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mrdfnle wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 9:38 pmFighting off the bots after joining the fbook Singles group

fyp

Hit the streets with various marches, protests, demonstrations, agitations and such

Got a bike

Thought hard about where I wanted to go with playing music

Started a new job

Watched a lot of horror movies - His House was the standout

Safely had my needs met

Applied to take a trip around the Moon in 2023 on a SpaceX rocket sponsored by billionaire Yusaka Maezawa

Began intermittent fasting

Got vaxxed

rsmurphy wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 5:41 am Watched a lot of horror movies - His House was the standout

There was a lot to like about that one. Did you watch Saint Maud? If memory serves you were the main horror movie thread guy back in the day. I think you'd enjoy it.

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 5:44 am

rsmurphy wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 5:41 am Watched a lot of horror movies - His House was the standout

Did you watch Saint Maud?

Yes and no. I was half in the bag when it started then fell asleep. Looking forward to rewatching it, or just actually watching it. I was also a big fan of Come True. Genuine nightmarish imagery in that one.

DrAwkward wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 9:57 pm

AstroRoadie wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 8:46 pm Welcome back everyone.

Probably like some of you I got sent home in March of 2020 from a tour that had just started. I'm lucky to be in the UK and had my taxes right so have been pretty well taken care of in the way of grants and Universal Credit for the past year. I know it's been tough for everyone outside the north, I've got some tours booked from July through the end of the year so hopefully we are all back to work soon.

The time off finally gave me the opportunity to figure out this astrophotography thing. It had been something I wanted to do for a while and with some of the more recent advances in the amateur market it felt a little more feasible so I picked up a small wide field telescope, dedicated astro cam and a motorized equatorial mount.

I'm in a heavily light polluted area and still trying to figure out the processing software so they are amatuer at best.

It's been nice getting away from music. I had been on the road constantly for about 6yrs after the divorce. Think I've found a bit of mental calm in a new hobby.

IMG_1799.jpeg

California Nebula SHO 3.jpeg

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Can I ask what kind of telescope you picked up? I got back into astronomy in the past year as well, and I've been having fun with my Celestron Firstscope guy, but I'm low-key looking for something that will allow me to see more deep sky objects.

Yeah, here's a list of everything I use. If your just wanting to do visual astronomy I'd maybe suggest going with a 8''-12'' Dobsonian. Can spend a bit more money and get a goto version that helps you navigate the sky. You can build these if your the handy type, just buy the mirrors, plenty of how to's online. Some would argue that Dob's don't make great photography telescopes though.

I found the cheapest way to do photography was to go with a refractor type scope. I love the scopes William Optics makes. They do a small widefield called a Redcat that is really popular and light so you don't need to buy such a ridiculous mount. Explore Scientific make great scopes that are a bit more budget friendly. The Cassegrain Celestron Nexstars are also popular and the Edges are probably the upper range of amateur. The most important thing is the mount for photography as you'll need something that can track the sky.

A device came on the market a couple years ago, the AsiAir by ZWO. It's basically a raspberry pi that can run your mount, focus, capture, etc all from your ipad/laptop from inside the house. This company ZWO is what made me make the plunge with their all in one systems, no more trying to get 5 pieces of software working together. If you want to do astrophotography I'd grab one of these.

WIlliam Optics GT81 MkII Telescope
ZWO 1600mm Pro Imaging Camera
WIlliam Optics 50mm Guide Scope
ZWO 120mm Mini Guide Camera
HEQ5 Pro mount w/ Belt Mod
ASIAIR Pro Capture Software
Sky Safari Pro Deepsky Database
Pixinsight Image Processing Software

akosinski wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 10:06 pm

DrAwkward wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 9:57 pm Can I ask what kind of telescope you picked up? I got back into astronomy in the past year as well, and I've been having fun with my Celestron Firstscope guy, but I'm low-key looking for something that will allow me to see more deep sky objects.

i'll join in on this one. just started looking around for a good one for city folk.

The cheapest one I could recommend are the Skywatcher Heritage 130p. This will give you decent visuals of the moon and planets and the brightest galaxies. The 8'' and above are where it really starts getting interesting though. If your handy, you can build one yourself, I'd skip the polishing of the glass part and just buy one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snz7JJlSZvw

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 10:47 pm

AstroRoadie wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 8:46 pm I know it's been tough for everyone outside the north...

It's hardly been a walk in the park up north either.

Agreed, I shouldn't speak for everyone. Imagine for anyone self-employed with a family it's been a struggle. I just can't imagine paying London rent on top of it.

- Good deal of bowling
- Consumed some watery domestic lager in my neighborhood park
- viewtopic.php?f=26&t=69076

joe_lmr wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 11:30 pm

mrdfnle wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 9:38 pmFighting off the bots after joining the fbook Singles group

fyp

sorry about that Lemurs she(?) just contacted me. I went with the nuclear riot act and blocked her #. #stillatwarwiththebots

sorry, did I miss something?