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About wesdon1

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    Liverpool UK
  1. Hi, thank you so much for your advice. I will actually try out the solar proj. method initially, just to get used to pointing my equipment at the sun. Good job you told me to cover up Telrads, finders etc as i hadn't even considered that! See, that's why it's imperative that novices like myself ask the more experienced/expert Astronomers for advice! I will definitely buy Baader product(s) as they seem like they're of the highest quality? ( Please Correct me if i'm mistaken? ) Thank you for saving me a nasty burn/accident with finder scope/telrad! Many Thanks, Wes. SkyWatcher BK 1309 EQ2. 25mm/20mm super plossl/10mm/3.6mm/2 x Barlow/Laser Collimater/Tons of enthusiasm! lol
  2. I'm still learning, and there's a question that's been in my mind from day1. How safe are foil like solar filters for solar observing? reason i ask is i'm scared the foil may have microscopic holes or cracks because it crumples/bends etc and some massively magnified light/heat radiation will seep through and fry my retina instantly! I'm not joking, it really frightens me! Would the experienced members recommend a solid state/glass/ceramic type filter instead of film, and can even these develop unforeseen faults and cause instant blindness!?? I really want to see the sun and it's amazing spots and other phenomena but this fear of harm is holding me back. Thanks in advance for any advice, and please forgive me if i sound dramatic or stupid.
  3. I'm only 5 months in to this amazing hobby, and already i'm telling people where Jupiter is, how to spot it, that Saturn will be following close behind it, that those little "Stars" travelling ever so quickly across the night sky are most likely satellites, and so it goes on haha. I've had very positive responses from people, and they seem genuinely interested and fascinated with what i'm telling them. I just can't wait to get some decent images of planets and DSOs so i can share them with family and friends, and anyone else who wants to see them. It makes my brain freeze with confusion when i try to fathom the sheer infinitesimal enormity of the Galaxies and Universe and beyond. It's beyond human comprehension thus far, imo...
  4. oooohhhh haha see! Told you i'm a newbie without a clue! haha Thank you for letting me know. It never crossed my mind that there's likely dozens of globular clusters, and here's me assuming there's only one, and it's name is M13! Doh! haha
  5. Yes i thought i must be? and in my limited experience thus far, i have noticed the seeing is better early morning before sunrise. I get up around 2am some mornings to specifically veiw Jupiter/Saturn as they are reaching their highest point in skies, so as to be looking through less of earths atmosphere, for the best possible views with the equipment i have. My views of Mars have been pretty poor thus far, when i have a night session as soon as it's dark, until around 1am, then bed for a few hours so i'm not a zombie in work lol. I am loving every second of this new hobby. It's truly breathtaking what's up there...
  6. Oh right i see. in winter the thermals from rooftops makes total sense. Thank you for pointing that out to me! I am very new and i'm like that Robot Johnny 5 from the film in the 80's! INPUT!! INPUT!! MOOOOOORRREEE INPUT!!! haha I am just crazing knowledge constantly!! haha back to being serious, yes i also understand what you mean by not seeing max mag as the ultimate goal. I suppose i'm thinking that way due to my eagerness to see as much detail, and as big as possible image, of Planets, galaxies etc etc etc. I'm 5 months in, so i have so much to learn. Thank you.
  7. and most the night 90x was wasn't much good either!?? Ye i went up to 270 and it was awful. couldn't get past 130-140x without mushy wobbly mess.
  9. Hi, thanks for reply. Yes i believe that could actually be a major factor as it's far north, and in doing so giving us nicer weather in the day i think ? Would you say that my rising thermal currents theory is 0% of the causes ? I'm asking your opinion as i'm new and trying to learn as much as i can every day about the hobby. Thank you sir!
  10. forgot to mention, isn't the "M3" globular cluster actually M13 Globular Cluster? Forgivbe me if i'm wrong, i'm a newbie learning the ropes lol
  11. Well done all. Beautiful images. I especially liked the time lapse! Those aircraft were like rockets/streamers shooting through a gorgous night sky! Amazing!
  12. my goodness i think i might have just worked out the answer to my own question...It's been really warm, so it could be thermal currents rising from land during the evening as it cools ???
  13. Anyone else find the seeing really bad the last couple of nights in uk?? ( 13th/14th May 19 ) I was struggling to get resolution with just 90x mag on my 130/900 newt reflector!?? Or is it my collimation out again! lol (or me not cooling mirror sufficiently, or my lenses, or my....haha you get the picture! I'm a newbie who is still learning! )
  14. I'm like Johnny 5 from that 80's film with the lovable Robot! INPUT! INPUT!!! ahahahaha
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