I took a break

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My longest standing hobby is..........GUITAR PLAYING!! Which make sense since I'm hear. But, my second longest hobby came along only a few years later. My Dad got me a telescope that I had been begging for. That hobby stuck and while I have never made optics, I have built quite a few telescopes. My kid ended up loving music and we mostly did that when he was young, but he mostly hated the astronomy and I suspect he still does. You have to actually go outside at night and hand around to do astronomy and the boy likes nature........outside and him not actually in nature, but rather inside. So I got out of the asto habit despite having a lot of stuff. I'm probably going to redo a couple of scopes and sell one big one, and go back to astronomy.
 
Dado said:
In use it's really nice. Dragging the thing around is a bit of a pain. I think I shall sell it soon and keep the 10". That 10" mirror is great. I saw the Galilean moons of Jupiter as discs one perfect night.
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Is the above scope a 12?
I get some nice views of Jupiter moons too.
 
Dado said:
I am not a master craftsman at all but I do manage sturdy and easy use. Here is one:

View attachment 100674
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That’s some fun looking stuff right there! I’ve worked in optics for a little while, and have an understanding of the mechanics…never dipped more than a theoretical toe in those waters though. Science fair type stuff for me…start getting into big mirrors and lenses, and I’ll reach for a guitar…just because I know that I’ll never lay hands on the gear to make stuff for that kind of kit again…at least I don’t think I will…
 
Jethro Rocker said:
Is the above scope a 12?
I get some nice views of Jupiter moons too.
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Yeah, that's a 12. It was a hit at star parties and seriously, no joke, some crazy good planetary viewing.

More than anything else, the dozen or so years I worked 10p to 630a and all the school stuff with my kid, I just kinda stopped. I think I can make a nice scope of the 10 inch optical tube I have and get back into it without so dang much effort.
 
As I probably mentioned, the cameras for planetary astrophotography have gotten stupidly good. Here is a pic by someone with a 6 INCH SCOPE!!!! Not on an equatorial mount or platform, just letting the planet drift by. The cameras are so fast that they can in that short period of time take so many images that processing has a lot to work with. Comes out like this:

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Dado said:
As I probably mentioned, the cameras for planetary astrophotography have gotten stupidly good. Here is a pic by someone with a 6 INCH SCOPE!!!! Not on an equatorial mount or platform, just letting the planet drift by. The cameras are so fast that they can in that short period of time take so many images that processing has a lot to work with. Comes out like this:

View attachment 100692
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Wow! It's the post layering of multiple images that works so well. I know nothing about, sadly. A straight up shot doesn't look anywhere like that. I may have to do some research. I have some excellent SLRs and a camera adapter but more is needed to process those.
Spectacular!!
 
Jethro Rocker said:
Wow! It's the post layering of multiple images that works so well. I know nothing about, sadly. A straight up shot doesn't look anywhere like that. I may have to do some research. I have some excellent SLRs and a camera adapter but more is needed to process those.
Spectacular!!
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You are understanding the whole thing. It's all a matter of getting a lot of frames and having software pick out the good ones. I have not done this in a long while, last time I did was using a webcam with modifications. Those cameras were very slow so even when you used software for image sharpening and such, there was not enough data for a good image. I kind of remember that it was not that hard to get a handle on the software. A nice astrocam would be fun though...
 
I’m very jealous of you guys. I have a big fascination with astronomy and cosmology, but it’s just absorbing as much info as possible at the moment. No practical skills at all.

I do have access to a killer observatory and telescope (for an amateur) but I’ve yet to learn the ins and outs of it. Hopefully this summer I will get a chance to get my feet with it. I’ve been helping greasing all the tracks and whatnot to keep it moving smoothly.


https://imgur.com/a/33x87ZO
 
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Aynirar27 said:
I’m very jealous of you guys. I have a big fascination with astronomy and cosmology, but it’s just absorbing as much info as possible at the moment. No practical skills at all.

I do have access to a killer observatory and telescope (for an amateur) but I’ve yet to learn the ins and outs of it. Hopefully this summer I will get a chance to get my feet with it. I’ve been helping greasing all the tracks and whatnot to keep it moving smoothly.


https://imgur.com/a/33x87ZO
Click to expand...
I'm in the Dallas area so our skies are terrible all the time, the local club has some property in southern Oklahoma with scopes you can use and a dome observatory....but......Walmart built a humongo distribution center nearby and totally took out the sky in one direction. It was great before that.
 
You know, I just had a thought. I like dobsonian scopes due to bang for the buck and the "no hassle" nature. I also have a couple of Epi LP Jr..... They are similar in that they don't have a lot of things that they do for you, but you can figure out how to use them and do most of what you want. There is an attraction for me, in simpicity.
 
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