Thanks for your kind words Peter. I hope the article proves useful for you during your observing opportunities.Peter802 wrote: Sun Nov 10, 2019 5:00 pm Great and useful article Alan.
Thank you for taking the time out to share this knowledge.
Thank you Michael. Hope you find your new GNG scope a lot of fun. As you well know, no matter the aperture level, the factors I outlined in the article are important to consider.helicon wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 5:10 pm I just re-read the article. Thanks again Alan. The impetus was trying to do some galactic observing with my relatively new 5.1" Newt, which is now my grab-n-go.
I see I missed your comment here Steve, my apologies. I appreciate your kind comments. Indeed there is a lot of information that could be in a primer for those getting ready to start. So much so I fear it might scare some folks away!SKEtrip wrote: Sat Nov 02, 2019 9:38 pm Alan -
Very good the article traveled with you. A great resource for understanding what to look for and realistic expectations. It needs to be in a "before you start" primer & should be included with the shipment of any 8"+ dob
Many thanks,
Steve
kt4hx wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2019 12:57 am Thank you Kip and I'm very happy that you find the article useful. For those folks starting out, there is an understandable tendency to place too much reliance upon DSO magnitude. While for very compact DSOs that can be a bit more realistic, with extended objects like galaxies, relying too heavily on its integrated magnitude can give one a misleading impression of their visibility.
If I had a 17.5 I would also have a Skyshed Pod to keep it in at the darkest site I could access. so far I have looked through a couple DOB 12's and soon I will be looking through a 13.1 Looking forward to that.kt4hx wrote: Sat Jan 04, 2020 3:27 pm Thanks David. For these denizens of the deep, aperture and dark skies are indeed your friend. There are some brighter ones of course that can be seen in smaller apertures, and often visible even from areas of significant LP - or at least their brightest portion, typically the core. But there are far more that simply cannot overcome higher levels of sky glow and many more yet that are out of reach of small apertures. Given that they are far and away my favorite category of DSO, there is little wonder that I favor using my 17.5 inch at our dark site. It does in fact open up a whole new universe for me.![]()
Thanks. I have no problems keeping it in the garage and rolling it out. The wheel-barrow handles make that easy enough even for this 65 yr old. I would imagine there will come a time when it will become more of a chore, but barring unusual circumstances, I don't see that for some time yet. In the meantime I enjoy the simplicity of the dob under a dark sky. Typical SQM-L readings are around 21.3 to 21.5 (usually toward the higher end of that range), but have been as good as about 21.7. So I cannot complain in the least.dagadget wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 2:10 amIf I had a 17.5 I would also have a Skyshed Pod to keep it in at the darkest site I could access. so far I have looked through a couple DOB 12's and soon I will be looking through a 13.1 Looking forward to that.kt4hx wrote: Sat Jan 04, 2020 3:27 pm Thanks David. For these denizens of the deep, aperture and dark skies are indeed your friend. There are some brighter ones of course that can be seen in smaller apertures, and often visible even from areas of significant LP - or at least their brightest portion, typically the core. But there are far more that simply cannot overcome higher levels of sky glow and many more yet that are out of reach of small apertures. Given that they are far and away my favorite category of DSO, there is little wonder that I favor using my 17.5 inch at our dark site. It does in fact open up a whole new universe for me.![]()
wow you can roll it out using the wheelbarrow handles. That sounds exceptionally nice. The SQM-L numbers like you said could be worse and with 17.5 inches that aperture overcomes a lot.kt4hx wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 3:13 amThanks. I have no problems keeping it in the garage and rolling it out. The wheel-barrow handles make that easy enough even for this 65 yr old. I would imagine there will come a time when it will become more of a chore, but barring unusual circumstances, I don't see that for some time yet. In the meantime I enjoy the simplicity of the dob under a dark sky. Typical SQM-L readings are around 21.3 to 21.5 (usually toward the higher end of that range), but have been as good as about 21.7. So I cannot complain in the least.dagadget wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 2:10 amIf I had a 17.5 I would also have a Skyshed Pod to keep it in at the darkest site I could access. so far I have looked through a couple DOB 12's and soon I will be looking through a 13.1 Looking forward to that.kt4hx wrote: Sat Jan 04, 2020 3:27 pm Thanks David. For these denizens of the deep, aperture and dark skies are indeed your friend. There are some brighter ones of course that can be seen in smaller apertures, and often visible even from areas of significant LP - or at least their brightest portion, typically the core. But there are far more that simply cannot overcome higher levels of sky glow and many more yet that are out of reach of small apertures. Given that they are far and away my favorite category of DSO, there is little wonder that I favor using my 17.5 inch at our dark site. It does in fact open up a whole new universe for me.![]()
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Amen Alan.kt4hx wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 9:49 pm This article is a few years old now, and I thought I'd give it a bump up. Hopefully some newer observers will give it a read and it will be helpful for them as they move forward. Go get them galaxies!![]()
It's helped more people than you'll likely ever know.kt4hx wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 9:49 pm This article is a few years old now, and I thought I'd give it a bump up. Hopefully some newer observers will give it a read and it will be helpful for them as they move forward. Go get them galaxies!![]()
SKEtrip wrote: Wed Jun 12, 2024 10:47 pmIt's helped more people than you'll likely ever know.kt4hx wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 9:49 pm This article is a few years old now, and I thought I'd give it a bump up. Hopefully some newer observers will give it a read and it will be helpful for them as they move forward. Go get them galaxies!![]()
And wow - is TSS really closing in on 5 years?