 😧 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT65CB-SWL Posted November 24 Share Posted November 24 Hi @Butterfly Maiden and welcome to BYA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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