Got Myself A Serious Tracking Mount - A (used) Skywatcher Star Adventurer

 So, I was shopping around (all over, actually) for a Star Adventurer tracking mount. I was on eBay, Astromart, and Cloudy Nights classifieds for a little over three days...

When, finally, someone listed one (on Astromart) - with just about all the accessories (except the small green anodized ball head mount). And I snatched it up; within hours of it being listed.

Seller's Orig Pic

The Seller was a really nice guy, and shipped it out right away. And for the first few nights, it worked great! Polar alignment doesn't even have to be perfect in order to get nice (trail-free) exposures of between 30" up to 2'! - Depending on how well you're polar aligned.

The Seller included a heavy duty ball head

 

I've even been keeping myself busy buying even more accessories and doo dad's for this mount...Including a new ball head holder, etc., etc.

For now, I just wanted to state: That although my astrophotography attempts have been easier than ever before; and some of the results I'm getting have been better than ever:

In all honesty, I still don't think I'm 100% "all in" when it comes to AP. I'm into it for now, strictly because of the close-to-freezing Temps we're facing over the next couple of months. 

The only way to enjoy any kind of astronomy, is via AP - where you can set everything up outside on a deck, take 15-20 Min. to frame & focus, etc., and then retreat back inside. While the equipment diligently takes the sub-exposures for you.

The bottom line, it seems: is that I much rather be enjoying the simple pleasures of observing DSO's and creating pencil sketches. The simple joy of using a telescope (or binoculars) to observe.

The first (and ever looming) issue, when it comes to AP - Is the cost. It's an expensive hobby. Especially if you want to do it right.

Mind you, this is coming from a guy who used to use a homemade barn door tracker ($25) as a mount! My entire AP set-up cost me about $600 (with camera, which was bought modified, for ~ $300+). That was my first foray into AP...while living under Bortle 8 skies.

Then, I moved to Bortle 4ish skies; and things were great. I was still using the barn door tracker, and getting good results. Short sub-exposures, though. Then, I got out of AP. Sold my modified Canon, and all the AP goodies.

Now, we moved to some solid Bortle 4 skies. So...I tried it again. By acquiring this Star Adventurer mount, etc. But - Here's a spoiler: The mount is currently for sale, right back on Astromart and Cloudy Nights.  ((sigh)) ...Well, I tried.

I guess what bugs me the most (these days) is the necessity of taking Darks, Flats, and Bias Frames - Ugh. Annoying.  

But, if we really get down to brass tacks - It's the expense. It's just naturally an expensive hobby. Much more expensive, in my estimation than even Mini Reef Keeping (marine aquariums). A person can set-up a very small ("Nano Reef") of a few gallons -to- 5 gallons in size, for much less than it takes to get started in AP.

YouTube is practically littered with videos on exactly how to do it. From 0 to thriving mini-reef aquarium in under $300. It's just an example...

Anyway, the expense - That's what's been "bugging" me lately. Most likely, because as of late, I'm on a lower budget than ever. Plus, the idea (mostly, the simplicity) of just observing (and maybe sketching) DSO's with an optical instrument has a quaint appeal to it.

What I've been fascinated with lately, are vintage optics. Vintage telescopes, both reflectors and refractors; as well as binoculars. I have even contemplated selling my Star Adventurer mount...so that I can buy a nice, vintage telescope. By this I mean something like a Tasco, or Edmund Scientific 4.5" reflector... Or a 76.2mm Tasco refractor, or any of the other desirable vintage models. Again, the only thing stopping me - are these really cold temperatures...

If you're one of the 3 people who occasionally visit this blog, and you have any opinions/thoughts to add on this subject: Please do!

To be continued...

Clear and steady skies to you!

Maybe the Best Kept Secret In Nebula Filters! Part II

Maybe the Best Kept Secret In Nebula Filters! Part II

The filters were shipped out to me on Monday, and arrived on Wednesday. Preliminary tests showed that they seem to: Darken the background sky nicely, Allow a good amount of light through (compared to OIII filters for example), And I like the way they render most stars a hot purple-ish hue (it's a nice change from the usual green of all other filters).
Since their arrival, several weeks ago - I've had quite a few opportunities to use them. And, I really like them!

OK, so I was going over my Astronomy notes recently...And realized, that I left out some interesting technical details about these nebula filters while haphazardly writing my original Post. So, in re: to the GCE nebula filters, from DGM Optics - Here's some more details, along with my comments in Purple - (this info is directly from DGM Optics):

"The Galaxy Contrast Enhancement™ filter aids in the visual observation of galaxies and milky way dust clouds and dark lanes. The GCE filter takes a different approach to enhancing galaxy observation by allowing high transmission through nearly the entire visible spectrum while rejecting only the harmful light pollution wavelengths. Because of those attributes it also is a very good general purpose LPR filter, unlike traditional wideband filters, which exclude most of the red portion of the visible spectrum. I like this very much, because until now, you couldn't "have your cake & eat it too" - If you used a broadband filter, from other manufacturers, some of the desired wavelengths were getting blocked as well.

Specifications
The GCE filter design stresses maximum optical throughput utilizing state-of-the-art optical thin-film designs and materials. This filter is a “first surface” hard oxide thin-film and is much more durable and long lived than laminated “soft film” designs used by several famous makers." 

I'm also very happy about this, no one wants a light pollution filter with a surface that will deteriorate over time. 
"They are also much less prone to the internal reflectance problems that plague laminated filters. Laminated filters can produce a very undesirable “doubling” of stellar images often with one of the doubles being red.

 

Contrary to popular belief, this image doubling is not due to the red sideband component that many nebula filter designs produce, but in many cases is due to laminated glass not being exactly parallel to the protective cover plate after lamination. Many laminated filters display this annoying characteristic." This is awful! After learning about this, why would anyone buy an inferior nebula filter again? I won't be!

"This filter averages around 1% Transmission (optical density of 2) through the rejection region from 540 to 590nm, and average transmission greater than 90% Transmission in the passbands, and greater than 75% at the 656.3nm H-Alpha line. The design yields a filter with a very symmetrical shape and high optical throughput, for maximum enhancement of nebula with a minimum of loss of stars in the field of view.
The substrate is quartz and has measured total wavefront values of .25 waves. I find this fact awesome :) These filters don't use plain glass as their substrate; it's Quartz! 
The combination of first surface optical thin-film technology and a polished, flat substrate enables this filter to be used with high magnification, a real plus for small planetary nebula." And, finally, this last part - about being "a real plus for small planetary nebula" It just so happens, that I have become very interested in hunting planetary nebula recently; so, I was also happy to read this. 

As for me: One of the joys of using this GCE filter - Is that I simply leave a pair of them screwed into the threaded EP barrels of my Garrett signature series 10x50's - And, I just leave them attached all the time. I don't find my views of Asterisms, or Open Clusters darkened very much at all. Yet, they improve the views of all DSO's at same time. I plan to do a side-by-side comparison of these, vs. the pair of Zhumell OIII filters I have, and post my findings.
It would be great, if someone who has other name-brand "Broadband" LPR filters could also do some tests vs. the GCE filter...
The smallest (good-quality) Binoculars I currently have, are my Garrett 10x50's. But, I believe that these would also perform well on smaller Binos - Which would be great when scanning for/observing large, diffuse DSO's. In fact, I believe I just gave myself an idea for a future project...

Clear skies!
-Al