Poll: Most useful accessories?

[wavelandscott]

It has been a while since this question has been asked and with the growth of the site I suspect that the answers may be a bit different than before...also, it has been a while since I purchased anything astro in nature and I am feeling a bit of withdrawal so I am curious what you find useful that I have yet to buy ;)

I encourage you to post the whys to...this will give me the ammunition to get approval from our household treasurer!!

You can choose up to 3 things...I am excluding eyepices and the scope itself...

[wavelandscott]

I started...in no particular order...

This forum...great place to ask questions and get information...and make a few new friends too...very helpful accessory

Chair/Seat/Step/Ladder...viewing comfort is important...I did not realize how important until after I got my chair (I'm not being cynical with listing this...really)

Argo Navis...Excellent accessory...makes viewing more enjoyable to me...I spend more time seeing insead of looking...I lke that

[[1ponders]]

Man that's a hard poll. Only three :confuse3:

Where would you put those little red led head lamps. :thumbsup: I know visual observers don't like them but as an imager I find it's worth it weight in gold

[Starkler]

For the small dob pusher, its at the top of my list at #1 ;)

#2 is getting a finderscope/telrad/rigel that wont break your back :doh:

#3 is the Argonavis ( or other DSC)

People with different scope types are going to use different accessories, so that might skew the results of this poll.

[acropolite]

Ponders beat me to it, I would have to agree my Energiser red headlamp would be high on the list. :)

[Lester]

Observatory is my number 1. The scope is always there ready to go, no setting up and shelters you from the wind. Makes observing very comfortable.

[beren]

:) Unlike Lester i haven't got the luxury of an observatory so having the ability to move my scope in and out of the garage already set up using a scopebuggy/wheelybars ranks high in the most valued accessory stakes.The cumulative affect of setting up/dismantling a scope ladened with guide-scope/counterweights and dew control leads every-time you go out could probarly break the enthusiasm of any energetic stargazer :P

[Astroman]

I put Other.... For OTHER FORUMS because there is a hell of alot of info on other forums other than this one.

Also put Mount, cos what good is a scope if it doesnt have a mount.

and finders etc.... Cos they can be quite handy in FINDING objects.

[Miaplacidus]

Er, excuse me Scott, but you've left off telescope.

[Rodstar]

If you read Scott's first post, you will note that he specifically EXCLUDES the scope and eyepieces from the survey. ;) :P

[Miaplacidus]

Ah, so I have. Apologies all. To make amends I will include the lovely new Stellar Chair that arrived only yesterday. Much softer on the derrier than the traditional garden seat, I must say. (Would have preferred white perhaps, FWIW.)

The ol' Argo Navis would have to get top spot, though, followed by the green laser pointer. I just love to impress.

Cheers,

Brine.

[33South]

what about hairdryer/dewshield/heater strip, once the ol dew sets in the others become less important

High on my list after Lostock. (got a Kendrick now, looking for a 12v Hairdryer)

[mickoking]

I find maps and charts essential to plan the objects I am going to observe. Also as a low tech Astronomer I require maps to find new objects.

A good finderscope is also a great help 50mm+ with a wide field is ideal.

I love my OIII filter too. What it does on some objects like Eta Carinae neb and the Tarantula neb is breathtaking.

Clear skies :)

[Dave47tuc]

Well I voted for the first 3.

I like my rigal quick finder, very usefull.
Ability to read and use Star Charts.
Friends in astronomy have been invaluable.

One other I would have liked to say was the learning of the night sky. Meaning learning the Constellations and my way around the night sky.
People need to take time to do this, as finding things in the sky will be easier.:)

[jjjnettie]

I choose my maps and charts, my 2 viewing seats of different heights and this forum.
Binoculars would come in at number 4 if allowed.

[janoskiss]

mount. you gotta have a mount to put the scope on.
then you need to know what to point the scope at: planisphere + charts.
and you need some way of pointing it: finder.

[Striker]

1) Observatory no doubt is number 1.
2) Losmandy G11 mount Gemini....the accuracy is incredible
3) The forum...what a plus this forum has been for most of us....thanks Mike.

[iceman]

Great thread, Scott!

I voted:
#1 DSC's: Just the mose useful tool for visual observing. Lets me see so much more in a night than I would otherwise.
#2 Friends: Having friends to observe with makes a huge difference.. bouncing ideas off each other, sharing experiences, someone to talk to and spend cold nights with.
#3 This forum: The wealth of information being shared daily is just great. A very handy accessory for cloudy nights, work days, etc :) In fact #2 has come out of #3, so they really go hand in hand.

I didn't vote for tracking, because I looked at the poll as related to visual observing (my interpretation). While I love having tracking for imaging (and couldn't go without it now), it's not crucial to me for visual observing so as an accessory it doesn't rate as highly for me.

[Vermin]

I voted for Finder, DSC, and Tracking.

I did not include "Mount" because I don't consider it an accessory. Along with the OTA it is an integral part of the telescope.

[ving]

seat (cow print of course)

finder scope

forum :)

[Glenn Dawes]

Hi Guys,

Well let's see accessories.
1) Star Charts but not the large format ones like Sky Atlas 2000, I prefer more compact ones like my old Vehrenburg - Handbook of the Constellations. If you know your way around the sky, a one page per constellation approach (description of objects on left, map on right) is useful.

2) My beloved Telrad, as long as you are under dark skies. I've found I've gone whole nights without using my normal finder.
A dew shield for it is a must - I invented a very expensive custom job that involved a carefully bent cutout from a lid of a shirt box, including stapples to hold it together and velco for putting it on/off the finder. All up cost $40 but you get a free shirt! :)

3) My 12V Hair Dryer. When you have those dark, humid and wet conditions it is still important to look your best ;)

Regards

Glenn

[ballaratdragons]

1. Friend/viewing buddy! Especially my kids!!!! I like to share the sky with others.
2. Maps/Charts . . . well, Cartes du Ciel actually.
3. Mount. makes my pics easier to take with tracking :thumbsup:

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I think it's VERY hard to limit this list to just 3 accessories .... so I have eliminated anything that is only beneficial a smaller percentage of the time I'm actually using my scope.

#1 Being a dob owner I have 2 chairs which I find essential, actually 1 folding chair & 1 timber bar stool - the 2 different heights allow me a fairly wide range of sitting postures / heights so as to make viewing almost always comfortable.

#2 I use a flatbed trolley to move my scope in and out of the house very quickly, which is simple and easy and no effort (the scope lives on the trolley inside the house anyway) so this allows me to maximise every opportunity (even the very short ones) to actually get the scope outside and USE it, thus I get way more viewing time!
Ving's Law: "The best scope is the one you USE the most"


#3 Right angle correct image finder scope - as a newby in terms of navigating around to specific locations I am often moving my head back and forth between the eyepiece and finder a LOT, etc - this finder allows me to more easily work our where in the sky I am, and with much less chance of bumping the scope while moving back and forth between them.

(Yes I definitely see some advantages to a Telrad and will probably buy one in time, but to be honest for now I make do with a laser pointer that I lay along the body of the scope tube - again I don't have to relocate my head and body so as to be looking along the central axis of the scope to see where it's pointing, in fact I don't have to hardly move my head at all with the laser and I get a fairly good fix!)

As winter comes on (my first as owner of a serious scope) I will probably find myself moving my newly made finder scope heater up into the top 3 list. Again the laser will still work for me as a kind of replacement but losing the usage of the finder annoys the hell out of me! :mad2:

[circumpolar]

1 - Maps. There is always a target you haven't attempted or one you really should revisit.
2 - Redlight for the above.
3 - Chair. Comfort is worth an extra inch in aperature.

[chunkylad]

#1 Rigel q/f
#2 maps and charts
#3 this forum

After reading others' preferences though, it deepens my desire for an Argo Navis, and makes want to get going on building my observing chair.

Yeah, great thread.

Cheers
Dave

[Kieken]

1. Charts and maps => so you can look up where something is when your outside
2. Mount => even a bino gets heavy after a while
3. Other => eyepieces that are made out of glass are heaven

I think I don't need to add other things. Perhaps this forum/internet for the information

[barees63]

I voted DSC (AN), chair and forum.. Argo Navis is far and away the most indespensible accessory for me, even though I agree with the comments about back-breaking finder scopes it ceases to matter once you have a device to find things for you, I only use the finder for a few seconds at the start of the evening.. Hard to overstate how important a good height-adjustable perch is, especially for a dobber and without this forum I probably wouldn't have figured out the first two ;-)

[EzyStyles]

have to say so far the most important for me would be the Telrad and a good tracking mount.

[Hammerman]

1: Telrad (or other laser type finder) Hands down, it's the best accessory I ever bought.

2: Variable polarizing filter.... for the moon AND planets. You observe Jupiter, Mars, Saturn with a variable polarizing filter..... see everything in it's true natural color.... you'll probably never use another color filter again.

3: Forum. Where else can you get so much great, friendly advise from people who have used the products you are interested in getting for yourself? :thumbsup:

[dugnsuz]

I don't have one right now - so I can testify that the Telrad is one of the most useable accessories for dob owners without DSC's - most of us!!
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

[wavelandscott]

Thanks all for your participation and comments...I've enjoyed seeing everyone's opinions :thumbsup:

[Eternal]

In no particular order:

Telrad - This has really helped getting my scope pointed in the right direction.
Maps/Astronomy Software - Has helped me know where to point it.
This Forum - Though there are others, the local content on this one makes it very useful. More importantly though was my recent trip to Lostock, which without this site would not have happened - and boy did I LOVE Lostock!!
Other - My car, without which I'd have no means of transporting either myself or my equipment to decent viewing locations.

[ispom]

I voted for "other" and
I mean with it my “Binocular Ansatz” (a nozzle to split the light into two ways for seeing with both eyes)

[netwolf]

Finder, Maps, and the various astroforums. The last one can help you get the rest.

Regards

[Sonia]

A friend or viewing buddy, always passes the time on, someone to talk to and they may know alot about the night sky.

My charts and planispheres! especially when you arent too knowledgable about the night sky.

Ad this forum, wonderful people who know there stuff!

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I participated last time around so I can't vote again officially, so I'll update my responses here instead.

Former votes were:
1/ My 2 viewing chairs - one bar stool, one lower timber folding chair, both of fixed height, neither very compact.
2/ A flatbed trolley to move my scope easily in and out of the house to the yard.
3/ A right angle, correct image finder scope.


New votes:
#1 - The chairs have been replaced by one of the observing chairs sourced by Waveland Scott (aka the Stellar chairs) and I'm sure anyone who owns one of these would likely have it as one of their 3 most useful accessories. I cannot imagine sitting / viewing from a dob, especially the taller 12", without this chair!

#2 - My faithful 10" dob has been replaced by a 12", so again the flatbed trolley is enormously useful, in fact with the size and weight difference between the 10" and 12" I'm now going to say the trolley is not just useful but now essential most of the time, even to take the scope out to the car for a night away.

#3 - Oh this IS a hard call now..... the right angle finder doesn't get much use anymore - I still love it, but with better quality (ie much heavier) eyepieces in the focusser, and a telrad, and an Argo Navis all mounted up on the top end of the main tube it is already VERY top heavy, with the finder mounted as well the scope will NOT hold position below 35 degrees altitude without serious counterbalancing........ I mean a bag of rice AND a paver (wrapped in bubble wrap) so the finder scope sadly now gets little usage.

So I'm going to change this vote to "other finders" and cheat - this will collectively include my telrad, laser pointer AND Argo Navis because I find that at home (where the bulk of my viewing is done) I use the 3 equally. Moreover, some nights any one of the 3 items may not be used at all, so I guess none are essential alone, as long as I have at least one of them I can survive.

I take the meaning of "accessories" to mean hardware items that one actually packs to take observing and there plenty of other hardware items that come to mind as eminently useful, but if the definition were extended to also include other "things" that aid or improve the entire observing experience I would include the following:
(not in any particular order)

Starry Night Pro on my desktop pc (not on a laptop so it stays home / inside).
Astronomy 2007 book.
My compact 10x32 binoculars - literally pocket sized.
Star charts.
AS&T and S&S magazines.
This forum. (Enormous value in all ways: time, information, dollars saved, and most of all people!)
Heavens Above website (for ISS, Hubble and Iridium flare sightings)...

Last of all, but by no means least ... friends made through this forum, especially the "Cambroon" crew such as Paul, Randall, Jeanette, Wes, Mike and Chris, etc ..... and of course Ron himself (AND his 2 acre dark sky site, just like his signature tag says).
;)
Best accessory of all!

[obga]

1. Digital Setting Circles
2. Friend/Viewing Buddy
3. This forum

[Tannehill]

1) Argo Navis
2) Observing chair (adjustable)
3) Transparent red acrylic screen over my laptop which allows me to use one of several programs scope-side without trashing my night vision!

Scot

[Sentinel]

1) Digital Setting Circles

Used PalmDSC for two years, just installed a Argo Navis. DSCs reduce the time spent finding things. I was a very good starhopper but with time constraints on my observing, I now spend more time looking at objects than finding them.

Current : Argo Navis

2) Charts and Books etc.

Without these there is no planning or identifying objects that are in the eyepiece. When multiple objects are in the eyepiece it's good to know what you are looking at. A comet cannot be discovered without a good set of charts.

Currently used : Uranometria 2000 Second Edition, Night Sky Observers Guides, Hartungs, Skymap Pro v11.

3) Observing Buddy

I like the social and security factors of observing, especially when far from home. My observing mates have 16" Binoculars and all manner of Dobs up to 18". Good variety of aperture and good conversation. Good motivation from others especially when skies are marginal. If you don't go, you'll never know if the conditions were good.

[Sentinel]

Over 70% of us think that finding things is important

50% for Finders
20% for DSCs

If I had not owned an Argo Navis, I would go with Finders as my first as well.

[csb]

#1 Star Diagonal - even contortionists must love this little addon. A must.

#2 Finder Scope - otherwise I'd be lost.

#3 This Forum is great - the only other people I know who also get a kick out of staring at BIG things.

[radu5er]

As an addendum to the 'Friend/Viewing Buddy' choice, I would also add 'An Understand/Supportive Partner'

:D

[Alchemy]

Going to have to go the observatory, the benefit of rolling off the roof ready to go is almost priceless, no setting up early, aligning just to have the clouds roll in and 3/4 hr pack up.

[DavidU]

A wife !
Seriously, probably the humble computer.

[Geoff45]

I would have thought mount should have been left off too. It's just as necessary as the scope. Nothing can happen without the mount.
Geoff

[rat156]

I almost only voted for one of these.

Without doubt the best accessory, for those that have them, is an observatory. By such a long marging the rest pale into insignificance.

A permanent setup is fantatsic in Melbourne, where the clouds come from no-where.

Cheers
Stuart

[§AB]

You've read my mind and then some.....

For me - OIII/UHC filters. I can see nebulae that are invisible wihout the filters

[abellhunter]

This is soooooooooooo easy! An Observatory for crying out loud! Of course the darker site the BETTER! Therez nothing like going out at Sunset, un-chaining the roof and pushing the "GO" button on the winch! rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


Get Cosmic! Lance aka "abellhunter"

P.S. As some of you know allready i am looking to build an observatory and move the ARSENAL down under! See: http://www.anzaobservatory.com

[Glenhuon]

I'll second that, can't think of anything worse than showing off the latest images from last nights session and getting a non-commital grunt.
:lol:

Bill

[Suzy_A]

How about these three...

1) Twelve hours sleep the night before...

2) A flask of hot chocolate (heavily laced with rum). Or maybe a flask of rum lightly laced with hot chocolate?

3) A warm friend (to take over the guiding after you've finished off #2...)