Quote:
Originally Posted by ngcles
DSB's collimation issues and mirror cell problems were all sorted out very early in the evening and the collapsible 10" works wonderfully well -- yes? And "DarkskyBondi now appreciates that the sky at Bondi isn't really dark at all.
|
Firstly thanks again Les for patiently guiding me through all that stuff, both online and last night. Yes, we sorted those issues out early and quickly; I'm very pleased that the mirror cell is intact and that collimation is relatively painless.
I'm keen to learn collimating without a laser because I feel like it's something that's worth knowing (as you said, Cheshires require no batteries, and I'm a minimalist) - will a cheap cheshire do?
Meanwhile, agree on the "darkskybondi" issue. The Milky Way from here on the coast is better than from elsewhere in the city, but Bargo's sky blew my view out of the water.
Amazing to see the various objects in and around Carina with the naked eye as easily as I can see M42 from the city. Can't wait to get to what you regard as a truly dark site.
The best part of the evening was probably just being walked through the sky by Les with a laser pointer (Gary walked the other beginners through in the same way, almost inducing a singularity and thereby nearly collapsing the universe in on itself). Thanks Les! The only other thing I was remiss in was not trying out other eyepieces on my own scope. There was so much going on that I didn't think of it. Next time!
For completeness I'll mention that we observed Centaurus A NGC 5128 which looked quite good through my 10" scope.
Also, Les, the site I mentioned is
Hype Machine - literally like pressing play on the internet. I don't think you can sort by genre, but with a bit of patience you discover some gems.
What's the site to locate Iridium flares by time/location?
Happy Australia Day!
DSB
p.s. We joked about the petrol cost - I had borrowed my dad's car which easily fit the scope and it guzzled through around $30 worth of fuel.. no surprises in that, coming from the east, but thought I'd mention it. The price and journey were well worth it!