AN OBSERVATORY FOR THE GARDEN

Discussion in 'Members Hobbies' started by ARMANDII, Aug 12, 2015.

  1. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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    :Wino:, Oh, yes!!
     
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    • joolz68

      joolz68 Total Gardener

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      Getting sloshed on champers and polishing the glitter ball i bet:heehee:
       
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      • joolz68

        joolz68 Total Gardener

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        How have you kept it looking that good!,do you polish it everyday?
        Its immaculate :) x
         
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        • ARMANDII

          ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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          The finish is very glossy and smooth, Joolz, so it's fairly self cleaning, even bombing by birds
          doesn't seem to stay on for a day:heehee:
           
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          • joolz68

            joolz68 Total Gardener

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            Wait til a Rhyl seagull drops one on its way to a lancashire landfill for winter :heehee:
             
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            • trogre

              trogre Gardener

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              Too cold to go outside today, well not so much cold if you wrap up but too frosty to do any work.
              Hence sitting at the computer trying to think what I can do research on or just read.
              Armandll, I know you were having trouble with aligning polaris accurately,something to do with drift.I have been reading how a imagers have found the celestron starsense excellent for accurate tracking & imaging,they do starsense for Skywatcher also. I know starsense so I have read also has polar align on the handset so wondering if this would be any help for you? Only something else to spend your money on :):)
               
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              • ARMANDII

                ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                Hi trogre, actually, I don't have to bother with aligning Polaris when observing anymore due to having my scope in a permanent position and having carried out the Drift Alignment on my Mount, which only needs doing the once because the Mount is adjusted permanently after that.
                Yep, you're right if you can't see Polaris when setting up outside then,unless you carry out the Drift Alignment method, you will have trouble keeping on track with a target star as it moves from East to West even if you have a motor drive of some sort on a equatorial mount.
                When I was observing outside I, to save time and trouble, positioned my scope [in the parked position] on three marks on the patio so that [a] I was in the same position every time with the front leg of the tripod facing South [I used a compass to set the tripod legs correctly and then marked those positions,
                the Mount already had been permanently adjusted to my Latitude and Longitude on the Declination Circle and the Azimuth adjustment......and that would get me, roughly aligned with Polaris even though I couldn't see it. That served me enough so that my target star would stay on track for 10 or more minutes.
                Then when I got the Observatory I used the compass again to set the tripod and mount in the North/South alignment with the Mount already adjusted to my Longitude and Latitude. But that would still only give me around 10 minutes or so using the motor tracking and Star Alignment. So I "fine tuned" the declination and azimuth on the mount permanently by using the Drift Alignment method. You basically target a star in the South, East and West, until,adjusting the declination and azimuth, with each Star you can stay with that Star for at least half an hour or more without adjustment. The result of fine tuning the declination and azimuth on all 3 Stars will get the Mount to track a Star, even without using a Star alighment for GOTO, for more than an hour. I've done that and so, now, I can just walk into the Observatory, power up the scope and know it will track any Star I choose and keep that Star in the center of view for over an hour.
                There's no reason why anyone viewing outside can't do the same if they've got permanently marked spots to place the tripod legs on, have adjusted the azimuth and declination of the mount to their Latitude and Longitude [which should only need doing once] and then use the Drift Alignment method to fine tune the Declination and Azimuth].......all of that only being relevant if the tripod has a motor drive of some sort and can have the Declination and Azimuth adjusted.
                 
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                  Last edited by a moderator: Dec 6, 2016
                • ARMANDII

                  ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                  I have to dress up in cold weather gear, trogre, even in the Observatory and had a couple of runs of 3 nights or more of good observing in the last couple of weeks. When packing up in the early hours of the morning I've seen ice glistening on the inside of the Dome because of the hard frosts.:hate-shocked: So I wear a Thermal Fishing Jacket, thermals under my Jeans, and a woolly hat to keep me warm!!:heehee: My scope has a Dew Shield/heater on it to stop fogging and even my Telrad Finder has a little heater attached to the finder display to keep it clear.:dunno:

                  I think it's a good idea for those who don't want to do Star Alignment for their GOTO. But a lot of the Astronomy Forums,while thinking that it is a good idea, [a] think it is expensive [around £400], that in the not too distant future it will be incorporated as standard in every GOTO Mounts, [c] it only take 5 minutes or less to do a 3 Star alignment so why spend money on something that is done easily and increases your skills?
                  As you know, Orion has been to the South at around 11pm every night for the last few weeks. So I've been observing the Orion Nebula and associated Stars along with Betelguese, Rigel, Mars, [Venus is too low for me], and the Pleiades.......fantastic!!
                  At times the skies have been so clear and stable that I've used a Radian 3mm eyepiece at least twice into the Orion Nebula on 1000X magnification, but most times I started with a 32mm Plossi to find what I've wanted to look at, and then gone through a 24mm, 19mm, 13mm, and 10mm eyepiece to find the best one for the night.
                  Tonight is, I believe, the last clear night for a week or two so I'll be out there tonight but, as it was gone 3am this morning before I powered down the Observatory. I'm not too sure how long I will last. There have been times when I've been really tired but had to keep looking through the scope as the views have been so beautiful.:dunno::heehee:
                   
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                    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 6, 2016
                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    It's another crystal clear night tonight :dbgrtmb: and I've been out there just admiring the heavens full of lights. :)
                     
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