Hi Ben
Thank you for sharing your photos.
You must be very pleased with such a good result as well you should.
My first wide field the stars were about one sixteenth of an inch across but I was so happy.
And you have captured a UFO that is something else.
I did many wide fields, five nights in a row all nighters...back then only had a 300d canon only six meg but that camera all of them changed the game.
I went overboard and purchased the one gigabyte card... $110 but I think the camera was over 2k.
So what did you use?
Can you remember the setting and exposure time?
A tip print them out...the first efforts at least.
And please try harder on the jokes the world needs humour and happiness...mmm and kindness and tolerance, less greed, less hate...where better to attack evil than with a nice joke.
Thanks again and I hope you can become a regular poster and be an encouragement to others to share their stories.
Alex
Here is a wide field I rescued from photo bucket taken with 300d at 400 iso with over an hour exposure which was a big deal back then..any processing was uninformed.
I posted this in another thread but I post it here for you.
Alex
Hi everyone, Im Craig. I thought I should introduce myself.
My background in astronomy goes back to before I can remember with a long time love affair with the Southern Cross. With this being said, I had never actually had or given myself the opportunity to look at the stars with any type of magnification. Until about 2/3 months ago when i purchased a pair of 15x70 mead bino's. Wow! Needless to say, the Crux was my first target, and was I impressed. I had no idea of the gems hidden behind my light affected skies. So here I am, 3 weeks after the purchase of my first scope (8" Skywatcher Dobsonian). Every time I've dragged it out the back yard since, I've been blown away by the treasures in our sky.
So now I would like to start the process of documenting what I am seeing, with both My 8" Dob and Bino's. I have some filters on the way too.
So my question now is, what is the best way to go about this?
I have my own ideas about it, but the more I think about the process, the more chaotic my thoughts become. Haha....hmmm
Is there a common/standard way of doing it, or is it a process we should be stumbling through on our own?
Thanks for any advice offered.
Hmmm..... Thanks Alex, Sounds like I'm gonna need a Banyan and funny looking cap as well.
This will sound odd but I recommend an eye patch so you can dark adapt at least one eye, if your go for two so your can dark adapt for binos your will also new white cane.
A hood is good that when at the ep you can exclude stray light.
And strangely to keep out the cold a full length "dress" works well.
I would tie a blanket around my waist such that it reached the ground and that really kept out the cold.
I have actually been meaning to get myself an eye patch Alex. So far i've been covering the other (extra) eye with my hand, so not to strain the one I'm using. So, would switching a patch from eye to eye between observing and documenting sound right?
ps:might be a silly question here, but,how do I refer to a certain post the way you have in your reply?
I have actually been meaning to get myself an eye patch Alex. So far i've been covering the other (extra) eye with my hand, so not to strain the one I'm using. So, would switching a patch from eye to eye between observing and documenting sound right?
ps:might be a silly question here, but,how do I refer to a certain post the way you have in your reply?
Your idea of switching the eye patch had never occurred to me that is a great idea.
To reference a post click on the little box "quote" in the bottom right corner.
To this day I still don't know how to "quote" only part of a post.
To this day I still don't know how to "quote" only part of a post.
Alex
It involves the use of the delete button Alex.
Hi Craig,
Welcome to IceInSpace
Don't let Alex scare you, he has spent too many nights alone in the dark
Probably unprofessionally, but most amateur observers I know don't spend too much time, if any, recording what they have seen.
There are notable exceptions. Some even go to length to sketch their views.
I love to be able too but, alas...
Problems being dark adaption for observing does not mix well with illumination required for writing.
Additionally, the more time you spend recording, the less time you spend observing.
Finally, most observations from cataloguers already include their observations, I find myself just trying to see what they saw, and be happy with that.
But if you are insistent, probably you are going to produce a targets list, just make room there for observations.
Additionally, there is here on IIS a forum titled Observational and Visual Astronomy, and it has a sub thread of Observation Reports. Link here
Hi Craig,
Welcome to IceInSpace
Don't let Alex scare you, he has spent too many nights alone in the dark
Probably unprofessionally, but most amateur observers I know don't spend too much time, if any, recording what they have seen.
There are notable exceptions. Some even go to length to sketch their views.
I love to be able too but, alas...
Problems being dark adaption for observing does not mix well with illumination required for writing.
Additionally, the more time you spend recording, the less time you spend observing.
Finally, most observations from cataloguers already include their observations, I find myself just trying to see what they saw, and be happy with that.
But if you are insistent, probably you are going to produce a targets list, just make room there for observations.
Additionally, there is here on IIS a forum titled Observational and Visual Astronomy, and it has a sub thread of Observation Reports.
Thanks for posting, and Clear Skies!
Thanks for the welcome Allan.
I quite enjoy Alex's humour.
I had a quick read of the observation reports. There is some very interesting reading there. I'm liking the idea of looking back on early observations and seeing how far i've come, and how crappy my first eyepieces were.lol
I know what you mean about using every minute for viewing though. As i was reading what you said, I was remembering last night out the back yard swinging the scope, dragging the chair,swapping eyepieces around and the eagerness to get back to viewing. I guess I'll have a go and see how like it. After all, it's all about the enjoyment of it all.
Ok , I have another question. What is the best way to cool the mirrors in my 8" Dob without using fans? I have read all different ideas like caps on, caps off, tube horizontal, on 45*, straight up, away from breeze(if any) and so on. There are plenty of ideas, but which would be most recommended?
Horizontal away from breeze sounds right to me, but I'm a noob.
Looking forward to hearing some suggestions.
Craig
No not at all.
Folk have their secret methods maybe.
I just have been looking into the problem.
This is an old bushy method of cooling beer which I am trying to incorporate into an answer.
Build a fire I the morning let the fire die down late in the day.
Remove all coals and ash
Remove a foot of soil and you find the ground colder as the heat has drawn up the coldness further down.
Place,scope here,set horizontal .
I think if you keep the scope cool during the day is a big start and put it outside 47 minutes after Sun set and wait 2 hours,an 17 minutes...then switch on fan.
To cool a DOB without using a fan, take the end cap off and wait.
Time depends on temperature differential between where the scope has been and where it will be operating.
The open design makes DOBs pretty easy to cool, especially less than say 14".
But with your tube caps off, placing the DOB in a horizontal position will help prevent anything from landing on the mirror. Likewise, if any wind is blowing, face away from wind to prevent anything blowing into the tube.
No its not a stupid question, but you may get more responses if you create your own thread, instead of post 1796 of a 13 year old thread that not everybody reads.
The forum Beginners Equipment discussions is possibly a better choice for a topic like this. maybe?
No its not a stupid question, but you may get more responses if you create your own thread, instead of post 1796 of a 13 year old thread that not everybody reads.
The forum Beginners Equipment discussions is possibly a better choice for a topic like this. maybe? [/QUOTE]
Thanks for your answer Allan.
What you say about a new thread makes sense. Given this is all new to me, including never using any kind of forum before joining IIS.
Just seems a bit rough that a question would go unanswered for being in what is deemed to be the wrong place.
I'm very new to this and only just put together a collapsible dobsonian 8. Waiting for a clear sky in Melbourne to give it a go.
I have a question - what is collimation and how often should you do it? From what I've understood it's simply a process of aligning the eyepiece and the primary mirror. Is that correct and do I absolutely need a laser accessory to do it as a beginner (it was suggested to me by someone else)? Also why does it need to be routinely done i.e. why does it go out of alignment after a while?