What have you been up to lately?

[Bigzmey]

Got a hockey puck (adapter) to use on top of my Twilight-1 tripod. Couldn't mount my SW AZ5 on the pod since the pod has one of those post-thingies on top. Puck has a notch that fits around the post, AZ5 screws onto a 3/8 bolt on the top of the puck, and Bazinga!

Now if it would clear up, I could test my 102ED on it. The AZ5 combined with my Manfrotto 475B is a bit too shaky when focusing the 102. OTOH, the TW-1 combo is transforming from a grab-n-go to a grab-n-lug. We shall see...

If this doesn't work, I'll have to order a SkyTee or something.

Skytee 2 is a great mount, for it's 60lb payload it is relatively lightweight, rock steady and you can load up to 3 scopes on it, but I would not call it grab and go. I have tried a few lighter mounts for my SV102ED and my favorite is SW AZGti, and you are half way there since you already got the puck to adapt it to T1 tripod!

[pakarinen]

Wow. Aside from the logo (and extra dew shield), my 102 looks like a twin of yours on the outside, down to the color of the fine focus knob.

Anyway, good to know the AZ-Gti is a possibility. What's the approx. weight of your SV?

[SkyHiker]

My CEM120 just returned home from its long trip to Germany.
Too bad, the new snowfall is starting, and after that the snow shoveling, before it's even possible to set it up.
Another question is if its worth it due to the clouds...

Hmm, by the weather forecasts, not this month. Hopefully early next month.
Chances to take a peek at Orion are gone for this year (too). (Sigh.)

Congratulations with the reunion, at the same time your season must be almost over! I wonder if something easily serviceable like a Losmandy G11 would have been a better choice given the brutal conditions. That's water under the bridge now, I hope it works for you and that you get some time under the stars with it in good working order.

[Star Dad]

As I've posted before, my wifey and I are armorers for our local high school fencing team. We had a novice tournament 2 weekends ago. She got a stomach bug - and apparently I fought it off but have finally succumbed to it too. I lost all taste two days ago, but got a negative result from a COVID test plus there's no respiratory symptoms. I am ready for a colonoscopy... too bad I don't need one for a couple more years - now would be a perfect time. This has been an unusual month of clear skies - 4 so far - and I've missed two of them thanks to the bug. There's still a lot of rumbling around the middle area - if you get what I mean. First time I've been sick since COVID first hit. But being with a bunch of teenagers all day in a hot, sweaty, closed environment was bound to cause some problems - even with masks. You can't have a mask on while eating/drinking - so c'est la vie. Anyway, I got a new toy. A couple of years ago I bought a f8 500mm fl lens for a Minolta Camera - film type. I found on line a T adapter so I can mount it to my Cannon 70D. According to an online lens analyzing site it's supposed to give about a 2 degree field of view. Can't wait to try it out as an imaging camera. Maybe that's why I'm sick? Do the medical gods conspire with the cloud gods?

[turboscrew]

Can't wait to try it out as an imaging camera. Maybe that's why I'm sick? Do the medical gods conspire with the cloud gods?

I've been suspecting that there's something going on between the gods, although I think I experienced a joint attack by cloud gods, gear gods and logistics gods.

[OzEclipse]

My CEM120 just returned home from its long trip to Germany.
Too bad, the new snowfall is starting, and after that the snow shoveling, before it's even possible to set it up.
Another question is if its worth it due to the clouds...

Hmm, by the weather forecasts, not this month. Hopefully early next month.
Chances to take a peek at Orion are gone for this year (too). (Sigh.)

Congratulations with the reunion, at the same time your season must be almost over! I wonder if something easily serviceable like a Losmandy G11 would have been a better choice given the brutal conditions. That's water under the bridge now, I hope it works for you and that you get some time under the stars with it in good working order.

Juha,

Perhaps you can just do much of your observing/photography during your summer when conditions are not so brutal. This Icarus filter might be the solution to your summer observing problems.



Cheers

Joe

[Bigzmey]

Wow. Aside from the logo (and extra dew shield), my 102 looks like a twin of yours on the outside, down to the color of the fine focus knob.

Anyway, good to know the AZ-Gti is a possibility. What's the approx. weight of your SV?

Listed weight is 9.2 lb which feels right. Yes, the hardware looks identical (sourced from the same factory?). Which is a good thing since it is of top quality. Does your scope also need extension tube to reach focus with EPs? I had to get 50mm and 25mm extensions to use with 1.25" and 2" diagonals, respectively.

And extra dew shield I made myself

[pakarinen]

Listed weight is 9.2 lb which feels right. Yes, the hardware looks identical (sourced from the same factory?). Which is a good thing since it is of top quality. Does your scope also need extension tube to reach focus with EPs? I had to get 50mm and 25mm extensions to use with 1.25" and 2" diagonals, respectively.

Hmmm, my 102 weighs in at a hair under 10 pounds. I suppose my scale could be off (and could explain why I seem to be 15 pounds overweight ).

I've only tried a couple of EPs (clouds), but no problem reaching focus.

[turboscrew]

My CEM120 just returned home from its long trip to Germany.
Too bad, the new snowfall is starting, and after that the snow shoveling, before it's even possible to set it up.
Another question is if its worth it due to the clouds...

Hmm, by the weather forecasts, not this month. Hopefully early next month.
Chances to take a peek at Orion are gone for this year (too). (Sigh.)

Congratulations with the reunion, at the same time your season must be almost over! I wonder if something easily serviceable like a Losmandy G11 would have been a better choice given the brutal conditions. That's water under the bridge now, I hope it works for you and that you get some time under the stars with it in good working order.

Juha,

Perhaps you can just do much of your observing/photography during your summer when conditions are not so brutal. This Icarus filter might be the solution to your summer observing problems.



Cheers

Joe

I've seen that before. (Premiered Apr 1, 2021)

[GCoyote]

Keeping busy with my wife still on an extended business trip.

[turboscrew]

Work and shoveling snow. Not much time for anything else.
Yesterday

Today finished. Even Vili gets out again if he wants to.

[notFritzArgelander]

The failure of the Orion SSIII mount has really cut down on short grab'n go sessions. So I've ordered an SSIV that is wireless controllable and so not subject to the same failure mode. Maybe ther'll be another one?

Also jiggering with the ship date since I am invited to another voyage to SLC. It seems grandad is needed to stimulate interest in calculus. The science inclined one needs no motivational lecture. The business inclined one will have the usefulness of higher maths in optimization, finance and (most importantly) video games as carrots.

Here come the quaternions!

The Orion folks were very cooperative about rescheduling delivery of the SSIV until I returned from SLC. It arrived today.

It ALSO looks like there was a massive communications failure with my daughter. My grandson's situation is completely different from my understanding. He wants to start taking calculus yesterday and doesn't understand the necessity of prerequisites like algebra, geometry and trigonometry. So the motivational talk was centered on how one needs to understand these things before you can set up a calculus problem properly. We did have a discussion about rotations and quaternions though.....

[Ylem]

Work and shoveling snow. Not much time for anything else.
Yesterday


Today finished. Even Vili gets out again if he wants to.

Yucky!

[Ylem]

After my 3 day trip turned into an almost 3 week visit with my dad, I am finally getting back to Charlotte tomorrow.

[notFritzArgelander]

Well, it's time to plan for moving yet again. Between family considerations and being too close to western wildfires (which severely inhibit useful observing time) there is a less than 10% chance that my current location is tenable.

I've been looking online for archival smoke distribution maps/imagery without adequate success. Even a mean prevailing wind flow map for the US would be helpful. Of course I could simply hunker in place until all that can burn is burnt..... might take a while though.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 220009.htm

[AstroBee]

Well, it's time to plan for moving yet again. Between family considerations and being too close to western wildfires (which severely inhibit useful observing time) there is a less than 10% chance that my current location is tenable.

You would want to stay west of the Rockies for the darkest skies and unfortunately, no place is clear of the smoke from the west. Even down here in southern Nevada, northern Arizona, we are constantly dealing with the California forest fire smoke.

[AstroBee]

I'm headed out to a dark site tonight for the first time in 2022. At the beginning of the year, I did a bit of backyard Ha imaging but tonight will be my first opportunity to get some broadband data on the Horsehead. This might be my last chance before it is too low in the west. It's already on the west side of the meridian at astronomical dark so I'm only getting about 3 hours on it.

[turboscrew]

I'm headed out to a dark site tonight for the first time in 2022. At the beginning of the year, I did a bit of backyard Ha imaging but tonight will be my first opportunity to get some broadband data on the Horsehead. This might be my last chance before it is too low in the west. It's already on the west side of the meridian at astronomical dark so I'm only getting about 3 hours on it.

Good luck! May the gods of bad weather not notice what you are up to.

[notFritzArgelander]

Well, it's time to plan for moving yet again. Between family considerations and being too close to western wildfires (which severely inhibit useful observing time) there is a less than 10% chance that my current location is tenable.

You would want to stay west of the Rockies for the darkest skies and unfortunately, no place is clear of the smoke from the west. Even down here in southern Nevada, northern Arizona, we are constantly dealing with the California forest fire smoke.

I might be willing to sacrifice some sky darkness for being occasionally smoke free. Some regions in Appalachia get pretty dark and are occasionally smoke free. Also some rural midwest locations might be all right. I think I have maybe only one move left in me before my "final resting place". So I need to be careful get this optimized.

[Bigzmey]

Well, it's time to plan for moving yet again. Between family considerations and being too close to western wildfires (which severely inhibit useful observing time) there is a less than 10% chance that my current location is tenable.

I've been looking online for archival smoke distribution maps/imagery without adequate success. Even a mean prevailing wind flow map for the US would be helpful. Of course I could simply hunker in place until all that can burn is burnt..... might take a while though.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 220009.htm

I don't know if you are fan of desert living, but some of South West locations offer dark skies with dry weather most of the year. We do get wild fires, but since there is much less vegetations here than in the North they don't last as long and don't produce as much smoke.