Popular Post Adam Firth Posted November 28, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted November 28, 2023 The Saturday before last I went to an impromptu observing session at Sherwood observatory (I'm a member there, it wasn't a general public get together). I got there about half past 7 and started to get my 8" dob setup but didn't bother starting to observe yet because floodlights were on from the building site offices. I'll elaborate a little, the obs is having a planetarium and science discovery centre built on land next door that they've owned for a few years inside a disused victorian reservoir. At around 8 one of the other members who had access to the lights turned them off so we could get started. There were 4 of us, me with my 8" dob, then the others had a 8" celestron SCT, a 200mm reflector on a HEQ5 (I think) and someone with a ZWO seestar s50. The clouds were intermittent and it was very windy so it was a case of finding objects in the gaps. I started off with Jupiter, to help align the finder with the main scope and spent 20 mins observing that, then moved over to the double cluster, by which time the 8" SCT had finally been set up, there are definitely advantages to having a fully manual setup lol. I also had a look at the ring nebula in both the SCT and my dob but I preferred the view in mine. I also spent a while talking to the owner of the seestar whilst he explained how it worked, it seems like a very clever bit of kit and the pictures look great for the size of the scope. He was shooting the veil nebula and you could see the detail quite clearly. Then andromeda was next but it was very high up so was a pain in the derriere to find. By this time I'd done that Saturn was just poking out from behind the obs itself so had a quick look but it was so low down the views weren't great. By half past 10 I started to feel ill so had to pack up and go home, it's a good job I did because I spent the entire next day throwing up which wasn't so fun. Anyway, overall except for the clouds and shaky views from the wind it was a thoroughly enjoyable session with likeminded people, plus it was darker than my garden, although not as dark as the Belper site. +Bino-viewer, BAZ, +Glafnazur and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Derbyshire Dave Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Sounds like you had a good session Adam, thanks for sharing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stu Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 I often drive past Sherwood observatory on the way to one of my sites at work, just over the railway lines on Coxmoor Road. Is the dob reasonably portable for taking out observing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Streetbob Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Nice report. Thanks. Adam Firth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Sounds like a nice session. We must try and have an EMS meetup before the end of the year 🔭 Adam Firth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Firth Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 28/11/2023 at 19:14, Derbyshire Dave said: Sounds like you had a good session Adam, thanks for sharing.. Thanks, it wasn't too bad. Just a shame I had to cut it short Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Firth Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 29/11/2023 at 00:13, Stu said: I often drive past Sherwood observatory on the way to one of my sites at work, just over the railway lines on Coxmoor Road. Is the dob reasonably portable for taking out observing? I suppose it depends on your definition of portable. I manage to fit it in my Ford Ka but with no space for passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stu Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 1 hour ago, Adam Firth said: I suppose it depends on your definition of portable. I manage to fit it in my Ford Ka but with no space for passengers. I suppose practical would've been a better choice of words. Just getting it around and setting it up if you take it to a site. I'm in the glass back club so didn't really consider one when looking for a visual scope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Firth Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 On 01/12/2023 at 19:06, Stu said: I suppose practical would've been a better choice of words. Just getting it around and setting it up if you take it to a site. I'm in the glass back club so didn't really consider one when looking for a visual scope. The base of mine has a handle which makes it easy to carry as that's most of the weight of the scope. The OTA itself is a lot lighter than you would expect. Definitely a 2 trip job though. I will say that I'm in my 20s and do a manual job though so I'm quite used to carrying a bit of weight around. In terms of setup, it takes probably 5 mins (including collimation), the only issue could be scope cool down but I'd the car is kept a bit cooler it may help of course +Stu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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