March 2011:
Wife buys me a Meade 125AX - I had absolutely no idea and based on number of boxes involved I assumed it was a lawnmower..Needless to say I am intrigued
April 2011:
Have buggered up the Meade but thats ok as since I got the present I have been consistently researching what I would have bought had I had the option
. (Its a man thing..)
May 2011:
Proud owner of HEQ5 mount and SW ED100 (black diamond no less)..Meade Irreparable ( I kid you not, just spotted it on second hand section of local astro shop..)
June 2011:
Can I frickin Polar align from my Sydney back yard..no I effing cant.. Getting no better than 25 seconds "manually guided", and what is this nonsense about Canon being better than Nikon...Amp Glow???, Noise, fricking CMOS v CCD?? What the?? I'm a Nikon Boy!!
July 2011:
Given poor polar alignment skills and depressingly poor seeing conditions, many a night spent "researching" how to make my new lawn mower (sorry, telescope) work better. Apparently being a Mac user does not help...no no, not one jot,,,Astro Software for a Mac..no Sir, surely not..I'm a MAC BOY!!!
August 2011:
Special on Windows Laptops at local JB Hi FI....Result..$200 all in..aaah, need photoshop...for Windows...Lightroom does not quite cut it..
September 2011:
Local telescope shop introduces me to focal reducers...apparently capable of giving me much better images...ooh, sir had also best purchase a Bhatimov mask...now I know, and you know, that that is just a made up name...Also rediscovered Sky at Night..Gawd Bless Sir Patrick..
October 2011:
Off for a passionate weekend at local dark site(marketed as romantic getaway but you get my drift).....must remember to buy power pak...must remember to pack car with all astro gear and hope woife does not mind champagne and choclolates nestiling on her lap for the 3 hour drive...
November 2011:
Christmas is comng..if I purchase an ST80 and autoshoot guider, (sorry, If Santa gives me...)that will make my pictures fabby....By the way, I will also need a light pollution filter (its slightly cheaper than moving house, but not much...Astronomique...my ar%$e... astronomical...)...oooh, and a 2012 Australian Sky map book...oooh, and an illuminated reticule (another bloody made up word)oooh, and sir should probably considor moving to canon as there will not be enough focus draw to use the CLS filter you just paid for if using a nikon with an SW focal reducer...
December 2011:
Have just realised that HEQ5 Mount was put together by friday afternoon casual labor dreaming of kareokee...Illuminated reticule indicates that alt scale is 6 degrees off...no effing wonder I couldnt polar align...BY THE WAY>>>FIRST SKILL FOR NEWBIE TO LEARN IS DRIFT ALIGNMENT...ITS REALLY NOT THAT DIFFICULT!!JUST MAKE SURE YOU GET AN ILLUMINATED RETICULE AND PRACTICE USING THIS SITE!!
http://www.petesastrophotography.com/
1 day after first successful polar alignment...off to DIY shop to buy pegs to nail into ground to guide tripod placement and garden furniture waterproof cover to throw over tripod and mount so I never have to move it in the first place!! (pro astro boy in bintel astro shop in Glebe apparently puts a bin over his mount to protect it...)
January 2012:
First M42 Published on forum..too embarrassed previously...Am now getting at least 30 minute guided subs that are tip top..sadly, with a Nikon, the most uncharitable camera for amp glow etc. Purchased 2nd hand Canon 30D to "aide" further astro imaging efforts...well, its nearly my birthday and I did give up smoking this year....
January 2012: No effing Canon utility software available to download.so I cant do Bulb long exposures without spending $200 on a programable remote!!..Backyard EOS just advised that for a 30D I need a serial cable...are you sure!!!!
January 2012: Just checked out images from a fellow amateur in Australia which reminded me as to why we do this "stuff"...
March 2012: Just about to order Skypod( wavy futuristic visual effects)....after all, I DO need somewhere warm and dry to protect external power sockets I need to instal in middle of garden to power AC camera power adapter (another $100) and Mount as Power pack taken up with Dew System ($150) AND some other crap I am bound to need...ah...I remember now, the $200 light box I had someone make up for me which will help me do Flats..........Anybody got a bootleg copy of CS 5????.........................
http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum.../mexwav4ys.gif
June 2012...Flights and hotels to Fiji for Transit of Venus...........................
Best stop now and go and cut the grass...by hand... with nail clippers...or go buy a goat..Does my bum look big in this 4 inch refractor...should I get something bigger...
PS...Love this astro stuff...
